UEFA Women’s Champions League Matchday 1 storylines, schedule: How to watch UWCL on Paramount+

A season full of firsts begins in the UEFA Women’s Champions League this week as a new format, a first-time defending champion and a batch of notable fresh faces lay the foundation for an exciting campaign ahead.

Like the men’s competition did a year ago, the UWCL will adopt the Swiss system starting this season, the field expanding from 16 teams to 18 for the first edition of the league phase. Six league phase games are on the schedule for each team from now until mid-December, several high-profile matches in store as Europe’s best teams compete for the top four spots that will automatically send them through to the quarterfinals and take them one sizable leap closer to the May 24 final at Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadion.

Matchday 1 will be headlined by Arsenal’s match against OL Lyonnes, a matchup between the first-time European champions and the competition’s most successful side as each team looks to demonstrate their credentials as a title contender to start the new season. Barcelona, who have won three of the last five Champions League titles, are also back in action on Tuesday against Bayern Munich, while Chelsea begin their quest to win the UWCL for the first time at Twente on Wednesday.

For the first time, CBS Sports will be the exclusive U.S. home of the UWCL, with every minute of the action available across different platforms. That includes comprehensive coverage for Matchday 1, with the schedule split between Paramount+, CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network.

Here’s what you need to know before tuning in.

How to watch

Paramount+ will be a one-stop shop for all things Champions League, while CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network will have select matches and additional coverage. Each day’s broadcast begins with UEFA Women’s Champions League Today on both Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network before the early kickoffs, while Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network will have an hour-long pre-match show before the later matches. Post-match coverage will air on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network, while CBS Sports Golazo Network will have a new edition of Scoreline to close out the day’s action.

CBS Sports’ new UEFA Women’s Champions League Today studio show will be anchored by Hannah Caash, while Jen Beattie, Janelly Farias, Darian Jenkins, Kelley O’Hara, and Ali Riley will serve as analysts. Chris Wittyngham will handle play-by-play duties and will be paired with Beattie and Jenkins, while Anita Jones will report pitchside and Christina Unkel will serve as the rules analyst.

The league phase comes to the UWCL

The league phase will make its way to the Women’s Champions League this season, the competition expanded from the 16 to 18 teams for the new format. Each team will play six games during the league phase, with the top four teams directly booking their tickets for the quarterfinals. Eight more teams will qualify for the knockout phase playoffs, with teams ranked fifth through eighth set to face those ranked ninth through 12th for a spot in the quarterfinals. From there, the competition resumes a familiar knockout format with all eyes on the May 24 final at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, Norway.

Matchday 1 TV schedule

All times U.S./Eastern

Storylines for Matchday 1

Arsenal, Lyon face off: This season of the UWCL wastes no time providing high-caliber matches, serving up a meeting between reigning champions Arsenal and the record eight-time winners OL Lyonnes. It may be early in the season but this game comes at a fascinating juncture for both teams – Lyon are off to a perfect start in league play under new manager Jonatan Giraldez and after a busy summer, acquiring the likes of Lily Yohannes, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Jule Brand in the hopes of winning their first Champions League title since 2022. Their roster is undoubtedly stacked but the true test of Lyon’s mettle always comes in European competition, so Tuesday’s match offers Giraldez a first chance to discover what his best starting lineup actually looks like.

As for Arsenal, the luster of their first-ever Champions League win has not exactly faded – they supplemented that triumph with the Women’s Club of the Year awards at the Ballon d’Or ceremony just two weeks ago – but this season has not been a breeze to start. They have just two wins out of five to start the Women’s Super League season and are winless in their last three, troubling form ahead of a top-tier clash in Europe. The Gunners have the ability to keep things competitive on Tuesday, boasting a squad with back-to-back European champions Alessia Russo and Chloe Kelly and Ballon d’Or runner-up Mariona Caldentey. Whether they put all the pieces in time for their Champions League opener, though, is a huge question.

USWNT players in the UWCL: A handful of U.S. women’s national team players will take part in the Champions League this season, many of them on teams with their sights set on the ultimate prize. Tuesday’s marquee matchup between Arsenal and Lyon will showcase just that as the Gunners’ Emily Fox faces Lyon’s Lindsey Heaps and Lily Yohannes, the latter of whom could make her UWCL debut for her new club after a handful of reps at Ajax.

Alyssa Thompson, meanwhile, could make her competition debut when Chelsea travel to Twente, while USWNT teammates Naomi Girma and Catarina Macario could also feature. Goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce will likely start for Manchester United as they host Valarenga on Wednesday, while Crystal Dunn could feature for Paris Saint-Germain at Wolfsburg on the same day.