The UEFA Women’s Champions League will play its final matchday of the new-look league phase on Dec. 17, with all nine games kicking off at 3 p.m. ET (8 p.m. GMT).
All 18 teams have been battling to progress since early October and we now have a rough idea which 12 teams will be able to qualify for the knockout stages, either automatically or via a playoff.
The knockout draw, which sets the full path of the bracket, will be held on Thursday, Dec. 18. There is no country protection, meaning teams from the same league can face each other throughout the knockouts.
Here’s everything you need to know.
How does qualification work?
The top four in the league-phase table go straight through to the two-legged quarterfinals, which are to be played on March 24 and April 1.
The eight teams in positions 5 through to 12 go into the knockout-phase playoffs, which will be played on Feb. 11-12 and Feb. 18-19, to earn a place in the quarterfinals.
Teams in positions 13 to 18 are eliminated.
Then, from the league-phase playoffs onwards, the competition has a two-legged format through to the semifinals, with a traditional one-legged final.
How does the league phase feed into the knockout bracket?
The new format gives importance to league placing with teams paired. The higher you finish, the more favorable your path, including that jump direct to the quarterfinals for the top four.
Here’s how it works.
For the knockout-phase playoffs, the draw will create four ties from:
11 or 12 vs. 5 or 6 (two ties)
9 or 10 vs. 7 or 8 (two ties)
The draw will place the four ties which have been created into a position in the bracket, in either the silver or blue half.
Then the paired teams in positions 1 & 2, and 3 & 4, will be drawn into one of two possible positions, again to create fixtures.
For the quarterfinals, the draw will be:
The winners of a tie involving 7, 8, 9 and 10 will play 1 or 2 (two ties)
The winners of a tie involving 5, 6, 11 and 12 will play 3 or 4 (two ties)
The whole bracket is now set.
The teams that finish in positions 1-4 will be at home in the second leg of the quarterfinals.
The semifinal ties are already set by the bracket draw. In principle, the teams ranked 1 and 2 will play the semifinal second leg at home. However, if 1 and/or 2 are knocked out in the quarterfinals, the home right will pass to the team that has eliminated them. For instance, if Arsenal (first) are knocked out by Paris FC (ninth), it’s Paris FC who will have home advantage in the final four.
So, it isn’t based on league placing — and that means it’s impossible for the teams that finish in third and fourth to get a home semifinal second leg, as they cannot claim it off first or second.
Who is through already?
Barcelona and OL Lyonnes both have 13 points, which secures them a top-four spot.
Chelsea, Juventus, Real Madrid, Wolfsburg, Arsenal, Manchester United and Paris FC have all secured at least a knockout-phase playoff spot.
Atlético Madrid basically have as well, as Valerenga can go level on points with them, but have a vastly inferior goal difference and would need to win 10-0.
OH Leuven are favorites for the final 12th spot, unless they lose or draw vs. Arsenal and Valerenga beat Bayern.
Who is out already?
Bottom side St. Pölten are out, while FC Twente, Benfica, Roma, Paris Saint-Germain (who lost their first four games) also can’t catch OH Leuven in 12th at this point.
What’s at stake in the final league-phase fixtures?
VfL Wolfsburg vs. Chelsea: A Wolfsburg win could propel them into the top four and automatic qualification (depending on other results). But they’d need Real Madrid and Juventus not to win. Chelsea will seal top four with a win, but if they draw, then Juventus, Real Madrid or Bayern could usurp them.
OH Leuven vs. Arsenal: Leuven should be safe in 12th spot even with a defeat, but if Valerenga beat Bayern then even a draw wouldn’t be enough as they would lose out on goal difference. Arsenal need other results to go their way to claim a top-four spot, with Chelsea, Juventus, Real Madrid, Bayern and Wolfsburg above them.
Bayern Munich vs. Valerenga: To finish in the top four, Bayern need to better the results of Juventus or Real Madrid as they have a vastly inferior goal difference. Valerenga need a miracle to claim the final playoff spot and avoid elimination: they have to win and hope Arsenal don’t lose to Leuven.
FC Twente vs. Real Madrid: Madrid will want to score as many as possible and get the win against the already eliminated Twente, as it’s close with Juve for fourth spot. If they do that, an automatic place is theirs.
Juventus vs. Manchester United: Juve are currently fourth but are only edging Madrid on goals scored, so they really need to win. A draw will likely put them into the playoffs. United could edge into the top-tier of the playoff draw if they get a win, or a draw and Wolfsburg lose to Chelsea.
OL Lyonnes vs. Atlético Madrid: Atlético will want to finish as high as possible to get a better playoff draw, and only a win will do that. They have a much better goal difference (+8) than the teams around them, but a draw would only get them as high as 10th. OL Lyonnes are through but will be keen to finish top — though they are six goals behind Barcelona.
Paris FC vs. Barcelona: Similar to Atlético, Paris FC but need a win to get into spots 5-8, but their goal difference is worse than the teams there if they draw. Barcelona are through but will be keen to finish top.
Roma vs. St. Pölten: Nothing, both are out.
Benfica vs. Paris Saint-Germain: Nothing, both are out.
When will the knockout games be played?
Playoffs:
Leg 1: Feb. 11-12
Leg 2: Feb. 18-19
Quarterfinals
Leg 1: March 23-25
Leg 2: March 31-April 2
Semifinals
Leg 1: April 24-26
Leg 2: May 1-3
Final
May 22, 23 at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, Norway.
