Women's Champions League: Vålerenga vs Juventus facts

Vålerenga Stadion in Oslo will host the first-ever meeting between Vålerenga and Juventus in Group C of the 2024/25 UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Their section also includes Bayern München and Arsenal.

Form guide

Vålerenga

The Norwegian side are taking on Italian opposition for the first time.

It is a first group appearance for Vålerenga and their fourth Women's Champions League participation overall.

Their competition debut in 2020/21 was ended on penalties by Brøndby in the round of 32 after the match in Denmark had ended 1-1. The following season, they reached round 2 before being eliminated by fellow Scandinavian outfit BK Häcken 3-6 on aggregate (1-3 h, 2-3 a).

Vålerenga again reached round 2 last season, firstly beating Minsk 3-1 and then edging past Celtic in dramatic fashion (2-2, 11-10 pens) after Elise Thorsnes' 123rd-minute spot kick had taken the game to penalties.

Their run was ended by Real Madrid in round 2, Vålerenga going down 1-5 on aggregate (1-2 a, 0-3 h).

Nils Lexerød's side have won all three of their Women's Champions League matches this season, beginning with a 3-1 round 1 triumph against Farul Constanța on 7 September.

That set up a round 2 meeting with Anderlecht. Quick-fire goals from Michaela Kovacs (14) – who was later sent off – and Karina Sævik (16) earned a 2-1 win in Brussels on 18 September before Thea Bjelde (70), Janni Thomsen (75) and Sævik again (81) scored in a 3-0 second-leg win in Oslo a week later.

Vålerenga won their second Norwegian Toppserien title in 2023 by a single point, and are again top of the table in the current league campaign.

Their last home defeat in any competition was a 0-1 league loss to Rosenborg on 15 May.

Juventus

This is Juve's first fixture against a team from Norway.

This is the Italian side's seventh successive season in European competition since their debut in 2018/19. It will also be their third time in the group stage, last season the only time they have missed out in the current format.

A run to the quarter-finals in 2021/22 is their best showing to date. After finishing second in a group containing Wolfsburg, Chelsea and Servette, they were eliminated 3-4 on aggregate by eventual champions Lyon in the last eight.

The following season Juventus picked up nine points in Group C, enough to finish above Zürich but behind both Lyon and Arsenal.

A team managed by Joe Montemurro won just one game in the competition last year, 6-0 against Kazakhstan's Okzhetpes in the round 1 semi-final in Germany. Three days later they drew 1-1 with Eintracht Frankfurt in the final, losing 4-5 on penalties.

Juventus began in round 2 this season and overcame Paris Saint-Germain 5-2 on aggregate (3-1 h, 2-1 a). Amalie Vangsgaard (7), Sofia Cantore (34) and Hanna Bennison (61) struck in the first leg in Biella on 18 September while Cantore (3) was again on target in the Paris return, Barbara Bonansea (72) sealing the win.

Le Bianconere have been back-to-back runners-up in Serie A, and claimed their fourth Supercoppa Italiana with a 2-1 win over Roma on 7 January.

Key facts

Vålerenga have scored in 13 of their previous 14 Women's Champions League matches.

Karina Sævik has found the net in Vålerenga's last three European games.

Juventus have lost only one of their last 14 Women’s Champions League matches (W8 D5).

The Italian side have suffered only one defeat in their last ten group games (W4 D5) and have kept six clean sheets in their last nine.