Defending champions Arsenal are set to launch their Women’s Champions League campaign on Tuesday with a high-stakes home clash against European giants Lyon, as the competition ushers in a bold new format this season.
The revamped tournament features an 18-team league phase, replacing the old 16-team group stage. Each club will now play six fixtures three home and three away with the top four sides progressing straight to the quarter-finals. Teams ranked fifth to twelfth will battle it out in a new knockout play-off for the remaining spots.
Arsenal, who triumphed 5–3 on aggregate the last time they met Lyon, now face a sterner test amid an unsteady spell domestically. Renee Slegers’s side has stumbled through three consecutive winless matches in the Women’s Super League, slipping to fifth after a narrow 3–2 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday, following earlier draws against Manchester United and Aston Villa.
Their recent struggles have laid bare defensive vulnerabilities, particularly in the absence of captain Leah Williamson, whose injury has left a gaping hole in the backline.
“When we have momentum, we need to capitalise, be ruthless, and protect ourselves for when the game shifts again,” Slegers reflected after the loss to City a statement that hints at both frustration and resolve ahead of Tuesday’s European test.
With Lyon’s record eight titles and Arsenal’s recent wobble setting the stage, the Gunners will need more than home advantage to make a strong statement in their title defence.
