Matildas Abroad: UWCL group stage kicks off

The UEFA Women's Champions League group stage kicks off tomorrow morning, with plenty of Matildas fighting for a chance to advance to the quarter-finals.

With a new broadcast deal, all games from the group stage onwards will be shown live across the world.

All games will be streamed for free within Australia on streaming platform DAZN, shown live on their YouTube channel.

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Six Commonwealth Bank Matildas will feature in the UWCL group stage, with Ellie Carpenter's Lyon and Dylan Holmes' BK Häcken sides facing off in Group D action.  

Group A

Sam Kerr's Chelsea will face Wolfsburg for the fifth time in seven seasons, with the Blues knocking Wolfsburg out in last season's quarter-finals. 

The last time the two sides met, the fixture ended 5-1 on aggregate, with Kerr bagging one in both legs.

While Chlesea reached their highest ever placing when they came  runners-up in last year's UWCL, their opposition from Germany have previously won the competition back-to-back in the 2012/13 and 2013/14 seasons. 


In their domestic leagues, Wolfsburg and Chelsea sit in second and third place respectively, with Wolfsburg last game a 2-2 draw against the side sitting in ninth place. 

Wolfsburg qualified after beating Bordeaux in a penalty shoot-out decider after they lost a four-year grip on the Frauen-Bundesliga after Bayern Munich lifted last season's title, they did not receive an automatic qualification spot.  

Chelsea will be hoping for a repeat of last time's outing when they welcome Wolfsburg. With a full-strength side that is beginning to click again in the WSL, the game is one of the standout ties from the group stage, with both sides looking to make an early statement on the competition. 

Chelsea vs Wolfsburg
Date: Thursday, October 7
Kick-off: 6:00 am AEST

Group C

Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley and Lydia Williams' Arsenal will be competing in Group C which consists of two newcomers, Hoffenheim and HB Køge and current titleholders FC Barcelona. 

Their first test of the group stage will be taking on reigning champions Barcelona. Arsenal had four convincing wins in the round two qualifiers to make their way into the group stage, and are in sublime form sitting undefeated in first place. 


Arsenal has reached the last eight more than any other team in the UWCL, with new coach Jonas Eidevall signing plenty of stars in the off-season to help his team go one better than their quarter-finals loss in the 2020 UWCL season. 

Lydia Williams made her UWCL debut in Arsenal's most recent win over Salvia Praha, earning a clean sheet.

Barcelona vs Arsenal
Date: Wednesday, October 6
Kick-off: 6:00 am AEST

Group D

After Lyon's five-year reign as champions ended last season, Ellie Carpenter's side are looking to regain their position as Europe's best. 

Their opening fixture of the group stage will be against Dylan Holmes' BK Häcken. The side previously known as Göteborg, are past quarter-finalists in the UWCL.

Lyon are in staggering form in their domestic league, winning all four of their first games. However, an ACL injury to star player Amel Majri in their last game will see her ruled out of the UWCL.

Carpenter-UWCL-win


In her absence, a familiar face joins the squad, with Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg making her return to Lyon's side after 21 months watching them on the sideline. 

Meanwhile, the hosts, BK Häcken look in fine form, beating ladder leaders FC Rosengård over the weekend. Striker Stina Blackstenius will be the key for Häcken to start the campaign off with a win, leading Sweden's goalscoring at the recent Olympic Games with five goals. 

Häcken vs Lyon
Date: Wednesday, October 6
Kick-off: 3:45 am AEST