Arsenal the favorite vs. Chelsea? Can Madrid scare Barça?

By ESPN Staff

The Women’s Champions League quarterfinal draw has served up two seismic showdowns: a first-ever all-London knockout tie between Arsenal and Chelsea, and yet another Clásico as Real Madrid try to derail holders Barcelona. With the final eight now set, ESPN’s panel of experts—Emily Keogh, Alex Kirkland and Yash Thakur—assess which giants should be worried and which debutants are simply delighted to still be dancing.

Arsenal vs. Chelsea: form, stakes and the verdict

Arsenal booked their place in the last eight with a merciless 7-1 aggregate demolition of OH Leuven, setting the stage for a two-leg derby against a Chelsea side that scraped through the group phase but has wobbled domestically. The Blues sit four points above Arsenal in the WSL, but the Gunners hold two games in hand and, crucially, won the most recent meeting 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Jan. 24.

“Chelsea have struggled for incisiveness and a clear identity,” notes Thakur, who points to back-to-back league losses against Arsenal and Manchester City as evidence of cracks under Sonia Bompastor. Keogh believes the Londoners may abandon their fading title chase and “put every egg in the continental basket,” citing last season’s Arsenal side that absorbed heavy league defeats before reaching the final in Lisbon. Kirkland calls the tie “too close to call,” yet concedes Arsenal’s current momentum makes them “only just” the favorites.

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: can anyone really scare the holders?

History says no. Barcelona’s competitive Clásico record reads 23-1, and they have already kept a clean sheet in both league meetings this season, scoring six without reply. Madrid’s 5-2 aggregate win over Paris FC secured a second straight quarterfinal appearance, yet the second leg will be played at Camp Nou, where Barça’s aura is strongest.

“Scare is a strong word,” Kirkland argues. “This Barça team have won it all, over and over.” Weir and Caicedo offer Madrid genuine match-winning potential, and Keogh believes the Colombian forward’s speed and creativity could “force Barcelona into mistakes,” but the consensus is clear: Madrid must rely on a low block, rapid counters and an inspired performance from goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez to have any hope of an upset.

United’s fairytale set to end against Bayern

Manchester United’s debut campaign has been built on defensive steel—five clean sheets in eight UWCL matches—but the step up in class is stark. Bayern Munich, unbeaten since a 7-1 opening-day loss to Barcelona, have already defeated Arsenal, Juventus and PSG and sit top of the Frauen-Bundesliga. Wolfsburg and Lyon both breached United three times in the group phase, and Thakur expects Bayern’s Buhl-Harder axis to do similar damage. “This is where the fairytale ends,” Keogh predicts, though all agree the experience will accelerate United’s growth.

The bigger picture

With Lyon also lurking—unbeaten in the group stage and revitalized under Jonathan Giraldez—the road to Oslo looks stacked. Barcelona remain the bookmakers’ choice, desperate to avenge last year’s shock final defeat to Arsenal. Yet the intrigue of an unprecedented London derby, the eternal Clásico subplot and the possibility of another English club gate-crashing the latter stages ensure these quarterfinals could out-deliver even the wildest expectations.

SEO keywords: