The UEFA Women's Champions League is back!
After an incredible 2021-22 campaign that saw Lyon secure their eighth European title, the continent's top teams will battle it out to take the crown from the record champions.
There will be plenty of considerable talent on display, too, as many of the players competing in the tournament are up for the Ballon d’Or this year.
Lyon, Barcelona, Arsenal, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Wolfsburg all have players in contention for the award given to the world’s best player.
The nominees for the award were announced in August and the winner will be revealed on October 17, just two days before the group stage of the Women’s Champions League kicks off.
Partnered with Heineken's Fresher Football, GOAL takes a look at the nominees who are set to kick off their Champions League group-stage campaign.
Getty ImagesLast year’s Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas is hoping to retain her title as the best around and help Barcelona recover from last year’s upset.
The Blaugrana were beaten 3-1 by Lyon in the final, with Putellas getting her team’s goal in the showdown in Turin to ensure she finished the season as the competition’s top scorer with 11.
Putellas was crucial as Barca enjoyed a perfect season domestically and fans can expect more of the same from the 28-year-old star and her co-stars Aitana Bonmati, Fridolina Rolfo and Asisat Oshoala, who could also win the individual award.
Getty ImagesTwo more Ballon d’Or nominees - Ada Hegerberg and Catarina Macario - were among the goals in last season’s final to help fire Lyon to a record eighth Champions League title.
The duo, along with team-mates Christiane Endler, Wendie Renard and Selma Bacha, who are also all up for the individual prize, had an incredible 2021-22 campaign and will be a real threat for Arsenal when they meet in the first Champions League game of the season on Wednesday.
The quality of the Gunners team cannot be overstated either, though. After all, the English team boast two nominees in the form of goal machine Vivianne Miedema and England hero Beth Mead, who helped fire England to Euro 2022 success this year.
Getty ImagesTwo more of the Lionesses put forward for the Ballon d’Or will be in action this week, with Lucy Bronze having swapped Manchester City for Barcelona in the summer and Chelsea defender Millie Bright competing in the Champions League.
Australia star Sam Kerr finished last season as the FA Women’s Super League’s top scorer with 20 goals to guide Chelsea to a fifth domestic title, so group rivals Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Vllaznia will all have to be wary of the Blues’ threat.
Last season’s semi-finalists PSG have two potential Ballon d’Or winners in Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto, so the clash between the French giants and Chelsea at the Stade Jean Bouin in Paris looks like a mouth-watering tie.
Getty ImagesWolfsburg head into this competition looking to improve on their semi-final run in the competition last term.
Their quest will be aided by the presence of Lena Oberdorf and Alexandra Popp, who also have a chance of being named as the best player in the world.
With two previous Ballon d’Or winners in Hegerberg and Putellas, along with several nominees for the big prize, this year’s Champions League promises to be a special one.