Teams: Chelsea, Real Madrid, Häcken, Paris FC

Both Real Madrid and BK Häcken FF gained their spot in this group following a second round tie. Paris FC, on the other hand, have provided the most impressive results from qualifying, already knocking out major contenders Arsenal and Wolfsburg. Chelsea will expect to progress out of the group, but it won’t be easy! The fight for second place is perhaps being the most exciting of all the groups. Group D kicks off on 15th November with Paris FC v Häcken and Real Madrid v Chelsea.

Chelsea dominated their group last year and advanced all the way to the semi-final stage. Once again, they enter the UWCL group stages as English domestic champions, the same as the previous two seasons. They are also the most expensive team in this group. Forwards Sam Kerr and Guro Reiten are the maximum at £1,000,000 and captain Millie Bright is one of the most expensive defenders at £900,000. Last season’s group stage saw a massive goal difference of +19, with a variety of 9 goalscorers. They could certainly replicate their clean sheets and multiple goals in these group stages, so looking elsewhere to these selected high-prices could still provide a return in a rotated squad.

Chelsea v Real Madrid is a tie which repeats last season’s group stage: resulting then with a 2-0 Chelsea win followed with a 1-1 draw. Madrid missed out on qualifying out of the group last season, finishing third. Their performance against Vålerenga in second round qualifying showed their capability against a defensively-oriented side. Signe Brunn (£800,000) with 4 goals is leading Madrid’s attack. Midfielder Caroline Weir suffered an ACL injury at the end of September and so will be unavailable.

Paris FC complete Group D, and the trio of French teams, with a fantastic current UWCL run. They look to continue this and their confident start – having scored 12 UWCL goals, including penalty kicks in the finals of the first round, and 5-3 against Wolfsburg in the second round. BK Häcken FF also return to the UWCL group stage following a tighter second round fixture against Twente. They are top of the Damallsvenskan and their squad includes Swedish international midfielder Elin Rubensson (£400,000). Their last group stage was a competitive one in 2021/22, where they ended up bottom of Group D winning only against Benfica away.

Players to watch:

Niamh Charles (£700,000) is an attacking-minded defender with significant forward-play touches and is in great form who looks to build on her reliability for Chelsea. Her higher price would provide both an attack and defensive return. 

Naomie Feller (£350,000) has had a great contribution to Madrid’s scoreline so far with 3 goals and 3 assists. This achievement is particularly noteworthy as it almost matches her total from the previous season, showcasing her consistency and ability to be more effective only 6 games in.

Attacker Rosa Kafaji (£450,000) is BK Häcken FF’s most expensive player given her record of almost goal every other game: 11 goals and 2 assists domestically. As well as being in great form, Kafaji could be a potential game-changer for Häcken.

Midfielder and captain Gaëtane Thiney (£400,000) has played more centrally in the UWCL, though has a key attacking potential in playing as an attacking mid. She scored the first for Paris against Wolfsburg and a goal in every D1F match so far.