Who's who in the battle for the title in the #CLVolleyW?

The new edition of the CEV Champions League Women will have, once again, 20 teams at the start, with the best teams in Europe fighting for the coveted title, secured last season by Italian powerhouse A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano.

All the teams are gearing up for the start of the competition, which will throw off on Tuesday, 5 November, with some heavy hitters headlining the 20-team line-up, including four of the winners of the past 13 seasons played in the European premium competition.

While plenty of sides will be looking to seal the title, several sides, mainly from Italy and Türkiye, look to have the biggest chances, as teams from the two countries have made the semi-finals exclusively in the past five seasons.

But who are the big contenders for the trophy?

On the top of the list are the reigning champions, A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano. Last season was a flawless one, with Conegliano securing the title via a ten-match winning streak, where they dropped only 10 sets on their way to the trophy.

Not only “the Panthers” proved their worth by securing a fantastic quadruple, where they added the title in the Italian domestic league, the Italian Cup and the Italian Supercup, they also strengthened their roster with some fantastic signings.

Two new outside hitters signed for Conegliano in the summer and Gabi Guimaraes and Zhu Ting have already made the most out of their chances, helping the Italian side run riot in the domestic league, where they secured seven wins in the first seven matches, including a 3:0 win over Savino Del Bene Scandicci in the last match before the CEV Champions League Women opener.

But will it be once again a title race between Italian and Turkish teams? If so, there are three sides from each of the two countries at the start, with the Turkish trio aiming once again to secure the title, as they did eight times in the past 14 seasons.

The first Turkish side to win the trophy was VakifBank Istanbul and they had the biggest success in the European premium competition in their history, having secured the trophy six times, most recently in back-to-back seasons in 2021/22 and 2022/23.

However, VakifBank were eliminated in the quarter-finals last season and have gone a serious make-over over the past months, with stars like Paola Egonu – at the start of the previous season – and Gabi Guimaraes – this summer – leaving for pastures new.

Nevertheless, VakifBank, which finished third last season in the Turkish league, have been hitting the right peak of form just before the start of the CEV Champions League Women, clinching a 3:2 win over Fenerbahçe Medicana Istanbul last week.

Fenerbahçe, which won the title in 2012, and made the semi-finals in the past three seasons, are also title contenders, finally aiming to break their series of bad luck, after winning back-to-back titles in the Turkish league.

With stars like Melissa Vargas, Eda Dundar and Magdalena Stysiak in their roster, but without their top scorer from the previous season, Arina Fedorovtseva, Fenerbahçe will surely challenge for the trophy once again, just like their rivals Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Istanbul.

Eczacıbaşı lost the final in the Turkish league against Fenerbahçe in the decider, the fifth match, but have always been in contention in the past three seasons, featuring in the SuperFinals in the 2022/23 and conceding tough losses against Conegliano in the semi-final in the previous season.

But the Turkish side will also be challenged by last season's runners-up, Numia Vero Volley Milano. The Italian side finished third in the domestic league, but still have an absolutely stellar line-up, led by superstar Paola Egonu, the MVP of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. With Miriam Sylla and Anna Danesi also in the roster, Vero Volley will likely be in the mix for the title, but have the toughest pool on their hands, facing VakifBank for the third season in a row.

This quintet looks set to make the most damage, but which teams can be considered as dark horses? One of them is another Italian side, Savino Del Bene Scandicci, which has never progressed further than the quarter-finals in the European premium competition, but has the experience and the credentials to disrupt the hierarchy.

With the five sides in their respective pools clear favourites to secure the first place and a quarter-finals berth, which sides can break into the Final Four? Allianz MTV Stuttgart were close to provide a huge shock in the quarter-finals last season when they beat Fenerbahce in the first leg, 3:2, and took a set in the second match. Developres Rzeszów also look like a strong side, provided they find their rhythm. 

But one thing is certain: this season will be a fantastic ride for all the teams involved and provide fantastic matches.