Women's Champions League draw: mouthwatering games await in new phase

"United, who were in the lowest-seeded pot, have been pitted against OL Lyonnes, the renamed record eight-time champions, the former winners Wolfsburg and Juventus among their six opponents. They also face a reunion with their ormer goalkeeper Mary Earps when they host Paris Saint-Germain, arguably the toughest-available opponent in the second pot."

"The new system replaces the 16-team four-groups-of-four format. It is not that dissimilar to the revamp the men's competition underwent a year ago: all 18 teams will be placed into a single league table with those involved not all facing each other. Each team plays three games at home and three games away. The league phase will take place across six separate rounds of midweek fixtures: on 7-8 October, 15-16 October, 11-12 November, 19-20 November, and 9-10 December, concluding on 17 December when all 18 teams play simultaneously."

"The top four teams at the end of the league phase qualify automatically for the quarter-finals, while the teams who finish fifth to 12th enter a two-legged playoff. The teams who finish 13th and below will be eliminated. The draw for the knockout phase and the playoffs will be conducted on 18 December. The playoff round will be held in February, with the quarter-finals taking place in March and Apr"

Manchester United will face a challenging set of opponents on their debut in the Women's Champions League main draw, meeting OL Lyonnes, Wolfsburg, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Valerenga and Atletico Madrid. Chelsea will host Barcelona and play Wolfsburg, Roma, St Polten, Paris FC and Twente. Arsenal will host OL Lyonnes and travel to Bayern Munich, also facing Real Madrid, Benfica, Twente and OH Leuven. The competition adopts an 18-team single-league phase replacing the 16-team four-groups format, with each team playing six matches (three home, three away) across six midweek rounds from October to December. Top four teams qualify automatically for quarter-finals; teams fifth to 12th enter two-legged playoffs; 13th and below are eliminated, with playoff and knockout draws on 18 December.

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