Meet the UEFA Women's Champions League group contenders

Sixteen teams take part in the UEFA Women's Champions League group stage.

We introduce the contenders.

• Holders Barcelona are joined by fellow former champions Lyon and Frankfurt, though both Wolfsburg (last season's runners-up) and Arsenal miss out after losing to Paris FC.
• Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are former runners-up, while Bayern, Paris FC and Rosengård are past semi-finalists. Häcken, Real Madrid, Roma and Slavia have made the last eight.
• Barcelona, Bayern, Benfica, Chelsea, Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid have reached the group stage in all three seasons since the round was introduced in 2021/22. Roma, Rosengård, St. Pölten and Slavia made it last season, as did Häcken the year before. Ajax, Brann, Frankfurt and Paris FC are in the group stage for the first time under this format.
• Ajax and Brann are the first teams from the Netherlands and Norway respectively to make the group stage. Brann are the only club who have never previously been among the last 16 in any format.
• France is the second nation to have three teams in a group stage after Germany (Wolfsburg, Bayern and Hoffenheim) in 2021/22. Paris is the second city to have two teams in a group stage after London (Arsenal and Chelsea) in 2021/22 and 2022/23.

Group A

• Barcelona beat both Benfica and Rosengård home and away in last season's group stage. Benfica won both games against Rosengård.
• Barcelona also beat Rosengård in the 2016/17 quarter-finals. Frankfurt (while still FFC Frankfurt rather than Eintracht) beat Rosengård (then known as Malmö FF) in the 2003/04 semi-finals.

Barcelona (ESP, holders)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 1
How they qualified: Holders, Spanish champions
Last season: Winners
Domestic honours: 8 x League champions, 9 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Winners (2020/21, 2022/23)

• Aiming to become only the fourth club after Umeå, Wolfsburg and Lyon to retain the title, and the second after OL to make four finals in a row.

Rosengård (SWE)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 13
How they qualified: Swedish champions; W7-2agg vs Spartak Subotica
Last season: Group stage
Domestic honours: 13 x League champions, 6 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Semi-finals (2003/04 as Malmö FF)

• Have reached six quarter-finals in the past ten seasons.

Benfica (POR)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 23
How they qualified: Portuguese champions; W8-1 vs Cliftonville, W4-0 vs SFK Rīga, W11-0agg vs Apollon LFC
Last season: Group stage
Domestic honours: 3 x League champions, 1 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Group stage (2021/22, 2022/23)

• No Portuguese team had reached the last 16 in any format until 2021/22; now Benfica have done so three seasons in a row.

Eintracht Frankfurt (GER)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 32
How they qualified: Third place, Germany; W1-0 vs Slovácko, W1-1, 5-4pens vs Juventus, W8-0agg vs Sparta Praha
Last season: Round 1 final
Domestic honours: 7 x League champions, 9 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Winners (2001/02, 2005/06, 2007/08, 2014/15 as 1. FFC Frankfurt)

• Making their group stage debut in this format but won their four titles under their pre-merger guise of 1. FFC Frankfurt, and only Lyon have more than either that tally or their six final appearances.

Group B

• Lyon beat Slavia in the 2015/16 quarter-finals. In last season's group stage, St. Pölten won 1-0 at Slavia and drew 1-1 away.
• Lyon against Brann will bring together sisters Ada and Andrine Hegerberg.

Lyon (FRA)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 2
How they qualified: French champions
Last season: Quarter-finals
Domestic honours: 16 x League champions, 10 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Winners (2010/11, 2011/12, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2021/22)

• Have reached a record ten finals in winning their unmatched eight titles, most recently beating Barcelona 3-1 in Turin in 2022.

Slavia Praha (CZE)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 11
How they qualified: Czech champions; W11-0agg vs Universitatea Olimpia Cluj
Last season: Group stage
Domestic honours: 20 x League champions (incl. Czechoslovakia), 4 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Quarter-finals (2015/16, 2017/18, 2018/19)

• Slavia were the first Czech team to make the new group stage last season, drawing 0-0 away to eventual finalists Wolfsburg.

St. Pölten (AUT)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 14
How they qualified: Austrian champions; W3-0 vs PAOK, W4-1agg vs Valur
Last season: Group stage
Domestic honours: 8 x League champions, 9 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Round of 16 (2020/21) / Group stage (2022/23)

• Took seven attempts before they reached the old round of 16 in 2020/21 but now among the last 16 for the third time in four seasons.

