+ Title Defenders
In 2021, Barcelona won the Champions League for the first time, against Chelsea in front of empty pandemic-affected stands at Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg. Since then, the Catalan giant has played three more finals in a row – and won the last two. This season, Barça, with Fridolina Rolfö in the team, is the favorite to win another title.
+ Challengers
Lyon – with eight CL titles between 2011 and 2022 and a finalist last time – will likely want to reclaim the throne. Chelsea, Bayern München, Arsenal, and Manchester City must also be counted among Barcelona's top competitors.
+ Criticism
England is the only country to have three teams in the group stage, but Arsenal's coach Jonas Eidevall is not satisfied with the clubs' conditions. Eidevall was critical of the fact that last weekend's league match against Everton was played as late as Sunday, which he believes is too close to Wednesday's meeting with Bayern.
Do the league want English teams to succeed in Europe? I wish the answer to that question was "yes", but their actions suggest otherwise. It shows that it's not something they prioritize, says the Swede according to news agency AFP.
+ Hammarby
"Bajen" has had a sensational development in recent seasons. In 2020, Hammarby didn't even play in the women's top division, but last year the club won its second Swedish Championship title (the first since 1985) and now they will play in the Champions League for the first time after knocking out Benfica in the qualifying round. By Monday afternoon, over 7,000 tickets had been sold for the home premiere against S:t Pölten.
+ Swedes
A total of 17 Swedish players are registered in the foreign clubs' CL squads.
Wolfsburg: Rebecka Blomqvist. Chelsea: Zecira Musovic, Nathalie Björn, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd. Real Madrid: Filippa Angeldal. Bayern: Magdalena Eriksson, Linda Sembrant, Julia Zigiotti Olme. Arsenal: Rosa Kafaji, Lina Hurtig, Stina Blackstenius. Vålerenga: Tove Enblom, Tilde Lindwall, Linn Vickius. Juventus: Emma Kullberg, Hanna Bennison. Barcelona: Fridolina Rolfö.
+ Format
Four groups with four teams each apply again – but for the last time. Next season, the women will switch to a format similar to the one the men have introduced this fall. 18 teams will then compete in a single table in the league phase of the Champions League.
+ Money
The women only get a small fraction compared to the money that the European football association Uefa pays out in the men's tournaments. Hammarby earned around 4.5 million kronor when they reached the group stage, where wins (worth around 550,000 kronor) or draws (worth around 185,000 kronor) are required to earn more money from Uefa.
+ First Round
Tuesday, group A: Lyon-Galatasaray, Roma-Wolfsburg. Group B: Chelsea-Real Madrid, Celtic-Twente.
Wednesday, group C: Bayern München-Arsenal, Vålerenga-Juventus. Group D: Hammarby-S:t Pölten, Manchester City-Barcelona.
