We use the Opta Power Rankings to assess the difficulty of each team’s UEFA Women’s Champions League fixtures in the 2026-27 league phase.
Following the draw for the league phase of the 2026-27 Women’s Champions League last Friday, 54 fixtures have been set across six matchdays, with the first round of games now less than two weeks away.
This year marks the second season in which Europe’s best will go head-to-head in an 18-team league-phase format.
Each side now knows the identity of their six opponents, but given that no two teams have the same opponents, this isn’t a level playing field in the same way that a ‘normal’ league would be.
So, who has been handed the kindest draw? And which teams face the toughest road through the league phase?
Well, we can put a number on that. We’ve used the Opta Power Rankings, which rank over 2,500 women’s teams across the world on the same scale, to find an objective rating for each team’s six Champions League fixtures for 2026-27.
For each club, we take the average rating of the six teams they will face. This in turn gives us a difficulty rating for each club’s fixture list.
The equation is simple: the higher the average opponent rating, the more difficult the fixture schedule.
How important could a kinder set of fixtures prove to be, though? Well, Barcelona had the easiest fixture difficulty of any side in the competition’s league-phase schedule last season (84.5), before finishing top of the table and going on to lift the trophy for a fourth time.
Their route to the final saw them come through ties against Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Lyon, but they were rarely pushed to their limits: they beat Madrid 6-2 on aggregate, edged Bayern 5-3 over two legs and then swept aside OL Lyonnes 4-0 in the final.
Lyon, who finished second only on goal difference, had a much tougher knockout run, facing Wolfsburg and Arsenal before meeting Barcelona in the final.
Given they are the best team in the world according to the Opta Power Rankings, Barcelona may well have gone on to win the competition regardless of where they’d finished in the league phase, but finishing top certainly didn’t hurt.
So, with all that said, which teams have the ‘easiest’ league phase fixtures in 2026-27 – and who has been dealt supposedly the toughest hand?
Which Teams Have the Easiest Champions League Fixtures?
Of the WSL clubs, Chelsea have received the most favourable draw. Their six opponents have an average Opta Power Rating of 83.0, making theirs the joint-easiest fixture list in the competition, alongside Juventus.
The Blues, who are currently ranked third in the world according to the Power Rankings, will face both of the possible lowest-rated teams from Pot 1 travelling to OL Lyonnes (4) before hosting Paris Saint Germain (21). A rule preventing clubs from the same association meeting in the league phase meant Chelsea could not be drawn against fellow English side Arsenal.
Their league phase concludes with a trip to OH Leuven, the second lowest-ranked team in the competition and 107th in the world according to the Opta Power Rankings.
Barcelona have also been handed a relatively favourable schedule, although there are two obvious tests. They will travel to Bayern Munich (2) and host Arsenal (6), two of the strongest teams in the competition.
Beyond those fixtures, however, the holders have relatively little to fear on paper. Their other four opponents include Paris FC, HB Køge and Servette – three of the five lowest-ranked teams in the league phase.
Barcelona’s record against those three sides provides further encouragement. They have never lost to any of them and have yet to concede a goal against any of the trio in any European competition.
There are, however, reasons to question whether this Barcelona side can be expected to dominate in quite the same way, having lost some big players.
Salma Paralluelo has joined OL Lyonnes, while Ona Batlle has moved to Arsenal. London City Lionesses also made a major statement in the summer transfer market, bringing in both Mapi León and Alexia Putellas.
Former Barça star Putellas was directly involved in more goals than any other player in the 2025-26 UWCL, recording 14 goal involvements – eight goals and six assists.
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2 months ago Emily CloggManchester City, meanwhile, return to Europe’s elite competition as reigning WSL champions after missing out last season. Their opponents have an average Opta Power Ranking of 85.3, putting them among the nine teams with the most favourable fixture lists.
Their return to the competition begins with perhaps one of the toughest possible introductions: Bayern Munich away.
City will also face Real Madrid at home and BK Häcken away, with the pair ranked 13th and 11th in the world respectively.
Their league phase ends with a trip to Austria Wien, the lowest-ranked team in the competition at 165th in the world.
Which Teams Have the Toughest Champions League Fixtures?
Among the English sides, Arsenal have the toughest fixture list, with their six opponents averaging an Opta Power Ranking of 86.4.
The Gunners face two very strong Pot 1 opponents, travelling to Barcelona before hosting OL Lyonnes in back-to-back matchdays.
Arsenal have beaten Lyon only once outside the knockout stages of the competition, in October 2022, while they have lost both of their previous meetings with Barcelona.
Their start to the league phase should be more forgiving, however, with HB Køge at home and Paris FC away – two of the five lowest-ranked teams in the competition, ranked 84th and 40th in the world respectively according to the Opta Power Rankings.
They will finish against Inter, who reached the league phase after overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Wolfsburg to progress on penalties in qualifying. It will be the first time since the 2023-24 competition that Wolfsburg have not competed in the competition and the second time since 2012-13.
OL Lyonnes have the second-toughest fixture list among Europe’s elites, with their six opponents averaging 86.7. Their biggest tests will come against Chelsea (H), Arsenal (A) and BK Häcken (H). For coach Jonatan Giráldez, the target will be to extend Lyon’s remarkable record of reaching the knockout stages in each of the last seven seasons.
Across Europe’s established sides, however, Bayern Munich have the toughest fixture list, with their opponents averaging a rating of 87.2. They will face Austria Wien away, but that is the only opponent from the bottom five of the Power Rankings the German giants will encounter.
Their other fixtures include an opening-night meeting with Man City at home, Real Madrid at home on MD3 – the second-toughest team in Pot 2 – as well as PSG away, who are ranked 21st in the world, and Barcelona at home.
The wide spread of Opta Power Rankings is partly a consequence of the global women’s game. Many of the world’s strongest teams play outside of Europe, particularly in the NWSL, creating a significant disparity between the top and bottom of the UWCL field.
It means Barcelona, the No. 1-ranked team in the world, will face Austria Wien, ranked 165th.
And as they can’t play against themselves, Austria Wien have ended up with the highest fixture-difficulty rating of all, with their opponents averaging 88.9 as their fixtures include matchups against Chelsea (A), Bayern Munich (H) and Man City (A).
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Women’s Champions League 2026-27 Fixture Difficulty: Who Has the Easiest and Toughest League Phase Games? Opta Analyst.
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