Key events
4 min: Around halfway, Lauren James does superbly to take a ball to feet, turn away from two or three would-be tacklers, and spread the play from Chelsea’s left to right. The move fizzles out but it’s a reminder, if Arsenal needed one, of James’s spectacular talent.
2 min: Arsenal start on the front foot, penning Chelsea in on the left wing for a spell and eventually winning a corner. Chloe Kelly bends in a good cross when the ball is worked out right, following the set-piece taken by Beth Mead. The Blues keeper Hannah Hampton dives on it, and Chelsea pass their first defensive test.
First-half kick-off!
Go.
Here we go, then. The teams are out, the pre-match pleasantries are taking place, and kick-off is seconds away.
I should mention that Ellie Carpenter is indeed on the bench for Arsenal post-Asian Cup final.
Manchester United v Bayern Munich and Real Madrid v Barcelona are on the menu in the Women’s Champions League tomorrow night.
Wolfsburg 1-0 OL Lyonnes is a result from earlier today, Lineth Beerensteyn with a 14th-minute winner at the Volkswagen Arena.
“There will be a lot of intensity,” Bompastor, the Chelsea head coach, tells the BBC. “Hopefully we will have fresh legs and fight until the end.
“We want to hurt Arsenal. We know they are strong. They are on a good run. But we want to make sure we have a good result coming here.”
Keira Walsh of Chelsea also had a natter with the Beeb: “We know each other quite well, we’ve played each other a lot over the years … but being a Champions League game it’s a bit different, a bit more special. They’re a top team and we know what they bring. Hopefully it’s going to be an exciting game.
“We know the game plan. It’s controlling those emotions, trying to stay calm, and just doing the gameplan … there’s been a lot of talk around it but we’re feeling positive.”
Mariona Caldentey of Arsenal has a chat with the BBC: “It’s the type of game everyone wants to play. We are really lucky to play in the Emirates, in the Champions League. It’s a big game, against a big team.
“It’s two legs, but right now, we’re only thinking of the game tonight in front of our fans. We are in a good moment. We feel confident. We will go for the win, we are at home and we are Arsenal, so that’s what we have to do.”
Arsenal have lost just once in 19 matches. Chelsea may have dropped points in the league against London City Lionesses at the weekend, but nine days ago, they beat Manchester United to win the Women’s League Cup.
Kick-off is about 40 minutes away. You’ve got plenty of time to enjoy this excellent interview with Alessia Russo of Arsenal, by Suzanne Wrack:
Teams
Three changes for Arsenal: Beth Mead, Emily Fox and Katie McCabe come in after the 5-0 WSL win against West Ham on Saturday.
For Chelsea and Bompastor it’s five changes: Lauren James, Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh, Sandy Baltimore and Naomi Girma all return.
Arsenal Women (4-3-3): Borbe; Fox, Wubben-Moy, Codina, McCabe; Mead, Little, Caldentey; Russo, Blackstenius, Kelly. Substitutes: Votikova, Van Domselaar, Maanum, Smith, Pelova, Hinds, Holmberg, Harwood.
Chelsea Women (3-5-2): Hampton; Girma, Buchanan, Buurman; Bronze, Cuthbert, Walsh, Nusken, Baltimore; James, Thompson. Substitutes: Peng, Spencer, Carpenter, Kaptein, Kaneryd, Potter, Shooter, Storey, Sarwie.
Seismic news from the men’s version of association football:
Preamble
Arsenal Women won the big prize last season, but after a fifth-placed finish in the league phase this time around, the holders were subjected to the relative indignity of needing a playoff for a place in the quarter-finals. A 7-1 aggregate success against Leuven was duly delivered and now Chelsea, their Women’s Super League rivals, stand between the Gunners and a place in the last four.
Sonia Bompastor, the Chelsea head coach, felt it necessary to deny that her team are facing a full-blown injury crisis after just eight players took part in an open training session before the first leg tonight. “This is what it is when you are Chelsea,” Bompastor said. Sam Kerr and Ellie Carpenter were not considered for selection having returned from Australia’s Asian Cup final defeat by Japan on Saturday – Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord of Arsenal were also involved and will play no part at the Emirates Stadium this evening.
This is the first time in the history of Uefa Women’s club competitions that teams from the same city have faced each other. While Arsenal, as holders, may be considered favourites, Chelsea have never lost on any of their previous six occasions they have reached the quarter-finals. Something has to give.
Kick-off: 8pm UK GMT