Women's Champions League knockout phase play-offs preview: OH Leuven-Arsenal, Paris FC-Real Madrid, Wolfsburg-Juventus, Atleti-Man United

The 2025/26 Uefa Women's Champions League resumes with the first-ever knockout phase play-offs, to decide who will join Barcelona, OL Lyonnes, Chelsea and Bayern München in the quarter-finals.

here we preview the four two-legged ties between the teams that finished fifth and 12th in the league phase table, with both seasoned European competitors and teams making their debuts at this stage of the competition in the mix.

Wednesday

OH Leuven v Arsenal (6.45pm CET)

Fresh from winning the inaugural Fifa Women's Champions Cup, reigning champions Arsenal play an OH Leuven side they beat 3-0 on the final night of the league phase for the chance to face Chelsea in the quarter-finals.

The Gunners are boosted by the recent return from injury of winger Chloe Kelly and goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar, and have last season's experience of successfully navigating knockout stages to call upon.

Their opponents are less experienced on the European stage but have defied expectations by reaching the knockout phase in their debut campaign. OH Leuven are in fine form domestically, leading the Belgian Women's Superleague and, although they face a tough task against the title holders, they will hope to continue writing history by building on their one win and three draws from the league phase.

Key stat: Arsenal lost the first leg yet went on to win on aggregate in all three of their two-legged ties in last season’s competition (including qualifying).

Paris FC v Real Madrid (9pm CET)

These two sides are also familiar with each other, having drawn 1-1 in Madrid on Matchday 3 when Caroline Weir's last-gasp equaliser rescued a point for the Spanish side.

Madrid started their campaign with a statement 6-2 victory over Roma, but mixed results followed that saw them drop out of the automatic quarter-final spots. Paris picked up momentum by securing vital wins against Benfica and Vålerenga on Matchdays 4 and 5, which took them through to the knockout phase for the first time since they were competing as Juvisy in 2012/13.

Las Blancas will be aiming to replicate or better last season's success of reaching the quarter-finals, where their Spanish rivals Barcelona await the victors of this play-off.

Key stat: Madrid have won the first leg of their last five two-legged ties in the competition (including qualifying).

Thursday

Wolfsburg v Juventus (6.45pm CET)

Cristiana Girelli scored an added-time equaliser in a 2-2 thriller when these sides met in Turin during the 2021/22 group stage and this promises to be another intriguing encounter with only a point separating the teams in the final league phase table.

Wolfsburg have reached at least the quarter-finals in 12 of their previous 13 campaigns, while Juventus are aiming to reach the last eight for just the second time.

Both teams scored 13 goals in the league phase and kept only one clean sheet each, so, with the opportunity to take on eight-time champions OL Lyonnes in the last eight at stake, this has the potential to deliver thrills and goals.

Key stat: Wolfsburg have never lost a two-legged Uefa competition tie to an Italian team, winning all three previous match-ups.

Atleti v Manchester United (9pm CET)

Manchester United recorded a narrow 1-0 win when Fridolina Rolfö's first-half volley separated these sides on Matchday 2.

The knockout phase is unchartered territory for the English side, who progressed through qualifying for the first time this season. But United will take confidence from their four league phase wins and joint-leading three clean sheets in the league phase.

With Bayern München awaiting the winner, Atleti will be similarly as hungry to continue their Women's Champions League journey and repeat their heroics of 2019/2020, when they reached the quarter-finals for the only time in their history. The Spanish side scored 13 goals in their six league phase games, so this promises to be a fascinating contest between one of the competition's toughest defences and most potent attacks.

Key stat: Atleti have won four of their last five Uefa competition two-legged ties, while Man United have won one and lost one of their previous two.

The first season of the revamped 18‑team Uefa Women’s Champions League league phase has marked a major step forward for elite women’s club football. Replacing traditional groups with a league phase has produced tighter contests, more meaningful matches and marquee fixtures from the start – raising both the competitive standard on the pitch and engagement off it.

Nadine Kessler, Uefa women’s football director: “What we have seen so far this season is exactly what we hoped: dynamism, unpredictability, comebacks, debutants making their mark and top clashes between big teams. The Uefa Women’s Champions League is building on its 25-year history and cementing its position as the global benchmark in women’s club football. We are proud to see fans across the world embracing the competition and its iconic clubs and players in even greater numbers than before.”

Across 54 matches, the new format delivered 181 goals and featured players from 41 nations. Every match mattered as qualification and seeding scenarios for the knockout-stages were in play until the final whistle on Matchday 6.

With 53.7% of matches either drawn or decided by a single goal, a sharp rise from 27% at the same stage last season, games have also been more open as 54% of fixtures featured goals from both teams, up from 37.5% in 2024/25, contributing to a total of 181 goals at an average of 3.35 per match. While the attacking nature of the competition has remained, the quality of competition tightened considerably: the average winning margin reduced from 2.88 goals to 1.98. Even scoring first is no longer decisive – what used to guarantee an 88%-win rate now results in victory just 61% of the time, underscoring closer contests, greater shifts in momentum and more frequent lead changes and come from behind victories across the league phase.

