Key events
Ahead of the huge fixture at Stamford Bridge this afternoon, Sophie Downey sat down with Chelsea forward Alyssa Thompson to discuss her move to London and how she has adapted to English football.
Elsewhere in the WSL this weekend
Friday:
Sunday:
Aston Villa v Manchester United
London City Lionesses v Manchester City
Leicester City v West Ham
Liverpool v Tottenham
These two sides last met in November, where they fought out a 1-1 draw in a game that was overshadowed by some controversial decisions. Arsenal had two disallowed goals – the first of which was deemed a handball by the referee, although replays showed that it did not touch the arm of Stina Blackstenius before she put the ball in the net. The Gunners also had a goal ruled out for a very tight offside call on Frida Maanum in the last minute. On the other hand, they avoided going down to 10 players after Victoria Pelova’s high challenge on Keira Walsh was only deemed a yellow card offence.
Alyssa Thompson broke the deadlock for Chelsea in the first half with a stunning strike from the edge of the box. Arsenal battled hard to draw level and Alessia Russo netted the equaliser in the late stages.
Team news
Chelsea starting line-up: Hannah Hampton; Ellie Carpenter, Millie Bright (C), Naomi Girma, Lucy Bronze; Sandy Baltimore, Erin Cuthbert, Wieke Kaptein; Guro Reiten, Alyssa Thompson, Sam Kerr.
Substitutes: Becky Spencer, Livia Peng, Veerle Buurman, Sjoeke Nüsken, Lauren James, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Keira Walsh, Lexi Potter, Aggie Beever-Jones.
Arsenal starting line-up: Anneke Borbe; Emily Fox, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Steph Catley, Katie McCabe; Kim Little (C), Mariona Caldentey; Beth Mead, Caitlin Foord, Alessia Russo; Stina Blackstenius.
Substitutes: Daphne van Domselaar, Naomi Williams, Laia Codina, Taylor Hinds, Smilla Holmberg, Sophie Harwood, Victoria Pelova.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to coverage of the highly-anticipated WSL clash between Chelsea and Arsenal. Today’s meeting could have a major impact on the title race and the battle for the Champions League places, with Arsenal currently third in the table and just four points behind their London rivals.
A win for the Gunners today would leave them hot on the heels of Chelsea, who are looking to hunt down league leaders Manchester City and close the six-point gap.
As always, this promises to be a hugely competitive clash – especially with so much at stake. You don’t want to miss it!
I’ll be guiding you through all the action as it happens. Kick-off is at 12:30pm GMT – join me!
