This weekend sees the return of the Women’s Champions League, where the first leg of semi-finals commence. The two England teams, Arsenal and Chelsea still remain in the competition, along with Wolfsburg and Barcelona. On Saturday afternoon, Chelsea host Barcelona at Stamford Bridge. Barcelona cruised past Roma in the quarter-finals, after beating them 6-1 on aggregate. Whereas, Chelsea had a more difficult route to the semis, after scraping past Lyon, beating them 4-3 on penalties. Chelsea have been on a great run of form, sealing their place into the FA Cup final against Manchester united in May.
However, with Millie Bright still injured, it is a worrying time for Chelsea, as they will have to face Barcelona’s front three, while missing their best centre half. Barcelona haven’t lost a game this calendar year, only losing two goals since May 2022. They are cruising the league by 13 points and are currently one of the best teams in Europe. Chelsea are going to have to play at their best in order to get past Barcelona, but they are hoping that the home advantage of Stamford Bridge will help them out.
Arsenal face Wolsfurg away on Sunday afternoon. The Gunners turned it around against Bayern Munich in the quarters as they lost 1-0 in the first leg, however won 2-1 on aggerate. Wolfsburg scraped past PSG in the quarters, also winning 2-1 on aggerate. This semi-final match up will be extremely difficult for both sides.
It is worrying times for Arsenal at the moment. With already suffering with two ACL injuries, a third did not need to be added to their list. Arsenal captain, Leah Williamson, came off just after 15 minutes in their WSL match against Manchester United last night. Williamson collapsed to the floor in pain after her studs got stuck in the turf, which created pain around her knee. She managed to go off without a stretcher, however Arsenal fans are concerned that it is another ACL injury for the club. Hopefully she won’t miss out of the World Cup in July.
We will have to see if Chelsea’s and Arsenal’s injuries affect their chances of going through to the Champions League Final. Only time will tell.