Need to know: 2020/21 UEFA Women's Champions League draw | OneFootball

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Manchester City F.C.

·24 November 2020

Need to know: 2020/21 UEFA Women's Champions League draw

Article image:Need to know: 2020/21 UEFA Women's Champions League draw

City's 2020/21 UEFA Women's Champions League adventure kicks off on Tuesday.

Gareth Taylor's side will learn our Round of 32 fate at 11:00 UK (12:00 CET) on 24 November 2020.


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City are amongst the top six highest UEFA coefficients and are therefore seeded and placed in a separate pot to the other eight unseeded teams.

Here's everything you need to know about the competition and the draw, which takes place in Nyon, Switzerland...

Brief history

The Women’s Champions League is Europe’s elite club competition.

Originally named the UEFA Women's Cup, it debuted in the 2001/02 season before being rebranded for the 2009/10 campaign when, for the first time, the runners-up from the top eight ranked nations were able to participate.

The format of the final was also changed, becoming a single match played in the same city as the men's tournament as opposed to a two-legged contest.

Seven-time winners and current holders Lyon are the most successful club in the history of the competition.

Arsenal are the only English side to have won the tournament, defeating Umea 1-0 over two legs in April 2007.

Article image:Need to know: 2020/21 UEFA Women's Champions League draw

Format

The tournament involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA.

In contrast to the men's tournament, there is no group stage in the current UWCL format.

However, the UEFA administration has formed four groups of eight teams for the draw based on these principles:

  • Seeding of clubs based on the club coefficient rankings
  • In every group an equal number of seeded and unseeded teams (four each)
  • No club can meet a team from their own association
  • Covid-19 travel restrictions
  • Each tie will involve one seeded club and one unseeded club
  • The seeds will play the second leg at home

All clubs in the four groups have been ordered randomly and identified by a number: 1 to 4 for the seeded teams and 5 to 8 for the unseeded teams.

Seeding groups

Group 1:

Seeded

1: Fortuna Hjørring (DEN)2: Lyon (FRA, holders)3: Barcelona (ESP)4: Zürich (SUI)

Unseeded

5: St. Pölten (AUT)6: Pomurje (SVN)7: Juventus (ITA)8: PSV Eindhoven (NED)

Group 2:

Seeded

1: BIIK-Kazygurt (KAZ)2: Wolfsburg (GER)3: LSK Kvinner (NOR)4: Rosengård (SWE)

Unseeded

5: Lanchkhuti (GEO)6: WFC-2 Kharkiv (UKR)7: ŽFK Spartak (SRB)8: FC Minsk (BLR)

Group 3:

Seeded

1: Brøndby (DEN)2: Slavia Praha (CZE)3: Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)4: Manchester City (ENG)

Unseeded

5: Göteborg (SWE)6: Vålerenga (NOR)7: Fiorentina (ITA)8: Górnik Łęczna (POL)

Group 4:

Seeded

1: Bayern München (GER)2: Chelsea (ENG)3: Atlético Madrid (ESP)4: Glasgow City (SCO)

Unseeded

5: Sparta Praha (CZE)6: Ajax (NED)7: Benfica (POR)8: Servette (SUI)

Each tie will involve one seeded club and one unseeded club

The Round of 32 matches will take place 9/10 and 15/16 December, and the seeds will play the second leg at home.

The contenders

Seeded

Lyon (FRA, holders) 145.680Wolfsburg (GER) 114.090Barcelona (ESP) 102.140Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) 98.680Bayern München (GER) 78.090Manchester City (ENG) 69.645Slavia Praha (CZE) 65.365Chelsea (ENG) 63.645Rosengård (SWE) 59.015Atlético Madrid (ESP) 47.140Fortuna Hjørring (DEN) 46.385Brøndby (DEN) 45.385LSK Kvinner (NOR) 44.075BIIK-Kazygurt (KAZ) 38.570Glasgow City (SCO)* 36.590Zürich (SUI) 34.920

Unseeded

Sparta Praha (CZE) 31.365Fiorentina (ITA) 29.065FC Minsk (BLR)* 25.270St. Pölten (AUT)* 23.950Ajax (NED) 23.890ŽFK Spartak (SRB)* 20.615Göteborg (SWE) 20.015Juventus (ITA) 17.065PSV Eindhoven (NED) 10.890Vålerenga (NOR)* 9.075Górnik Łęczna (POL)* 8.285Servette (SUI) 7.920WFC Pomurje (SVN)* 6.980WFC-2 Kharkiv (UKR)* 4.800SL Benfica (POR)* 3.960Lanchkhuti (GEO)* 0.000

*Came through qualifying.

Key dates

Round of 32: 9/10 and 15/16 December 2020Round of 16 draw: 16 FebruaryRound of 16: 3/4 and 10/11 March 2021Quarter-final and semi-final draw: 12 March 2021Quarter-finals: 23/24 March and 31 March/1 April 2021Semi-finals: 24/25 April and 1/2 May 2021Final: 16 May 2021 (Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg)

City's European history

City made our Champions League debut in the 2016/17 campaign, having finished second in the FA WSL in 2015.

An incredible debut campaign saw Cushing's side reach the semi-finals, defeating Zvezda Perm (6-0 on aggregate), Brondby (2-1 agg.) and Fortuna Hjorring (2-0 agg.) before falling to the eventual competition winners Lyon (3-2 agg.)

City ended the 2016 domestic season as league and Continental Tyres Cup champions to qualify to the 2017/18 tournament. and repeated the success of the previous year, defeating St Polten (6-0 agg.), Lillestrom (7-1 agg.) and Linkoping (7-3 agg.) before once again being edged out by Lyon in the last four.

The 2018/19 would prove unsuccessful, as City fell at the first hurdle, losing to Atletico Madrid over two legs in the Round of 32, but the domestic cup double winners secured progression to our fourth successive European tournament with a top-two finish in the FA WSL.

The Spanish outfit would edge us out for the second successive season in 2019/20, as Cushing's side fell to a 3-2 aggregate defeat to the Primera División Champions at the last 16 stage, drawing 1-1 in Manchester before suffering a 2-1 reverse at the Centro Deportivo Wanda, courtesy of a Steph Houghton own-goal and a second half Angela Sosa strike.

Pauline Bremer netted a consolation late on but it would prove too little, too late, as the 2017 and 2018 semi-finalists were eliminated.

Champions of Europe

City stars Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood both lifted the Champions League trophy with Lyon in 2019/20.

For Lucy, it marked a hat-trick of European successes, as she claimed her third successive medal.

Joining City in September, the pair say they hope to help City and the FA Women's Super League become dominant forces on the continent.

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