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ARSENAL and Chelsea are both involved as the Women’s Champions League resumes this week with the quarter-final first legs.
Arsenal visit Bayern Munich on Tuesnight and Chelsea play Lyon at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais 24 hours later; Roma meet Barcelona and Paris St Germain face Wolfsburg in the other ties.
Arsenal, the only English club to have won the competition, back in 2007, are looking to reach the semis for the first time in 10 years, facing German opposition at this stage again after being eliminated in the 2021-22 quarter-finals by Wolfsburg.
Jonas Eidevall’s north Londoners made an eye-catching start in their group this term, winning 5-1 at defending champions Lyon, and finished top of the pool.
But by the final round of games they had suffered the significant blow of losing forwards Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema to ACL injuries.
However, fourth in the Women’s Super League, they have their last three games, including beating Chelsea 3-1 in the League Cup final.
The Gunners go up against a Bayern outfit featuring England midfielder Georgia Stanway. They are second in the German top flight at the moment, two points behind Wolfsburg, and on a 12-match winning streak in all competitions.
While Chelsea were defeated in the League Cup final, that was only their second loss this season, and Emma Hayes’s side look well-placed to secure a fourth successive domestic league title.
Australia forward Sam Kerr has again been at the forefront, scoring 22 goals for the Blues including 12 since the turn of the year.
After being thrashed by Arsenal, Lyon’s recovery en route to taking second place in group C included beating the Gunners 1-0 at Ashburton Grove. Meanwhile, their defence of the French league title now sees them a point clear of Paris St-Germain at the top.
They have had a number of big names back in action after injuries, and Norway star Ada Hegerberg is currently nearing a return of her own.
The second legs of these ties take place at Ashburton Grove and Stamford Bridge next Wednesday and Thursday. If the English sides progress, Arsenal will then face either PSG or Wolfsburg in the semis in late April, while for Chelsea it will be Barca or Roma. The final is scheduled for June 3 in Eindhoven.
