The 2022-23 UEFA Women’s Champions League Preview
Gripping group stages, pulsating player battles and new formatting - everything you need to know ahead of the new campaign
Domestic leagues across Europe have sparked into life, with some of the continent’s brightest stars showcasing their talents once again after the hugely successful summer for women’s football following the UEFA Women’s European Championships.
Dominic Mills
Published on October 13th, 2022
In this Insight:
The return of domestic football brings with it the hopes and dreams of continental glory, as Europe’s most premier club competition, the UEFA Women’s Champions League dawns on the horizon.
Kicking off on Wednesday the 19th and Thursday the 20th of October, the road to the final in Eindhoven, Netherlands, will see 16 teams compete across four groups.
The group phase will be split up into six separate stages, with the deciding games being played on the 21st and 22nd of December, before the first leg of quarter final kicks off on the 21st and 22nd of March.
With all 61 games of the tournament available to stream on DAZN or Youtube, there’s plenty of star quality on show - let’s see what the 2022/23 edition of the tournament has in store…
The UEFA Women's Champions League Group Stage
Group A
Chelsea (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Vllaznia (ALB)
Group B
Wolfsburg (GER)
Slavia Praha (CZE)
St. Pölten (AUT)
Roma (ITA)
Group C
Lyon (FRA, holders)
Arsenal (ENG)
Juventus (ITA)
Zürich (SUI)
Group D
Barcelona (ESP)
Bayern München (GER)
Rosengård (SWE)
Benfica (POR)
Player Battles
With the night’s getting longer and darker, the stadium lights so synonymous with the UEFA Women’s Champions League will once again cast the spotlight on the battles between the world’s greatest players.
Although competing at opposite ends of the pitch, few battles this season will come close to the one between the competition's all-time top scorer (59 goals), Ada Hegerberg and the ever-prolific Vivianne Miedema. The pair will face-off on matchday one, as Lyon host Arsenal.
Another astounding attacking duel to keep your eyes peeled for is between fellow Ballon d’OR nominees Sam Kerr and Marie-Antoinette Katoto. The pair are coming off the back of brilliant domestic seasons, with Kerr finishing as top-scorer, as Chelsea won the league and cup double and Katoto becoming PSG’s all time top-scorer - goals are almost guaranteed!
Barcelona will also be displaying some of the world’s greatest talents with Aitana Bonmatí looking to add to her ever-consistent displays and Fridolina Rolfö and Asisat Oshoala continuing to bag the goals.
UEFA Women’s European Championship stars Beth Mead, Alexandra Popp, Lena Oberdorf, Lina Magull and Wendie Renard will also be trying to recreate their startling summer form in this season’s competition.
A Game-Changing Ball
As well as highly anticipated matches and spine-tingling talent, this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League is setting new standards as it’s the first time that individual designs have been created for both the UEFA men’s and women’s Champions League.
With two separate colour spectrums, Adidas have created a unique ball for the women’s competition for the first time.
The new design has kept the iconic UEFA Champions League star in its prominent place on the ball - very fitting considering the talent on show for this season’s edition of the tournament.
