The group stage of the 2024/25 UEFA Women’s Champions League will come to an end this week with the final round of matches taking place.
Almost all the groups are already decided, with Lyon, ChelseaReal Madrid, Bayern Munich, arsenal, Manchester City and Barcelona among those already mathematically qualified. It could produce some interesting results with little in the line on most accessories.
The draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals will take place on February 7 in Nyon, with the first round of the qualifiers scheduled for mid-March. The semi-finals will take place in April, followed by the final at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon at the end of May.
But before that, the group stage must conclude 90 minutes we have predicted the result of every sixth day…
Neither of these teams will qualify for the knockout rounds as they sit on three and zero points respectively. The last match ended in a 2-0 away win for FC Twente, so they will be hoping for a similar result this time around.
For Celtic, it has certainly been an opening Champions League campaign But, after five defeats, they will be desperate to go out on a high and register at least one win. Considering they are away from home on this occasion, that may be too tall an order.
Prediction: FC Twente 3-1 Celtic
At the other end of Group B, Chelsea and Real Madrid have already booked their place in the quarter-finals. Sonia Bompastor’s side narrowly won the previous meetingbut Chelsea showed some vulnerability in their 1-1 draw at Leicester City in the WSL during the weekend.
The Spanish side have won their last four games in all competitions, with their only defeat in their last ten coming against Barcelona. They will be full of confidence heading into Tuesday’s meeting and will be hoping to cause an upset to claim top spot in the group.
Prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 Chelsea
French side Lyon are comfortably top of Group A and have already qualified for the quarter-finals. Wolfsburg, on the other hand, are the most likely to progress in second place due to the significant change in goal difference needed to see Roma progress.
Lyon won the last meeting between these two teams 2-0, so a similar result can be expected this time. Joe Montemurro’s side also have home advantage, which should work in their favour.
Prediction: Lyon 3-2 Wolfsburg
AS Roma’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of this year’s Champions League are very slim. While they are likely to run out comfortable winners against Galatasaray on Tuesday night, they need a significant swing on goal difference of 17, which is extremely unlikely with just one game to go.
Last time out against the Turkish side, Roma won comfortably 6-1. Unfortunately, the big scores in favor of the two Group A games are unlikely to be enough to see them through.
Prediction: Roma 6-0 Galatasaray
Both teams have no chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals, but will be determined to finish their Champions League campaigns with a positive rating. Hammarby won the last game 2-0, but this time St Polten have the home advantage.
That said, the Austrian side are yet to pick up a single point in the competition this season. While it could be a tight game, the visitors are likely to come up just short.
Prediction: St Polten 1-2 Hammarby
Manchester City shocked the football world in October with a 2-0 home win against Barcelona to kick off the group stage. However, the Catalan giants have a chance to clinch top spot in Group D with a win on Wednesday evening thanks to their vastly superior goal difference.
Gareth Taylor’s side have suffered a number of high-profile injuries, including Lauren Hemp, Vivianne Miedema, Khadija Shaw and Alex Greenwood. They will also be rocked by the weekend’s defeat to Everton in the WSL, so it’s hard to see them getting another against Barcelona.
Prediction: Barcelona 3-0 Manchester City
Group C is already decided, regardless of what happens this week. For Juventus, they will simply want to end the year on a positive note before the winter break.
The same can be said for Valerenga, who have only collected one point in their campaign so far. The Italian club won the first leg 1-0 in October and are capable of a similar result this time around.
Prediction: Juventus 2-0 Valerenga
Arsenal are a different team to the one Bayern Munich comfortably defeated 5-2 on the opening day. they have it underwent a managerial changewith Renee Slegers still in charge on an interim basis, and their form has improved dramatically.
With little to play for other than top spot in Group C, a repeat of the scoreline in October is unlikely. This will be a tougher test for Bayern, but it would not be surprising if there is little to separate the two teams.
