UEFA Women's Champions League: What to look out for on Wednesday

Two of the competition's biggest names go head to head in Wednesday's UEFA Women's Champions League group action.

Playing home and away until mid-December, and broadcast live across the world by DAZN/YouTube, the 16 competing clubs are under the spotlight like never before: we preview the action.

All kick-off times CET

Group C: Barcelona vs Hoffenheim (18:45), HB Køge vs Arsenal (18:45)
Group D: Benfica vs Häcken (21:00), Lyon vs Bayern München (21:00)

What to look out for

Lyon and Bayern meet again
Lyon's new-look squad have begun in convincing fashion and will be five points clear should they defeat a Bayern team whose opening away game in this group brought a disappointing 0-0 draw at Benfica. Victory is far from guaranteed, however.

Indeed, both teams can look to recent meetings for inspiration: Lyon won their one-off quarter-final contest 2-1 in Bilbao in August 2020, but this summer it ended 4-2 to Bayern in a friendly tournament in Toulouse – a game the German champions actually led 4-0 before late consolations from Amel Majri and Wendie Renard.

Admittedly, that was a pre-season game with key players missing, but Bayern seem to have eclipsed Wolfsburg as Germany's top team, for now at least. This trip to Lyon therefore represents a perfect chance to showcase the European pedigree they have built up over the last couple of campaigns.

Looking ahead

• Following the same match pattern as the men's club group stages, all these fixtures will be reversed on Matchday 4, with the Group C and D return games next Wednesday. The first quarter-finalists could even be decided then, though everything depends on how the Matchday 3 encounters unfold.

Key dates

Group stage
Matchday 4: 17/18 November
Matchday 5: 8/9 December
Matchday 6: 15/16 December

Quarter-final & semi-final draw
20 December

Juventus Stadium in Turin will stage the finalUEFA via Getty Images

Quarter-finals
First leg: 22/23 March
Second leg: 30/31 March

Semi-finals
First leg: 23/24 April
Second leg: 30 April/1 May

Final (Juventus Stadium, Turin)
Date tbc