face a difficult opening group fixture in the with defending champions in town. An 8-0 aggregate thrashing of Paris FC ensured that Gareth Taylor’s side cruised into the group stages in impressive fashion. They have been drawn against the Catalan club, Swedish side Hammarby and Austria’s St Polten in Group D, with a demanding fixture first up.
Barcelona have made an ominous start in the league, with five wins and 25 goals across their first five games, and are again among the favourites for continental success. Manchester City vs Barcelona is due to kick off at 8pm BST on Wednesday 9 October at Joie Stadium. Matches in this season’s Women’s Champions League will be broadcast live and free on streaming platform DAZN and their YouTube channel throughout the world.
Gareth Taylor rotated his Manchester City side in places in their weekend WSL win over West Ham, and Khadija Shaw and Vivianne Miedema are among those likely to return here. Summer signing Risa Shimizu is sidelined after an injury to her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). In an injury blow, Salma Paralluelo has not been included in Barcelona’s travelling squad for the fixture, though both Aitana Bonmati and former Manchester City goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck have made it and will push for involvement.
Yamashita; Casparij, Aleixandri, Greenwood, Ouahabi; Park, Hasegawa, Miedema; Fujino, Hemp, Shaw. Coll; Batlle, Engen, Leon, Rolfo; Bonmati, Walsh, Putellas; Graham, Pina, Pajor. Manchester City win 23/5 Draw 7/2 Ba.
