UEFA Women's Champions League returns this week, and it will debut a new format for the first time. It is the largest change since the competition, launched in 2001 as UEFA Women's Cup, was transformed into UEFA Women's Champions League in 2009, and it will mimic the men's competitions, with a league phase that determines which teams move to the knockout stages and which are eliminated.
The main difference is the number of teams: 18 clubs participate in the league phase. Each will play six matches, three at home, three away, against different teams, and never from the same country.
The best four teams of the league (winning grants 3 points, a draw grants 1, as usual) get qualified for quarter-finals, while the next best eight will play a play-off match between them, to decide the last eight remaining teams. Teams below 13th will be eliminated.
Women's Champions League matchday 1 games
Tuesday, 7 October
Juventus vs Benfica (18:45 CET, 17:45 BST)
Arsenal vs OL Lyonnes (21:00 CET, 20:00 BST)
Barcelona vs Bayern München (21:00 CET, 20:00 BST)
Paris FC vs OH Leuven (21:00 CET, 20:00 BST)
Wednesday, 8 October
Twente vs Chelsea (18:45 CET, 17:45 BST)
Real Madrid vs Roma (18:45 CET, 17:45 BST)
Manchester United vs Vålerenga (21:00 CET, 20:00 BST)
St. Pölten vs Atlético de Madrid (21:00 CET, 20:00 BST)
Wolfsburg vs Paris Saint-Germain (21:00 CET, 20:00 BST)
Women's Champions League key dates
Matchday 2: 15-16 October 2025
Matchday 3: 11-12 November 2025
Matchday 4: 19-20 November 2025
Matchday 5: 9-10 December 2025
Matchday 6: 17 December 2025
Knockout phase play-offs: 11-12 / 18-19 February 2026
Quarter-finals: 24-25 March 2026 / 1-2 April 2026
Semi-finals: 25-26 April 2026 / 2-3 May 2026
Final: 22-24 May 2026 at Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo