UEFA Women's Champions League: Ranking quarterfinalists with Barcelona the favorites, Chelsea not in top four

The 2025-26 UEFA Women's Champions League has trimmed the field from 18 to eight, and when the quarterfinals kick off March 24-25 on Paramount+ the bracket will read like a who's-who of European heavyweights—yet the pecking order is anything but predictable after a league phase that produced 181 goals and a handful of statement victories.

Barcelona, the competition's headline act, enter as the clear favorites. The Catalans posted a competition-best plus-17 goal differential, opened the campaign with a 7-1 demolition of Bayern Munich and finished the league phase on 16 points. Even without reigning Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who is nursing a leg injury, Jonatan Giráldez's side still has the star power of Caroline Graham Hansen, Alexia Putellas, Claudia Pina and teenage prodigy Vicky López. Their reward is a Clásico showdown with Real Madrid, a pairing that could decide the tournament narrative before the semifinals.

Holding the mirror-image 16-point ledger are eight-time champions Olympique Lyonnais. Wendie Renard's absence from the source text does not dull the force of an attack led by resurgent forward Melchie Dumornay—author of two braces against English opposition—and complemented by Kadidiatou Diani, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Tabitha Chawinga. Their ability to grind out results, whether dictating play or clawing back deficits, keeps them firmly in the contender conversation.

Reigning title-holders Barcelona are followed closely by familiar faces. Manchester United, the defensive story of the season, conceded sparingly during the league phase and swept Atlético Madrid 5-0 on aggregate in the knockout playoff. U.S. goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, shielded by center-back pairing Dominique Janssen and Maya Le Tissier, gives the Red Devils a foundation rare among first-time quarterfinalists. They meet a Bayern Munich side that booked an automatic berth despite a 7-1 opening-day drubbing at the hands of Barcelona; form, not pedigree, pushes the German champions outside the top four.

Arsenal also muscled through the playoff round, dismantling OH Leuven 7-1 on aggregate, and will face domestic rivals Chelsea in a quarterfinal that doubles as a litmus test for both. Chelsea advanced directly with four wins and two draws while matching Barcelona's 20-goal haul, yet recent domestic stumbles and the cautious re-integration of Sam Kerr leave questions. Alyssa Thompson's explosive emergence offers hope, but the Blues sit fifth in these power rankings.

Real Madrid, sixth, survived a scare against Paris FC to advance 5-2 on aggregate, yet a quarterfinal date with Barcelona exposes their recent inability to pull away from mid-table opponents. Caroline Weir and Linda Caicedo have delivered timely goals, but a step up in class awaits.

Bayern's slide to seventh reflects both the Barcelona beat-down and a lack of knockout reps, while Wolfsburg anchor the list. The two-time champions edged Juventus 4-2 on aggregate and welcome back veteran talisman Alexandra Popp, yet inconsistency—an attack that can dazzle one night and sputter the next—makes them long shots against Lyon.

First legs will be played March 24-25, with return fixtures April 1-2. The road to San Mamés, and to European glory, begins now—and Barcelona have set the standard everyone else must chase.