Women's Champions League Matchday 4 preview

The first quarter-finalists could be confirmed after Matchday 4 of the UEFA Women's Champions League group stage on Wednesday and Thursday with Arsenal, Bayern München, Chelsea, Lyon, Manchester City and Real Madrid all hopeful of early progress.

We preview the action.

Wednesday's games

Group A

Lyon vs Roma

Melchie Dumornay was the star as Lyon won 3-0 at Roma to ensure they, and not their hosts, remained perfect in the group and moved three points clear. The second of Dumornay's two first-half goals came direct from the centre circle, and with Lyon also the only team in the group stage yet to concede, they are well-placed to get out of this tough section and reach a record 16th quarter-final with two games to spare, which would be the case if they beat Roma again (and a draw might even be enough).

Roma, having beaten Wolfsburg and Galatasaray, suffered a setback last Wednesday in their bid to avoid a second straight group exit. Last season they fell away following a good start, with Matchday 3 and 4 defeats by Lyon's domestic rivals Paris Saint-Germain.

Wolfsburg vs Galatasaray

Wolfsburg were yet to get off the mark before Matchday 3 and although they did win 5-0 at Galatasaray, they were restricted to one goal before the 63rd minute, when Rebecka Blomqvist scored the first of what proved a valuable hat-trick. Having been six points adrift of the top two, Wolfsburg could potentially catch Roma with another victory ahead of the Italian side visiting Germany on Matchday 5.

Galatasaray have shown spirit as the first Turkish side to compete in the group stage but coach Metin Ülgen admitted after the loss at home to Wolfsburg: "We are in a very difficult group in what is our debut year. We want to prove ourselves by playing at their level, but of course some facts can't be overcome."

Group B

Chelsea vs Celtic

Chelsea had to come from behind to win 2-1 at Celtic on Matchday 3, keeping them perfect in the group and able to go through with another victory should Twente not beat Madrid. With the two Celtic games sandwiching a crucial league match against Manchester City, Chelsea made changes for the first game and their squad depth proved enough, though Aggie Beever-Jones, involved in both goals in Glasgow, will be missing at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday after a late red card.

Celtic remain without a point on their debut at this stage but had the thrill of Murphy Agnew giving them the lead with their first group-stage goal. American forward Agnew said: "We wanted to give Chelsea their toughest game of this group stage, and I think we did that."

Twente vs Real Madrid

These teams were level on three points before they met in Spain, but Madrid's emphatic 7-0 victory boosted the home side's hopes of avoiding a third straight group-stage exit and was an equal blow to Twente's ambitions of emulating Ajax's quarter-final run of last season. Indeed another win would take Madrid through unless Celtic beat Chelsea.

Twente's youthful team did create chances, as they also did in their home Matchday 2 loss to Chelsea, and will aim to wipe out the three-point gap to second place, even if overturning the seven-goal head-to-head deficit would be another matter. Kayleigh van Dooren, the squad's senior player at 25, said after the game in Madrid: "Most of the players have never played in a competition like this. We have to gain experience step by step. There are still three games left. It's going to be difficult, but we have a chance."

Thursday's games

Group C

Vålerenga vs Bayern

Bayern stayed perfect on Matchday 3 with their 3-0 win against Vålerenga and another victory would book a quarter-final place provided Juventus do not then get three points at Arsenal. Pernille Harder remains group stage top scorer after getting her fifth in three games, and Bayern have looked determined to avoid a second straight exit at this stage, even as they have suffered unusually mixed results in the Bundesliga.

Vålerenga are still searching for a first point on their group debut and if they pick up fewer points than Arsenal on Matchday 4, the Norwegian champions will be unable to match the feat of compatriots Brann in reaching the quarter-finals last season. Coach Nils Lexerød said: "We've played two very tough away games: first Arsenal and then Bayern. Now, we have two home games against the same opponents. We have learned from those two games, and the ambition is to give them a really tough test in Oslo."

Arsenal vs Juventus

There has been quite a transformation in fortunes since Arsenal lost 5-2 at Bayern on Matchday 1, as their 4-1 defeat of Vålerenga and then last Tuesday's brilliant 4-0 win at Juventus has left them potentially a home victory away from, like Lyon, an unprecedented 16th quarter-final (provided Vålerenga do not beat Bayern). Both those group wins have come in under the caretaker charge of Renée Slegers, along with a domestic revival, and Frida Maanum, Mariona Caldentey and Caitlin Foord, all on target at Juve, have been showing their best attacking form.

Juventus coach Max Canzi said the home loss was "a defeat that hurts" and another defeat at Arsenal (where they were beaten 1-0 in the group stage two years ago) would end the Italian side's hopes, unless Bayern lose to Vålerenga. Juve might take some inspiration from what happened in 2021/22, where a surprise 2-0 Matchday 4 win at Wolfsburg transformed their fortunes, followed by a hard-earned 0-0 draw at Chelsea, who Juventus eventually pipped to second place.

Group D

Hammarby vs Manchester City 

Hammarby suffered defeat in Manchester on Matchday 3, but the narrow 2-0 loss to City was a big step forward from the previous 9-0 reverse at Barcelona. That will fuel their hopes of a second group home win in front of what is sure to be a big and vociferous crowd at Stockholm Arena.

City, though, now sit on a maximum nine points and they will be through to their first quarter-final since 2020/21 provided they avoid defeat in Sweden. That the goals at home to Hammarby came from young talents Laura Blindkilde Brown and Aoba Fujino shows the strength in depth of a City squad currently missing Vivianne Miedema but still boasting the likes of Khadija Shaw, Lauren Hemp, Jill Roord, Jess Park and Mary Fowler.

St. Pölten vs Barcelona

It was 7-0 to the holders when these sides met last Tuesday in Barcelona, St. Pölten not helped by a lengthy injury list depriving them of some important players, not least in defence. They remain without a point and must win to stay in quarter-final contention, but St. Pölten's key objective at their temporary European home, Vienna's Viola Park, will be to build on the promising aspects of the first game, after which coach Celia Brancao said: "We defended well for 60 minutes."

Having suffered a rare loss with their opening 2-0 defeat at Man City, Barcelona have been looking their usual selves ever since, ten different players sharing the 16 goals totalled in the wins against Hammarby and St. Pölten, in a season when they passed the 50 goal mark in 11 competitive games. They cannot mathematically clinch progress in Austria, but Barcelona will be keen to keep City in their sights ahead of what they hope will turn out to be a first-place decider on Matchday 6 at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.