Real Madrid vs Arsenal Women's Champions League preview: Where to watch, possible line-ups
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
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When is it? How can you watch it? What are the possible line-ups? All you need to know about the UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final first leg between Real Madrid and Arsenal.
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Real Madrid and Arsenal meet in the UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday 18 March at Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano.
Real Madrid vs Arsenal at a glance
When: Tuesday 18 March (18:45 CET kick-off)
Where: Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano, Madrid
What: UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final first leg
How to follow: Build-up can be found here
Second leg: Wednesday 26 March (21:00 CET kick-off), Arsenal Stadium, London
What do you need to know?
Madrid reached the quarter-finals in their debut campaign in 2021/22, losing to Barcelona, and are now back after two consecutive group stage exits. Both of those were to Chelsea and Madrid began their group campaign this time with a third away loss in London, but then put together a four-game winning run against Celtic and Twente to progress.
Arsenal are in a joint-record 16th quarter-final and, like Madrid, bounced back from a Matchday 1 defeat (5-2 at Bayern) and ended up overtaking the German team for first place. Those five group wins came after Renée Slegers took over as interim coach and she is now in permanent charge as Arsenal seek to reach an eighth semi-final.
The Gunners' squad includes two former Barcelona players, Mariona Caldentey and Laia Codina, who both have perfect career records against the Spanish capital outfit (though new Arsenal signing Chloe Kelly has unhappy memories of a 2022/23 round 1 final loss at Madrid with her parent club Man City). Caroline Weir of Madrid first came to England from Scotland to play for Arsenal between 2013 and 2015, while Signe Bruun will remember a 2020 quarter-final against the Gunners well, when she scored Paris Saint-Germain's winner.
Form guide
Real Madrid
Last six games: WLWWWW
Last match: Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona (agg: 1-8), 12/03, Copa de la Reina semi-final second leg
Next match: Real Madrid vs Deportivo, 15/03, Liga F
Where they stand: 2nd in Liga F
Arsenal
Last six games: WLWWWL
Last match: Everton 1-3 Arsenal, 14/03, Women's Super League
Where they stand: 2nd in Women's Super League
Where to watch
Matches in this season's UEFA Women's Champions League will be broadcast live and free on streaming platform DAZN throughout the world with the exception of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where rights sit with beIN MENA, and China and its territories.
Selected matches are also streamed free on DAZN's YouTube channel. The YouTube stream will also be embedded in the UEFA.com MatchCentres and on UEFA.tv for selected UEFA Women's Champions League games, with highlights to follow at midnight CET.
Possible starting line-ups
Real Madrid: Misa; Antônia, Lakrar, María Méndez, Olga Carmona; Toletti, Angeldahl; Caciedo, Weir, Athenea del Castillo; Bruun
Arsenal: Van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Little, Wälti; Mead, Maanum, Mariona Caldentey; Russo
View from the camps
To follow.
Where is the 2025 UEFA Women's Champions League final being played?
Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon will stage the 2025 UEFA Women's Champions League final on Saturday 24 May.
The home of Sporting CP opened in 2003 ahead of UEFA EURO 2004 in Portugal, replacing another stadium of the same name. It hosted a semi-final of that tournament, among other games, and was the venue for the UEFA Cup decider the following year.
The 2025 final will be the second Women's Champions League showpiece to be held in Lisbon after 2014, when Estádio do Restelo staged Wolfsburg's 4-3 win against Tyresö.