Women’s Champions League group stage preview, predictions

For the second season running, the UEFA Women’s Champions League is employing a group stage to whittle the final 16 teams down to eight quarterfinalists, and just like in the inaugural season, the draw has thrown some familiar foes together.

– Women’s CL draw: Lyon pitted against Arsenal, Juventus

While there are questions to be asked about the new format UEFA have brought in — 55 teams get knocked out of the competition at the “qualification” stage before the Champions League properly starts — we’re shaping up for an entertaining tournament from here. The four groups themselves consist of 12 teams that have been forged in the somewhat complicated qualification rounds, as well as the top-four ranked sides, who were given a bye. Though as we saw last season, the groups can yet throw up a touch of spice.

How they got here:
– Chelsea: automatically qualified for group stage as 2021-22 WSL champions
– PSG: defeated BK Hacken in Round 2 (League Path)
– Real Madrid: defeated Sturm Graz and Man City in Round 1, Rosenborg in Round 2 (League Path)
– Vllaznia: defeated Spartak Myjava in Round 1, Vorslka Poltava in Round 2 (Champions Path)

In group A, lowly Vllaznia will at least provide Chelsea, Paris-Saint Germain and Real Madrid a complicated trip to the northern city of Shkoder, though that might be of little comfort to the Albanian champions. The business end of the group will be about the other three teams as Real Madrid will likely pose a far greater question this season than last when they were also drawn into a group with PSG, although the French runners-up were far more settled a year ago.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (U.S.)

PSG will also be clashing with a team they’ve met in the competition before in Chelsea, the…