Preview: Chelsea v Arsenal Women

A pivotal fixture in the Barclays Women's Super League beckons this evening, as we face London rivals Chelsea at a packed-out Stamford Bridge.

With only a three-point gap to bridge, our Gunners will spy an opportunity to repeat December's victory and unseat our rivals at the Bridge.

Last time around

We dominated our London rivals back in December with a superior display in front of a packed Emirates Stadium.

Beth Mead, Amanda Ilestedt and Alessia Russo secured a dream first half for our Gunners, despite Johanna Rytting Kaneryd's goal back for the visitors.

Russo then went on to complete her brilliant brace from the penalty spot in the 74th minute, burying the Blues on home turf.

Chelsea's form

Guro Reiten celebrates scoring for Chelsea

Reigning champions Chelsea have continued their blistering form this season and currently top the table above Manchester City on goal difference.

Yet there have been slips at the hands of their title rivals, with the Blues losing their two most recent clashes against our Gunners and Man City.

A congested calendar also means that Chelsea have four more fixtures to play before we meet them again in the Conti Cup final on May 31.

US Women's National Team forward Cat Macario is finally returning to full fitness, but the Blues will be missing some key players on Friday. Sam Kerr and Mia Fishel are both out for the long term with ACL injuries and Emma Hayes revealed in her pre-match press conference that Millie Bright, Mayra Ramirez, Nathalie Bjorn, Maren Mjelde and Ann-Katrin Berger have been ruled out of the tie. Lauren James and Fran Kirby are also said to be doubts.

Facts and stats

Alessia Russo celebrates scoring against Chelsea

This is the most-played fixture in Women's Super League history. Across 26 meetings, there have been six draws and both sides have 10 wins each
Should we win on Friday, it would be the first time we've done the league double over the Blues since the 2013 WSL season
Alessia Russo has scored four times in five appearances against Chelsea in the Women's Super League. Two of these goals came in this season's reverse fixture
Only Toni Duggan has hit more WSL goals past Chelsea than Beth Mead. Our winger has nine goals and three assists to her name against the Blues but she has never scored against them away from home.
Chelsea's 33-game unbeaten run on home soil in the league came to an end back in February, with a 1-0 loss to Manchester City. They haven't lost back-to-back home games since September 2013
We have never lost a WSL match played on Friday, having won four and drawn two. This is only the third league game Chelsea have played on a Friday - a 0-0 draw with us in February 2022 and a 1-0 loss to Manchester City at Kingsmeadow last month

Team news

Emily Fox, Cloe Lacasse and Sabrina D'Angelo are all back with the team at Sobha Realty Training Centre, after the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

After recently announcing her pregnancy, Amanda Ilestedt will be out of squad contention for the foreseeable future.

Elsewhere, Vivianne Miedema, Teyah Goldie, Kaylan Marckese, Lina Hurtig and Laura Wienroither will be out through injury.

On Wienroither, Eidevall revealed at his pre-match press conference that the Austrian defender is "progressing very nicely".

"If everything goes to plan, she will start being available for squad selection at the end of this block."

What the managers say

Eidevall on Chelsea: "For me, the games we play against another top team on a good occasion, that's one of the reasons why I love working at football on this level. It's going to bring out the best out of both teams. Margins, details - they are going to matter.

"We will need to fight so hard for every inch to try and get the competitive advantage in the game. Everything we will do will matter for it and I honestly love that."

Hayes on us: "When it comes to on the pitch, Jonas and I have played against each other plenty of times and I'll miss these games, that's for sure. I enjoy them. I'm looking forward to it."

"We were bullied [last time around]. We were second best to almost everything. We deserved to be on the losing end that day – and by that scoreline. I will not accept a performance less than a Chelsea standard, no matter who plays for us tomorrow night."