Pre-Match Report

UWCL Preview: Juventus Women v Arsenal

Juventus Women v Arsenal

Tonight, our Gunners return to European action in pursuit of another Champions League win, after a disappointing night at the Emirates against Manchester United.

Next up are Italian champions Juventus, who currently sit in second place behind us in Group C. Joe Montemurro's side will be another stern European test away from home, but three points would draw us even closer to the quarter-finals.   

Juve's history in Europe

Juventus celebrate their goal against Lyon

Juventus are no stranger to silverware. Since their formation in 2017, the team from Turin have won every league title, becoming the first side to win five consecutive Serie A titles.

While similar success in Europe has yet to come, Juve have progressed to the Champions League knockout stages for the past five years and achieved good results against tough opposition. Last year's campaign ended in the quarter-finals at the hands of eventual winners, Olympique Lyonnais, where they were narrowly beaten on aggregate after winning their home leg at Allianz Stadium. 

This year, the Italian champions remain unbeaten in Group C after a comfortable 2-0 win over FC Zurich and a draw against old foes, Lyon. Their squad, comprised of the best of the Italian national side and key talent from elsewhere in Europe, possess impressive technical ability and speed up front - particularly through Dutch forward Lineth Beerensteyn.

A familiar face

Joe Montemurro

There'll be a very familiar face in the opposition dugout this evening as our team is reunited with Joe Montemurro, Jonas Eidevall's predecessor. During his four years with the Gunners, the Australian coach racked up three trophies - most notably, a Women's Super League win in 2018/19.

Speaking ahead of the game, Katie McCabe gave a nod to her former gaffer and the impact he had on her career: "I've got the utmost respect for Joe and how he helped me grow as a player within the Arsenal set-up when I came back from loan.

"It's going to be a really difficult game tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to seeing him because I've not seen him in a while. He's a big, big part of my career."

As it stands in Group C

    P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Arsenal 2 2 0 0 8 2 6 6
2 Juventus 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 4
3 Lyon 2 0 1 1 2 6 -4 1
4 FC Zurich 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0

 

What the managers say

Jonas Eidevall at Allianz Stadium

Eidevall on Juventus: "They’re a very competitive team. I think Juventus as a club in the Women's Champions League have consistently shown over the past few seasons that they can compete with any team in Europe.

"They've been doing very well so we have lots of respect for that. We understand and we're fully aware that it will take a very good performance from us tomorrow in order for us to get the result." - read every word of Eidevall's pre-Juventus presser

Montemurro on us: "It’ll be a pleasure for me to face Arsenal. I spent four wonderful years in London, bonding with many people, and it will be wonderful to meet them again. They lost their last match, but we know their strengths."

Team news

Beth Mead

Our injury woes continue to mount as Beth Mead was confirmed to have suffered an ACL rupture during our tie with Manchester United. She joins captain Kim Little (knee) and Lina Hurtig (hamstring) on the sidelines. 

Defenders Leah Williamson, Rafaelle Souza and Teyah Goldie also remain unavailable for the moment but have stepped up their recovery. 

How to watch

We kick off at 8pm UK time (9pm local) tonight at Allianz Stadium. All UWCL fixtures will be free to stream on DAZN's Youtube channel, wherever you are in the world.

Last time around

We have never played the Turin side in a competitive match until now but it won't be the first time our two sides have met. Back in 2018, we hosted Juventus for a friendly at Meadow Park, where we ran out 5-0 victors thanks to goals from Vivianne Miedema and skipper Kim Little. 

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