With the international break on, it’s a good time to turn your attention to women’s game. The first round of the Champions League kicked off this week with a second round of games next week, and there are a number of huge European games–many of them available for free thanks to DAZN–conveniently set for the weekend. In addition, the NWSL regular season is in its final run-up to the play-offs and the final round of group stage games in the CONCACAF W Champions Cup next week, offering a good opportunity to compare European and North American club football.

Tuesday-Wednesday – Women’s Champions League

If you missed the opening round of the Champions League, you missed some good games and one absolute classic. Happily, DAZN makes all of these game available in full match replay, either on YouTube or through their app at no cost (though you do have to sign up for access to the games not available on YouTube).

For better or worse, the best of the games is only available through the DAZN app. Manchester City’s performance against Barcelona, was absolutely stunning. Barcelona have been the most dominant team in world soccer for the past 4 years, making every Champions League final and winning 3 of them, and doing so with the kind of dominance reminiscent of Pep Guardiola’s men’s team. But you wouldn’t have known it from watching the first hour of this game. This is a must watch game, one that merits more than just a viewing of the highlights. Get that DAZN app and watch the whole thing. You won’t be sorry.

The other games you might want to check out are all available directly from DAZN’s YouTube page.

Roma – Wolfsburg: Full Match / Highlights
Chelsea – Real Madrid: Full Match / Highlights
Bayern Munich – Arsenal: Full Match / Highlights

Friday (tonight!)

NOTE: All times are CDT; add an hour if you’re on the East Coast, and subtract two if you’re out West. Elsewhere, you’re on your own.

9:00 PM Portland Thorns – Orlando Pride (Prime Video). The NWSL has just three games remaining before playoffs begin, meaning that much is already decided, but also that it’s easier to know which teams and games are worth watching. Matchday 24 kicks off with the best team this season facing a side hoping to hang onto their playoff spot. Casual viewers, however, may be surprised to learn which team is which. From 2018 to 2023, the Thorns have only once finished outside the top two in the regular season (finishing 3rd in 2019); while the Orlando Pride have never found themselves in the top half of the table over the same period.

But this year, the Pride have already secured top-spot in the regular season and thus in the playoffs, while Portland sit precariously in 7th place, tied on 28 points with 8th-place Bay FC and just 3 points ahead of Racing Louisville, currently outside the playoff spots in 9th. In part, this simply reflects the parity which is a trademark of the NWSL; Portland’s “dominance” was much more an outlier than Orlando’s transformation. Having said that, the arrival of Barbara Banda, now playing alongside the legendary Marta and US international Morgan Brian Gautrat, cannot be overlooked as a considerable factor in the turnaround. Her 13 goals is the 2nd highest in the league.

With Orlando’s position settled, Portland will be looking for three points toward securing their playoff spot. Though aging (with Christine Sinclair, Jesse Fleming, and Becky Sauerbrunn still major contributors), Portland remains a dangerous team.

Saturday

7:45 AM Arsenal – Chelsea (ESPN+). Having started a bit later than other European leagues, England’s WSL enter their 4th matchday of the young season. With their game against Manchester United last weekend postponed, this will be Chelsea’s first real domestic challenge. Their convincing win over Real Madrid at the midweek, however, should give them confidence against an Arsenal side who, by their own very high standards, appear to be struggling at the start of the season. A tie against Everton last weekend, followed by a 5-2 drubbing away at Bayern Munich midweek, leaves the Gunners with much to prove in this young season. Having said that. Chelsea is in reality only a point ahead of their top three rivals, albeit with a game in hand.

10:45 AM Wolfsburg – Bayern Munich (DAZN) Though Wolfsburg currently sit 4th in the Frauen-Bundesliga, 5 points behind Bayern going into the 6th matchday, these two sides have finished first and second in the league for the last 11 years. The last two of those titles have gone to Bayern, who come in off a dominant Champions League performance from Pernille Harder, while Wolfsburg lost to Roma. All the same, Wolfsburg remains a star-studded team capable of showing up their main domestic rivals.

3:30 PM Chicago Red Stars – NJ/NY Gotham FC (Paramount+/NWSL+). Gotham FC come to Chicago in 3rd place, and with a top 4 finish effectively secured. But with one point separating 2nd from 4th, last year’s playoff champions are unlikely to be resting on their laurels. The home side, by comparison, needs 2 points out of their remaining 3 games, all against top 4 sides, to absolutely ensure a playoff birth. Should be a good game, and one packed full of USWNT stars: Mallory Swanson and Alyssa Naeher for the Red Stars; Rose Lavelle, Lynne Williams, Emily Sonnett, Jenna Nighswonger, and former Red Star Tierna Davidson for Gotham.

6:30 PM North Carolina Courage – Angel City FC (ION). This, on the other hand, is a game you can probably pass on. Though not mathematically eliminated, Angel City are unlikely to make the playoffs, while the Courage are virtually assured of doing so, probably in their current 5th-place position. Not much on the line here.

9:00 PM Bay FC – Kansas City Current (ION). This game is similar to the Red Stars – Gotham match: 8th-place Bay FC will be looking to secure a place in the play-offs against a 4th-place KC that are only a point off 2nd place. These are good games for measuring the NWSL’s much-vaunted parity. In addition to the league’s top scorer in Temwa Chaŵinga (a stunning 18 goals with 3 games left), the Current feature Brazilian veterans Debinha and Beatriz “Bia” Zaneratto. But it would be a mistake to underrate Bay FC’s African duo, Nigerian Asisat Oshoala (formerly leading the line at Barcelona) and Zambian Rachael Kundananji (formerly at Liga F side Madrid CFF).

