Key events
The Women’s Champions League has a new format this season, shifting to an 18-team league phase, similar to the model adopted by the men’s version. After Twente, Chelsea are down to face Paris FC, St. Pölten, Barcelona (yikes), Roma and Wolfsburg.
Jill Roord, once of Manchester City, is in the Twente XI, having re-joined her first club in the summer. The move was about rediscovering some joy:
It had nothing to do with [Manchester] City. My time with City was really good. I have been away for eight years playing abroad and it becomes tough being alone for that many years. In the past few years I lost my fun and my happiness in football a little bit because of being away, travelling a lot and not being able to be with family and friends. With busy summers every year I never really got a break. I needed to move back home, enjoy life and enjoy football again.
Here’s the full interview with Tom Garry in June.
Chelsea look very different to the side that drew against Manchester United on Friday: Ellie Carpenter, Millie Bright, Sandy Baltimore and Aggie Beever-Jones are the only starters from that fixture still in the XI. Catarina Macario is out with an achilles injury, though Bompastor has said she’ll be fine for the weekend fixture against Tottenham.
The teams
Twente: Lemey, Vliek, Carleer, Knol, Tuin, Groenewegen, Roord, Van Ginkel, Elberink, Ravensbergen, Proost
Subs: Bussman, Van der Vegt, Hulst, Diekman, Andradottir, Te Brake, Verdaasdonk, Ivens
Chelsea: Peng, Carpenter, Bright, Buurman, Baltimore, Hamano, Jean-François, Nüsken, Thompson, Beever-Jones, Reiten
Subs: Björn, Hampton, Cuthbert, Kaptein, Kaneryd, Kerr, Potter, Sarwie, Walsh
Preamble
Is this the season? WSL champions six years in a row, a domestic treble to celebrate, unbeaten in the league for yonks … but that Champions League remains missing. Barcelona have had Chelsea’s number in three consecutive semi-finals (as well as the 2021 final), but a fresh start gets that dream going again.
Sonia Bompastor and her players’ opening assignment in this rejigged comp is in the Netherlands, with Twente the hosts. They faced each other last season, when Chelsea won 3-1 at De Grolsch Veste, and a 6-1 win victory at home added to the one-sided nature. Twente have those memories to contend with as Chelsea begin plotting a path to Oslo, the scene of this year’s final. We’ll play at 5.45pm BST.