Brann (NOR)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 64
How they qualified: Norwegian champions; W5-0 vs Lokomotiv Stara Zagora, W3-0 vs Anderlecht, W6-0agg vs Glasgow City
Last season: Round 2
Domestic honours: 2 x League champions, 2 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Round 2 (2022/23)

• The first Norwegian side to reach the group stage, in only the former IL Sandviken's second European campaign, after eliminating former quarter-finalists Glasgow City.

Group C

• Paris knocked Bayern out in the quarter-finals of 2015/16 and 2021/22.
• Bayern beat Ajax in the 2020/21 round of 32.

Bayern München (GER)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 5
How they qualified: German champions
Last season: Quarter-finals
Domestic honours: 5 x League champions, 1 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Semi-finals (2018/19, 2020/21)

• Since going out to Arsenal in the last eight and regaining the German title, Bayern have rebuilt with signings including Chelsea duo Pernille Harder and Magdalena Eriksson as well as Sam Kerr (the Scottish international signed from Rangers rather than her Chelsea and Australia namesake).

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 4
How they qualified: French runners-up; W4-2agg vs Manchester United
Last season: Quarter-finals
Domestic honours: 1 x League champions, 3 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Runners-up (2014/15, 2016/17)

• Have reached at least the quarter-finals eight times in nine seasons (only missing out in 2017/18 when they were not in Europe).

Roma (ITA)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 27
How they qualified: Italian champions; W9-1agg vs Vorskla
Last season: Quarter-finals
Domestic honours: 1 x League champions, 1 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Quarter-finals (2022/23)

• Went from round 1 to the last eight on debut in 2022/23, knocking out Glasgow City, Paris FC, Sparta Praha and Slavia Praha, all of whom had previously reached the quarter-finals at least.

Ajax (NED)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 29
How they qualified: Dutch champions; W3-0 vs Dinamo-BSUPC, W8-0agg vs Zürich
Last season: Round 2
Domestic honours: 3 x League champions, 5 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Round of 16 (2018/19)

• The first Dutch side to reach the group stage after eliminating Zürich, having run Arsenal close in round 2 the season before.

Group D

• Chelsea beat Real Madrid 2-0 at home and drew 1-1 away in last season's group stage.
• When Häcken were known as Göteborg FC, and Paris FC were in their previous guise of FCF Juvisy-Essonne, the pair met in the 2012/13 quarter-finals, the French side winning both legs, and 4-1 on aggregate.

Chelsea (ENG)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 6
How they qualified: English champions
Last season: Semi-finals
Domestic honours: 6 x League champions, 5 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Runners-up (2020/21)

• Lost to 2021 final nemeses Barcelona in the semis last season but drew 1-1 at Camp Nou, the first team to avoid a European away defeat by the Blaugrana since Lyon in the 2017/18 quarter-finals.

Real Madrid (ESP)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 12
How they qualified: Spanish runners-up; W5-1agg vs Vålerenga
Last season: Group stage
Domestic honours: Best league finish – 2nd place
Previous European best: Quarter-finals (2021/22)

• Provided eight of Spain's FIFA Women's World Cup-winning squad, including winning goalscorer Olga Carmona.

Häcken (SWE)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 24
How they qualified: Swedish runners-up; W4-3agg vs Twente
Last season: Round 2
Domestic honours: 1 x League champions, 3 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Quarter-finals (2011/12, 2012/13)

• Known as Göteborg until their association with Häcken from 2021, they have made the group stage for the second time under their new name.

Paris FC (FRA)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23): 31
How they qualified: Third place, France; W4-0 vs Kryvbas, W3-3, 4-2pens vs Arsenal, W5-3agg vs Wolfsburg
Last season: Round 1 final
Domestic honours: 6 x League champions, 1 x Cup winners
Previous European best: Semi-finals (2012/13, as Juvisy-Essonne)

• Knocked out former champions Arsenal and Wolfsburg (neither of whom had ever failed to make the quarter-finals) to reach their first group stage. Made a semi-final and the 2010/11 quarter-final in their former guise of Juvisy.

Cup winners refers only to main FA national cup in each country.