Top clashes arrived early, too, with the league phase featuring two past finals and four past semi-finals – matchups once reserved exclusively for the latter stages. On Matchday 1, eight‑time champions OL Lyonnes and reigning holders Arsenal renewed their rivalry from last season’s semi-final. While Arsenal emerged victorious in that tie, this time it was the French side who shifted the narrative, delivering a statement win over the titleholders. On Matchday 4, Chelsea and FC Barcelona Femení added another chapter to their continued rivalry, meeting once again after their semi-final encounter last season, with this latest showdown ending in a 1-1 stalemate.

Alexia Putellas, FC Barcelona Femení captain: "The new Uefa Women’s Champions League format appeals to me. I think you always play top teams in this competition because they have to be terrific to qualify. But I think this new format adds further tests and an extra layer of interest because there will be more meetings between historically successful and famous clubs."

The single-table format also broadened elite‑level experience. Newcomers and emerging clubs were tested directly against the competition’s full competitive spectrum. Pot 4 clubs demonstrated the growth the exposure of playing better sides has afforded them by taking an average of 1.1 points per game in the new format, compared with 0.6 last season in the old group stage. Perhaps the best exponents of the new system showing the competitiveness and unpredictability of the league phase were debutants OH Leuven, who took points off established teams, shaping the qualification battle across the league table while earning themselves a place in the play-offs. The structure ensured that every club had both visibility and influence – hallmarks of a format designed to expand meaningful participation.

Julie Biesmans, OH Leuven midfielder: "I think, for teams like us, the new format is really interesting, because you play against different opponents, and mostly, when there is a group stage, you already kind of know who is going to finish first or second. I think this gave us a bigger chance to actually go through, and that’s what happened, even if we didn’t think about it, we didn’t dream about it. But yeah, it happened, and that’s why this format is really nice for us."

The intensity never dipped. On Matchday 6, seven of nine matches still carried qualification stakes, compared with just three of eight of final group games last season – underlining the sustained tension created by the new system.

Georgia Stanway, Bayern München midfielder: "It’s not a matter of playing the same team twice, both home and away but it’s about being on it and focused, and in that moment, because you know you’re not going to play that team again. You need to make the most of the 90 minutes that are in front of you."

The league phase’s sporting success has been matched by impressive audience growth. Cumulative live viewership has reached 13.5-million, a milestone that was only achieved during the final last season. This equates to an average of 2.25-million viewers per matchweek, with 44 broadcast partners delivering live coverage across 207 territories.

Fans around the world have embraced the competition’s elevated quality, star players and increasingly unpredictable narrative.

The season will conclude at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo on 23 May, the first time the Norwegian capital will host the final.

Just six matchdays into the season, the Uefa Women’s Champions League’s new league phase has delivered an unprecedented uplift in live viewership.

UC3, the joint venture between Uefa and European Football Clubs (EFC) that controls and manages the strategic marketing, sales and delivery of commercial rights for Uefa club competitions, is proud to announce that the new Uefa Women’s Champions League (UWCL) league phase has generated a remarkable 164% increase in live viewership across the first six matchdays.

Underpinning this unprecedented shift is a series of groundbreaking global media rights agreements secured by UC3 to broadcast Europe’s elite women’s club competition across 207 territories, with 44 broadcast partners showing live matches throughout the season. In Europe, Disney+ and an extensive network of free-to-air broadcasters are bringing the UWCL to larger audiences than ever before.

Broadcasters contributing to this significant uplift during the league phase include the BBC (UK), L’Équipe (France), TV4 (Sweden), 3Cat (Spain), Mega (Greece) and multiple European Broadcasting Union members, including RTP (Portugal), NRK and TV2 (Norway), NOS (Netherlands), ORF (Austria), RTBF and VRT (Belgium), ČT (Czechia) and TRT (Türkiye).

Outside of Europe, coverage from CBS (USA, English-language), ESPN (USA Spanish-language, Central and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania), TVC Deportes (Mexico), Sporty TV (Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Kenya), beIN SPORTS (MENA and Southeast Asia), FanCode (India) and Shinai Sports (China) has further extended the global reach of the competition.

The UWCL league phase has attracted 2.6 times more live viewers than last season at the same stage. Across the 54 matches played, the average live audience increased by 135% year on year.

Fan engagement has also extended well beyond the live broadcast. Across social platforms, total interactions reached 774-million, an 84% increase on last season, highlighting the UWCL’s rapidly growing digital footprint.

The 2025/26 season is proving to be the most competitive yet. The introduction of the new format has increased drama and intensity on the pitch, with 54% of matches drawn or decided by a single goal, compared to 27% at the same stage of the 2024/25 season. Matches have also been more open, with both teams scoring in 54% of games, up from 38% last season.

To better showcase the quality of play, production standards have been significantly upgraded. Every match now features a minimum of six cameras, increasing to eight from the quarter-finals and up to 14 cameras for the final, delivering a more immersive viewing experience.

Media partners have also expanded their editorial commitment to the competition. Disney+, the home of the UWCL in Europe, is delivering coverage in 11 languages, with on-pitch presentation at every match. Its innovative conference programme, presented by Alex Scott alongside Fara Williams, Lianne Sanderson and Nedum Onuoha, covered all nine fixtures on the final league phase matchday and engaged football fans across Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania.

In the United States, CBS elevated UWCL coverage with extensive, expert-led programming throughout the league phase. This culminated on Matchday 5 with the first-ever Uefa Champions League and Uefa Women’s Champions League crossover show, combining UCL Today and UWCL Today talent, including Kate Scott, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, Hannah Cash, Kelley O’Hara and Jen Beattie.