Eight-time champion Lyon and Italian upstart Roma both have perfect records going into their Women’s Champions League meeting that highlights the third round of matches this week.
While five teams — including Manchester City, Chelsea and Bayern Munich — have won their two opening matches, Group A is the only one with two teams on six points ahead of Lyon’s trip to Roma on Wednesday.
At the other end, newcomers Celtic, Galatasaray, and Vålerenga all hope to earn their first points in the group stage. So does Austrian team St. Pölten, although it is facing defending champion Barcelona away in Spain.
Manchester City will be without star signing Vivianne Miedema when it hosts Sweden’s Hammarby on Tuesday. The 28-year-old Netherlands forward had another operation on her troublesome left knee last month, and it’s not clear when she might be able to return.
Man City tops Group D after beating Barcelona 2-0 in the opening round and also tops the English league. Hammarby was humbled 9-0 by Barcelona in the previous round and will rely on ex-Man City midfielder Julie Blakstad, who joined the Swedes in January.
Barcelona is trying to become the first club to win its group in all four years since the introduction of the format.
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Led by Pernille Harder, the competition’s top scorer with four goals, Bayern is a big favourite for its home game against Vålerenga on Tuesday as it tries to stay perfect in Group C. However, the Norwegian club is on a high after retaining its domestic title with two games to go.
Arsenal travels to Turin to face Juventus after both sides lost to Bayern and beat Vålerenga. The London club led by interim coach Renée Slegers was boosted by a 5-0 victory over Brighton in the English league while Juventus is dominating its domestic competition under new coach Max Canzi.
Roma hopes to learn a lesson from last year ahead of the fight for top spot in Group A against Lyon. The Italian club led its group at this stage only to finish last at the end. Lyon lost the final to Barcelona last season and is yet to concede a goal in this campaign.
Galatasaray needs to recover from a 6-1 loss to Roma in Istanbul in the previous round. The Turkish club is facing two-time champion Wolfsburg.
Chelsea travels to Celtic on Wednesday hoping to continue its hot scoring streak under new coach Sonia Bompastor. Chelsea is coming off a 3-0 away win over Liverpool in the league that marked a sixth straight victory.
The London club has scored a total of 23 goals in the league, and netted three in both wins over Real Madrid and Twente in Group B. Real beat Celtic 4-0 in the previous game for its first points in the group and faces a youthful Twente squad next.
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