The most sought after prize on Wednesday will be a top-four finish. A direct bye to the quarterfinal bypasses the knockout phase playoffs entirely, and if you're a Champions League contender, the most coveted spot at the moment. Not a single one of the quarterfinal spots has been locked down, adding to the high stakes to round out the league phase.

A final bout of Champions League action for the calendar year will be staged across Europe on Wednesday evening. There are still two more league phase matches to come at the beginning of the new year, but the chance to end 2025 on a high in Europe’s premier competition arrives for 18 sides this Wednesday.

The drums are already setting the path in the Women's Champions League for Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atlético de Madrid. Today (13:00), the draw took place in Nyom, and this is what fate has in store for the Spanish clubs and the rest.

This soccer match is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on Paramount+. Fans looking to watch this match can do so for free by using Paramount+, which offers a free trial and has exclusive access to the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League, along with NWSL action.

Barcelona went into their match against Benfica without the injured Aitana Bonmati, Patri Guijarro, Ona Batlle, Salma Paralluelo, Kika Nazareth and, at the last minute, Irene Paredes, who was suffering from a fever. Even so, they beat Benfica and practically sealed their place in the next round.

The Champions League is wrapped up for the calendar year, yet the league phase table is still to be finalized. Only six of the league phase’s eight matchdays have been played so far, with the remaining two fixtures staged in January. Only after those decisive games have been played will we know which teams have progressed to the knockout stage.