UWCL DRAW: Arsenal and FC Barcelona to meet in league phase

UWCL DRAW: Arsenal and FC Barcelona to meet in league phase Arsenal will take on European champions FC Barcelona in the league phase of this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League. The draw for the league phase of this season’s competition took place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland this morning with Arsenal’s meeting with FC Barcelona being the standout tie. The 18-team league phase came in last season and replaced the former group stage format. All participants compete within one league structure with the top four teams advancing to the quarter-finals. Teams that finish in fifth to 12th place will contest play-offs while the remaining clubs will be eliminated. As teams with high UEFA club co-efficient rankings, Chelsea and Arsenal entered the draw in Pot 1 while Manchester City found themselves in Pot 3 as a result of their inferior recent European record. The draw determined that Chelsea will take on Paris Saint-Germain (home), OL Lyonnes (away), AS Roma (home), BK Häcken (away), Austria Vienna (home) and OH Leuven (away) while Arsenal will face OL Lyonnes (home), FC Barcelona (away), SL Benfica (home), Paris FC (away). HB Køge (home) and Inter Milan (away). Finally, Manchester City will play Paris Saint-Germain (home), FC Bayern Munich (away), Real Madrid (home), BK Häcken (away), Austria Vienna (home), Inter Milan (away). Full match details will be published by UEFA in due course. The league phase will start on 22/23 September 2026 and will run until 16 December 2026.