Key events
20 min: Arsenal fans can breathe a sigh of relief as Mead appears to be okay following that challenge. She can play on for now.
19 min: Mead goes to ground and appears to be in some discomfort following a collision with Kaneryd. She is holding her right knee.
18 min: Chelsea have a corner and the ball is swung into the box, but the referee blows her whistle when Little goes to ground following a collision with Bright. Arsenal have a free kick.
15 min: Just when Arsenal are struggling to break through, Cooney-Cross splits the Chelsea defence with a brilliant pass to Mead in the box. It bounces awkwardly as Bronze attempts to make the tackle, but play quickly stops when the offside flag is waved.
13 min: Cuthbert takes a heavy touch, allowing Russo to win the ball back for Arsenal. However, Chelsea are back in numbers and are not letting the visitors though.
10 min: Charles is given far too much space on the left, allowing her to drift towards the Arsenal penalty area. She sends a pass to Baltimore, who easily shrugs off Fox before crossing the ball into the six-yard box. Luckily for Arsenal, McCabe is there to get a touch on it, steering the cross away from Kaneryd at the back post.
8 min: Arsenal need to get a grip on this game. They have been caught out by Chelsea far too many times so far. The hosts are not giving their opponents any breathing space.
6 min: Arsenal are very lucky to still be level here. A direct pass is sent across the pitch to Kaneryd, who crosses the ball in to Baltimore from the right. Arsenal can clear, but only as far as Cuthbert, who goes for the shot from the edge of the box and her effort skims narrowly past the post.
3 min: Arsenal face an early scare as a miscommunication between Van Domselaar and Williamson sees the ball spill out towards the feet of Macario in the six-yard box. Luckily for the visitors they can eventually scramble it away.
1 min: Little intercepts a pass in midfield before setting the ball to Mead, who is forced to go backwards. Chelsea quickly pin Arsenal back into their own half before winning possession and giving it to Kaneryd. The winger goes for goal, but her effort is comfortably saved by Van Domselaar.
Kick-off
We’re under way at Stamford Bridge!
Right, that’s enough transfer news for now. Kick-off is in just under five minutes!
Chelsea confirm Naomi Girma transfer
And just like that, Naomi Girma has just walked onto the Stamford Bridge pitch in a Chelsea shirt!
In case you were not already aware, Chelsea agreed a $1.1million deal with San Diego Wave for USA defender Naomi Girma this week. Here’s what our very own Tom Garry had to say about the historic transfer…
Sonia Bompastor has just all-but confirmed the signing of Naomi Girma. The Chelsea manager told BBC Sport: “Yes, we will probably have to announce something about Naomi soon.”
Arsenal midfielders Lia Wälti and Kim Little spoke to Suzanne Wrack this week about this afternoon’s huge London derby, Jonas Eidevall’s exit and how things have changed under new head coach Renée Slegers.
Discussing Chelsea during her pre-match press conference on Friday, Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers said: “I’m very impressed with what they’ve been doing but what we want to do is take this game and approach it as any other game. The things we’ve been doing really well is being composed and calm about any opposition we play. Being humble, but also having a big belief in what we’re doing. We try to approach this game in the exact same way.”
Arsenal fans, you’ll be pleased to know that the visitors are wearing RED socks this afternoon. No last-minute dash to the megastore today!
Discussing Arsenal during her pre-match press conference earlier this week, Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor said: “Our mentality is to focus on the game and every game is just worth three points, it is no more than that on Sunday. So we focus on ourselves and our mentality is to make sure in every game we put ourselves in the right mentality to make sure we win the game. We don’t focus on the table, we take it game by game, and we are more focused on how we can perform the best on game day.”
Guro Reiten claims Chelsea are “not happy with where they are right now” despite remaining undefeated across all competitions. The winger discussed today’s derby with Suzanne Wrack earlier this week…
In case you somehow missed it, the last time these two teams met at Stamford Bridge there was one major talking point – socks.
Yes, Arsenal took white socks across London for the fixture, resulting in a kit clash. The match was subsequently delayed by 30 minutes and the Gunners had to wear Chelsea’s dark blue and black away socks purchased from the stadium megastore…
Hopefully we won’t see the same problem again this afternoon!
Team news
Chelsea starting line-up: Hannah Hampton; Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright (C), Nathalie Björn, Niamh Charles; Sjoeke Nüsken, Erin Cuthbert, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd; Catarina Macario, Sandy Baltimore, Mayra Ramírez. Substitutes: Zećira Mušović, Ashley Lawrence, Maelys Mpomé, Wieke Kaptein, Oriane Jean-François, Maika Hamano, Guro Reiten, Lauren James, Aggie Beever-Jones.
Arsenal starting line-up: Daphne van Domselaar; Emily Fox, Leah Williamson, Steph Catley, Katie McCabe; Kyra Cooney-Cross, Kim Little (C), Mariona Caldentey; Caitlin Foord, Beth Mead, Alessia Russo. Substitutes: Manuela Zinsberger, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Laura Wienroither, Katie Reid, Lia Wälti, Frida Maanum, Rosa Kafaji, Stina Blackstenius.
Preamble
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to coverage of today’s WSL clash between Chelsea and Arsenal. It’s first vs third at Stamford Bridge this afternoon in one of the most highly-anticipated fixtures of every WSL season. Chelsea are still yet to lose a match this term and have only dropped points on one occasion. Meanwhile, Arsenal have enjoyed an outstanding 13-game unbeaten run following their 2-1 defeat to Sonia Bompastor’s side in October – the match that also marked the end of the Jonas Eidevall era.
The Gunners need a win today to close the gap to their London rivals – anything less and Chelsea will take a huge step towards the league title.
Let’s just hope that Arsenal’s backroom staff have brought the correct socks this time!
Kick-off is at 12:30pm GMT – join me!
