THE LOWDOWN
Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge on Saturday lunchtime to take on Chelsea in the WSL. Chelsea away has not been a happy hunting ground for the Gunners in recent years, they have not won this fixture since thrashing the Blues 5-0 at Kingsmeadow in October 2018. Since then, they have played Chelsea away eight times across all domestic competitions, losing seven and drawing once.
To add to the bad omens, Arsenal have not played Bayern Munich, Lyon, Chelsea, Manchester City and three times against Manchester United this season and their record in those games reads played seven drawn three and lost four. The next WSL game after this one is at home to Manchester City.
It’s a make or break part of the season with so many huge games bunched up together and Arsenal are going to have to try to beat Chelsea without key players such as Leah Williamson and Olivia Smith. It feels like an uphill task but Sonia Bompastor’s side have not been at their best either this season as they undergo some squad transition.
A win for Arsenal pulls Chelsea back into the UWCL qualification equation and means second place is there to play for (Arsenal are four points behind Chelsea in the table). A draw makes that unlikely, a defeat makes it virtually impossible. The feeling around the fan base is also not very good at the moment, it really feels like the squad and the supporters could do with a significant dopamine hit at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
TEAM NEWS
Olivia Smith misses the game through suspension, but Emily Fox returns after going off with an injury against Aston Villa last weekend. She missed the defeat to Manchester United on Wednesday. Kyra Cooney-Cross has returned from compassionate leave in Australia but was not in full training for a couple of weeks, so will not be ready for this game.
Leah Williamson (calf) is out but Daphne van Domselaar could come back into the starting line-up after making the bench against United on Wednesday following a quad injury. Chloe Kelly (knee), Manu Zinsberger, Michelle Agyemang and Katie Reid (all ACL) are out. Naomi Williams returns after being cup-tied on Wednesday.
Available squad
Goalkeepers: 14.van Domselaar 28.Borbe 40.Williams
Defenders: 2.Fox 3.Wubben-Moy 5.L.Codina 7.Catley 11.McCabe 24.Hinds 31.Holmberg 44.Harwood
Midfielders: 8.Mariona 10.Little(c) 12.L.Maanum 21.Pelova 32.Cooney-Cross
Forwards: 9.Mead 19.Foord 23.Russo 25.Blackstenius
A WORD FROM THE BOSS
‘The performances have been good, so we have belief, and the players play with confidence in that sense. I believe in the players and what they’re doing. So I think it’s a good moment and we always love to play these big games where the players rise to the occasion and we know the task tomorrow, we want to win, we need to win, we need points. It creates clarity and what we want to achieve and what we’re going after tomorrow.
‘They are a team that has been winning trophies for a long time with Emma (Hayes) and now with Sonia (Bompastor) as well, a lot of winners in that team. So they’re a good team. They can do different things. They can set up in different ways. They have breadth and definitely that we need to manage in a really good way. So it’s two top teams going against each other.
‘In the two games I’ve coached against Chelsea we had a close game at Stamford Bridge with a late goal and it’s the 1-1 game. So both games are very close and that’s what we’re expecting tomorrow as well. But we’re definitely up for it and coming off the back of these first three games since January, strong performances and a lot of good things on the pitch, just the goals missing, especially against United. So we are full of fuel to go into the game tomorrow.’
LAST TIME OUT
When the teams met at Emirates Stadium in November, the scores were level at 1-1. Alyssa Thompson gave Chelsea a first half lead before Alessia Russo’s late equaliser. In this fixture last season, a late Guro Reiten penalty gave Chelsea a 1-0 win.
THE OPPOSITION
Chelsea qualified for their seventh consecutive League Cup Final on Wednesday night after winning 1-0 away at Manchester City in their Subway Cup semi-final. They will play Manchester United in Bristol and while they have not enjoyed the season they would have really wanted in the WSL, winning away at the runaway leaders of the WSL was a reminder of their quality and their ability to perform when it matters.
They currently sit six points behind City and play them away from home next week. A victory here and another in Manchester and the title race is blown back open. Anything less and you have to strongly fancy Andre Jeglertz’s side to win their first WSL title since 2016. This season has been more of a transition compared to Bompastor’s first in charge.
Chelsea sometimes operate with three centre-halves and sometimes with a back four and sometimes that has created uncertainty. They are also transitioning away from a significant defensive pillar in Millie Bright. While Sam Kerr has returned from a knee injury, she is more of a bit part player now, which means the Blues are transitioning away from another generational WSL talent. In the long-term they will be just fine but this season, in WSL terms, has felt less settled than usual.
PLAYER TO WATCH
‘That’s the one piece that’s missing at the moment, to be clinical, and be calm, and compose in and around the penalty box.’ These were the words of Renee Slegers on Wednesday evening as Arsenal dominated Manchester United in a territorial sense, even when a player down, but failed to convert their dominance into goals.
It has been a running theme of the season, the Gunners have failed to score in three games against Manchester United. Caitlin Foord has one WSL goal this season, Beth Mead is yet to score in the league and Frida Maanum hasn’t ruffled the onion bag since October, Chloe Kelly is injured and Olivia Smith is suspended. Arsenal don’t have enough ruthless goal scorers.
Alessia Russo is their most reliable scorer, however. Title challenging teams need a diversity of goal threat and Arsenal just don’t have that at the moment, so that does put pressure on Russo (and Blackstenius) to score and that also means the team around her has to ensure she has the service to do so.
Russo scored in the reverse fixture and she also scored against Lyon and if Arsenal are going to come away from this game with three points, well, you don’t need me to explain the most basic principle of football to you. Smilla Holmberg’s deliveries from the right could be key given Russo’s aerial prowess. There will likely only be one attacker on the bench on Saturday, so Arsenal will have to roll with the punches and create for their centre-forward who they already ask so much of in overall play.
MY PREDICTED LINE UPS
Subs: 5.L.Codina 12.L.Maanum 24.Hinds 25.Blackstenius 28.Borbe 31.Holmberg 40.Williams 44.Harwood
HOW TO CATCH THE GAME
The match takes place at Stamford Bridge at 12.30pm on Saturday and will be shown live on the BBC in the UK. Full global listings are available here.
COMING UP
We will have line-up announcements an hour before kickoff, Aidan Gibson’s on the whistle match report, every word of Renee Slegers’ post-match press conference online around an hour after the final whistle. There will be a tactical analysis piece on the game on Monday and Jamie and I will also have a podcast for you on Monday. We will have a bonus Arsenal Women Arsecast for you on Tuesday too looking ahead to the FIFA Champions Cup.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our free weekly Arsenal Women Newsletter here.