Arsenal Women will continue their defence of the Women's UEFA Champions League this week when they take on Chelsea Women at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners were forced into a playoff after failing to finish inside the top four in the league phase of the competition, but after coming through their two legs with Leuven with ease, there will perhaps be renewed confidence in the camp.
As for Chelsea, a seventh consecutive league title is now almost certainly out of reach, but a first-ever Women's Champions League triumph would more than make up for it.
How the bookies view it: Arsenal marginal favourites
The Bookies are not overly confident on this one, and as a result, neither team has been priced as the odds-on favourites to win. Arenal Women are considered the slight favourites at odds of 11/10 with Bet365, while Chelsea Women have been priced at 21/10. The draw, which would suit the visitors more, has been priced at 13/5.
Head-to-head: Advantage Chelsea
Despite being considered the underdogs here, it is Chelsea Women who hold the advantage in the recent H2H. The Blues have lost just one of their last six competitive matches against the Gunners and did the double over them last season. This season, however, Arsenal can boast an unbeaten record against Chelsea, with one win and one draw.
Players to watch: Alyssa vs Alessia
Both of these teams possess plenty of players in attacking areas that can do damage in the final third, but you can't help but feel that the outcome of the entire tie will be settled by who performs better out of Chelsea's Alyssa Thompson and Arsenal's Alessia Russo.
Thompson is far less experienced in English football than Russo, but the American has enjoyed a stellar debut campaign in West London. The 21-year-old has nine goals to her name in all competitions and is the player that Arsenal will be most concerned about on Tuesday night.
As for Russo, there can be no doubts about her experience or ability to perform on the biggest stages. The England striker stepped up in a big way during the playoff round, scoring three goals across the two legs, and will relish the opportunity to try to knock Chelsea out of Europe.
Predicted line-ups
Both sides have doubts due to the Women's Asia Cup final, which took place on Saturday in Sydney. Chelsea's Sam Kerr played for Australia in the final, as did Arsenal's Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord. All four women are huge doubts due to the short turnaround.
In terms of injuries, Chelsea are set to be without Katie Reid and Manuela Zinsberger, while Leah Williamson and Frida Maanum are doubts. As for Arsenal, Nathalie Bjorn, Niamh Charles, Catarina Macario and Mayra Ramirez are all out, while Millie Bright is considered 50/50.
Arsenal Women: Borbe – Holmberg, Wubben-Moy, Codina, McCabe – Caldentey, Little – Smith, Russo, Kelly – Blackstenius
Chelsea Women: Hampton – Bronze, Buchanan, Girma, Baltimore – Cuthbert, Walsh – Rytting Kaneryd, Kaptein, James – Thompson
Anything else catch the eye?
Unlike the men's team, Arsenal Women are one of the most exciting teams to watch in European football. A total of 11 goals have been scored across their last three Champions League outings, and more than two goals have been scored in four of their last five matches in all competitions. Over 2.5 goals has been priced at 4/5 by Bet365.



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