Sunday

6:30 AM Manchester United – Tottenham Hotspur (ESPN+). If you’re up early, this is a game you can watch. It could be a good point of comparison for the NWSL, as these sides hoping to finish in the bottom of the top half of the league.

8:30 AM Juventus – Roma (DAZN) Roma have been champions of Serie A Femminile for the past 2 seasons, a position held by Juventus for the five seasons before that–which is to say, since their formation as a team in 2017-18. Currently, Roma sit 6 points behind Juve in 4th, but remain undefeated (along with Juve and Inter) going into the 6th matchday. Both sides won their opening Champions League matches with the most Italian of scorelines, 1-0, Roma beating Wolfsburg and Juventus, Norwegian champions Vålerenga. Not having watched much of either side, I would recommend reading this Her Football Hub preview of the game if you want to know more about this blue chip fixture.

9:00 AM Liverpool – Manchester City (ESPN+/Desportes). This is not the game that a casual fan might expect. While Liverpool’s women’s team is moving in the right direction and finished in 4th place last season, they are not yet on a par with the WSL’s Big Three. They have exciting young players like Canadian Olivia Smith and Austrian Marie Höbinger, but they will be heavy underdogs against City. Juventus – Roma is definitely a better option (did I mention that DAZN is free?)

1:00 PM Real Madrid – Altético Madrid (DAZN). Alongside Barcelona, these are 2 of the 3 undefeated teams in Liga F. Neither of these sides are at the level of Barcelona–in fairness, no one is–but Real Madrid is chock full of Spanish internationals. A very strong measure of the quality in the Spanish league right beneath Barcelona.

4:00 PM Washington Spirit – Racing Louisville FC (NWSL+). I have no idea how it is working financially, but the NWSL’s decision to spread their games across multiple broadcast outlets creates challenges for casual fans nonetheless interested in following specific teams. This game is only available on the NWSL’s own streaming service, which like DAZN’s women’s football offerings is free but requires registration. It features the 2nd-place Spirit against a Louisville side sitting just 3 points outside the final two playoff spots. Both sides have reasons to want three points, though clearly underdogs Louisville have more to gain/lose. ESPN2/ESPN+/ESPN Desportes are showing Utah Royals – Seattle Reign FC at the same time, but both of these sides are all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, so that’s a hard pass for me.

7:00 PM San Diego Wave – Houston Dash (Paramount+/NWSL+). If I’m being honest, this one is a pass for me as well. Last-place Houston is the only team mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, while San Diego are 6 points out of the final two playoff spots with just 3 games remaining. The Wave are currently managed by American international Landon Donovan. Whether that is a plus or a minus, I leave to the reader to determine. In fairness, they do feature Naomi Girma, Delphine Cascarino, Emily van Egmond, and Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.

Wednesday

11:45 AM Juventus – Bayern Munich (DAZN). The top end of the Champions League is unquestionably the best women’s club soccer in the world; whether it has surpassed international football is far less clear in the women’s game, at least outside of regular finalists Lyon and Barcelona. But this should be an excellent game, and you would be foolish to miss it. That both sides are coming off big games at the weekend makes things a bit more interesting, as does the fact that they are sharing a group with Arsenal.

7:00 PM NJ/NY Gotham FC – Tigres UANL (ESPN+) The W CONCACAF Champions Cup is a brand new international club tournament for North and Central American teams, and this week features the last group stage games. That means it’s fairly clear which games matter, and this is one of them. This game will decide the Group A winner, with Mexican side Tigres leading by 2 points but Gotham effectively assured of qualifying for the semifinals in May. Even so, this is a great chance to compare NWSL and Liga MX F, as Tigres are currently in 2nd place and are regular league winners over the past 4 seasons. Those who are confident that the NWSL is superior to Liga MX F should probably take a look at the Women’s Leagues Cup, in which the best Mexican teams have performed well against NWSL competition.

If you can’t get enough of this competition, you could also catch the Portland Thorns visiting the Vancouver Whitecaps Elite Girls Academy on Tuesday at 9:00 PM on ESPN+. As that game is literally women against girls, I’m giving it a pass.

9:00 PM San Diego Wave – Club América (ESPN+) Despite struggling in the NWSL, San Diego lead Group B by 3 points over both 2nd-place América and 3rd-place Portland. Given that Portland face a developmental academy team, however, it is quite possible that the Wave will need a tie to ensure advancing to the semifinals. América will need to outperform Portland in order to advance. They are currently 4th in Liga MX F, but won last year’s Liguilla (a play-off system involving the best teams from the first and second halves of the season) and have never finished below 5th. This is another opportunity to get a sense of the quality in the Mexican league. This round of the tournament concludes on Thursday at 9:00 PM with a dead rubber between eliminated sides Monterrey (Mexico) and Alajuelense (Costa Rica), also on ESPN+, that I will not be watching.

Thursday

2:00 PM Wolfsburg – Olympique Lyonnais (DAZN). If you have been reading a blog post about women’s football for this long, you are no doubt aware that Lyon is one of the two best women’s teams in the world. All of which is to say, this is another game you would be a fool to miss. Having Roma in the same group again makes for a match that both sides will want to win–especially Wolfsburg, who trail both Roma and Lyon after the first matchday loss.