Crunch tie in their new home: FCB Women host Manchester City in clash of the champions

It's the German champions vs. English champions! In their 2026/27 UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign opener, FC Bayern Women host Manchester City at Sportpark Unterhaching – marking their first competitive match at their new home ground. Kick-off against the Sky Blues is at 18.45 CEST

🎟️ You can still get tickets for the clash with Man City via this link and, using the following link, you can already enquire about tickets for the matches against Real Madrid and Barcelona in Unterhaching.

Latest news from FC Bayern Women

When Manchester City take on a German club for the first time in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the English champions will come up against a Bayern side who have recently put in consistent performances in this competition, particularly in front of their home crowd. The Munich women’s record against clubs from the British Isles is overwhelmingly positive: they've won seven of their 11 previous encounters. Last season, FCB also prevailed in both legs of the quarter-final against City’s main rivals Manchester United.

Overall, too, the Bavarian capital has recently proved to be a tough nut to crack for opponents in the premier club competition in European women’s football. Of their last 16 Champions League home matches, FC Bayern Women have lost just one: the 2-0 defeat to Lyon in the quarter-finals of the 2024/25 season. Last season, head coach José Barcala’s side remained unbeaten in all five home games, recording four wins and one draw. For Pernille Harder, the evening could also hold special personal significance: the Dane is just one goal away from her 50th in the competition - a milestone previously achieved only by Ada Hegerberg and Eugénie Le Sommer.

🗞️ We caught up with captain Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir ahead of the clash:

The opposition: Manchester City

Manchester City have started the new Women’s Super League campaign with a maximum haul of nine points from their first three matches and are sitting pretty at the top of the table. Whilst the defence has looked very solid so far, conceding just four goals, it's the attack of head coach Andrée Jeglertz’s side that is really turning heads, as they've already scored 11 goals. The main focus is on Khadija “Bunny” Shaw. The Jamaican striker has topped the corers’ chart in each of the past three seasons and currently leads the way with three goals. In the 2025/26 season, she was the joint top scorer in Europe’s top five leagues alongside Clàudia Pina on 21 goals.

Manchester City last featured on the European stage in the 2024/25 season. On that occasion, their run came to an end in the quarter-finals against their domestic rivals Chelsea. City lost both of their two most recent away matches in the Champions League, against Barcelona and the Blues, 3–0. It marked the first time they’d suffered two consecutive away defeats in the competition. Prior to that, they'd reached the semi-finals in both 2017 and 2018. On both occasions, Lyon proved to be too big a hurdle to the final.

🔍 We've taken a closer look at Manchester City:

Team news

Head coach Barcala is still without Lena Oberdorf (knee reaction), Magdalena Eriksson (knee) and Regina van Eijk (ankle) for the match against Manchester City. Stine Ballisager and Bernadette Amani are back in the squad.

Pre-match thoughts

José Barcala: “We're delighted the league phase of the Champions League is now getting underway – and that we’re kicking things off with a clash against the English champions and one of Europe’s strongest sides. Manchester City possess tremendous quality, a wealth of experience and real international class. That’s why we know we’re in for a particularly tough challenge. At the same time, we’re really looking forward to kicking off this competition at our new home ground in Unterhaching, in front of our own fans.”

Giulia Gwinn: “We’re really looking forward to the match. Having gone so far last season and only narrowly missed out on the final, we’re even more determined and eager for more. We can feel within the team that we’re ready to take the next step. It’s all the more wonderful that we’re kicking off the league phase with a home tie against renowned and strong opponents. I’m particularly looking forward to this challenge and to inaugurating our new home here in Unterhaching with our fans.”

🎟️ Tickets for the match against Manchester City are still available via this link! You can already enquire about tickets for the matches against Real Madrid and Barcelona via the following link.

All you need to know about the 2026/27 Champions League campaign: