Arsenal vs Barcelona Women's Champions League final preview: Where to watch, starting line-ups

Arsenal and Barcelona meet in the 2025 UEFA Women's Champions League final on Saturday 24 May at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon.

What do you need to know?

Barcelona are playing their 100th European match and, by coincidence, their first two came against Arsenal in the 2012/13 round of 32. The Gunners won 3-0 away, before a 4-0 home success a week later, and although Arsenal's Kim Little and Barcelona's Alexia Putellas both featured then, as they should do in Lisbon, much has changed in the interim.

Arsenal were already five years on from their 2006/07 UEFA Women's Cup triumph, and only now have they reached their long-awaited second final after many seasons of near misses and some even outside European competition.

However, the Gunners are now back on the biggest stage, in a campaign in which they have overturned first-leg deficits in three different ties: against Häcken in round 2, from 2-0 down against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals and, perhaps most stunningly of all, away against Lyon in the last four.

The north London side have been resurgent ever since Renée Slegers took charge ahead of Matchday 2, with their midfield bolstered this season by a player who featured in all of Barcelona's previous five finals – Mariona Caldentey, voted player of the season in the English Women's Super League.

Barcelona, meanwhile, have risen from that humbling European bow to become the competition's prime force. They are featuring in their sixth final and seven years, and a record-equalling fifth in a row.

Having clinched their first title thanks to a 4-0 success against Arsenal's London rivals Chelsea in 2021, Barça won subsequent finals against Wolfsburg in 2023 and Lyon in 2024, and they now hope to become only the second club after the French giants to lift the trophy for three consecutive years.

Since a 2-0 Matchday 1 loss at Manchester City, Barcelona have won nine straight Champions League games, including 4-1 home and away semi-final successes against Chelsea. Their 44-goal tally is only one off the single-season record of 45 set by Wolfsburg in 2013/14, when they coincidentally struck four in the previous Lisbon final.

Fresh from sealing a tenth Liga F title, and sixth in a row, Barcelona are also close to full strength, albeit Kika Nazareth is a long-term absentee. Arsenal, meanwhile, have goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar fit.

Form guide

Arsenal
Last six games: WLLWLW
Last match: Arsenal 4-3 Manchester United, 10/05, Women's Super League
Where they finished: 2nd in Women's Super League, Women's FA Cup quarter-finals, Women's League Cup semi-finals

Barcelona
Last six games: WWWWWW
Last match: Barcelona 6-0 Athletic Club, 18/05, Liga F
Where they finished: 1st in Liga F, Copa de la Reina final (vs Atlético de Madrid on 7 June)

Starting line-ups

Arsenal: Van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Mariona, Maanum, Little; Foord, Russo, Kelly

Barcelona: Cata Coll; Batlle, Paredes, Mapi León, Rolfö; Aitana Bonmatí, Patri Guijarro, Alexia Putellas; Graham Hansen, Pajor, Pina

View from the camps 

Renée Slegers, Arsenal coach: "I feel very proud to be here and very happy for so many people. This season didn't start easily for us and there were challenging games in the group stage. The key moment for me was the second leg against Bayern at home, where we showed so much. We're a very good team and I saw in that moment we could win games in different ways.

"We want to show courage. We respect Barcelona and are very humble for the occasion, but we're here to win. It's going to be important that we deal with all moments in the game by showing discipline and being switched on. If we do that well, I believe we can perform, and we believe in our capacity."

Alessia Russo, Arsenal forward: "Anyone who comes to Arsenal understands that it's a winning club which is ambitious and wants to be at the top. This is where we want to be, and we'll keep pushing as players. We had lunch with some of the 2007 winners in the week and understand how much it means to them and to the club. It's special."

Pere Romeu, Barcelona coach: "One of the things I most enjoy as a coach is analysing the opposition and preparing our game plan. We have studied Arsenal very hard, and it’s very clear that they are a brave team that need very little elaboration in their play in order to get high up the pitch and attack you.

"They are aggressively competitive in a sporting sense. We’ve done exhaustive work on trying to break them down, and we’ve come up with our own conclusions about how we think we can tilt the match towards what we want it to be."

Alexia Putellas, Barcelona forward: "Everything that has come before has led us to what we are now. I remember what the games were like at small stadiums and what they are like now. I feel privileged to be involved in that growth. We have arrived with a lot of energy, both in terms of play and physicality-wise."

Reporters' views

Faye Hackwell, Arsenal reporter: The narrative of Arsenal’s journey to the final has been a rollercoaster, with a heavy Matchday 1 defeat to Bayern, change of coach and second-leg comebacks in the quarter and semi-finals among the chapters of a thrilling plot. The Gunners have entertained with an exciting, attacking brand of football under Renée Slegers and can score with flair. The key challenge in Lisbon will be for an Arsenal defence that has conceded 12 goals in their last three games to contain Barcelona’s formidable attackers. If they can, a campaign worthy of a storybook might get a fairytale ending.

Graham Hunter, Barcelona reporter: One of Arsenal’s key difficulties was highlighted recently by Fridolina Rolfö. Rivals might be superbly coached, full of talent and carry threat - but most 'aren't used to how Barcelona play’, as the Swedish defender argued. Everyone knows that this squad is packed with scintillating talent, but as well as that, very few sides play with Barcelona's relentless, clever, space-opening passing. Despite being in a fifth straight final, the Chelsea semi in particular proved Barça are brimming with competitive hunger. There's no rust.

Where is the 2025 UEFA Women's Champions League final being played?

Getty Images

Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon will stage the 2025 UEFA Women's Champions League final.

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.