Key events
25 min: That looked like it shou;d have been given as a goal kick but the referee thought otherwise. Caruso puts in a good delivery but Catley clears, it comes back out for a shot to be rifled off by Van Domselaar easily collects.
24 min: McCabe crosses in towards Russo but Calligaris heads clear before the England international can get to it. Juventus counter and Vangsgaard wins a corner.
22 min: Arsenal are still knocking on the door but Juventus, particularly through Cascarino and Krumbiegel, are wise to their moves.
20 min: It hasn’t been the most thrilling watch yet, Juventus are being very cagey which is understandable and Arsenal have been unable to take a clean shot at goal yet. No shots on target from either side so far.
18 min: Juventus will be defending like their tournament depends on it because it does. Lose tonight and they will not be able to progress to the knockout stages.
16 min: A really long build-up from Arsenal with multiple passes at the back but they eventually put in a long pass forward but Caldentey can’t get on the end of it.
14 min: Some heavy touches in the final third really letting Juventus down at the moment, Arsenal seem much more composed across the pitch.
12 min: Foord is unleased down the right but Krumbiegel does excellently to quieten her, Fox picks up the ball and pops it into the box but Peyraud-Magnin reads it well to pluck it out of the air.
10 min: The first chance for Juventus as they work it well through the team to get it to the edge of the box but Caldentey does well to see it out for a goal kick.
8 min: Krumbiegel is doing well to silence Foord’s threat so far, the Australia international has been at the heart of Arsenal’s attack in the past few games and so Krumbiegel’s job is a crucial one this evening.
6 min: It has been all Arsenal so far, the latest chance coming from Fox but her cross is cleared.
4 min: Maanum with a great tussle down the right, how she kept that in play and to find the pass was masterful. The chance is eventually snuffed out b y the visitors but some good early work for Arsenal.
2 min: Both teams finding their feet so far, William has emailed in and asked:
Thoughts on the Arsenal squad? Losing Miedema would have once felt unconscionable, but the team seems recently to have gelled, and to have great options on the bench. Their year?
They have definitely got into a groove under Renee Slegers and got some form together but I don’t think they’ll win the Champions League or WSL this season. The FA Cup and League Cup has some promise. Next season, if they appoint the right manager, they could fly.
Kick-off! Arsenal 0-0 Juventus
Here we go.
Some news from elsewhere in the sport:
A win for Arsenal tonight would see them through to the quarter-finals. If Juventus lose it all but seals their exit after the group stage.
In the 5.45pm GMT kick-offs Bayern Munich have drawn Valerenga 1-1 and Manchester City have been victorious over Hammarby. Khiara Keating, who has struggled for minutes this season, had an incredible game with Hammarby impressive in front of goal.
Here’s what happened in Chelsea’s group game yesterday against Celtic:
I’d love to hear from you, get in touch over email. Let me know what you’re up to while you keep up to date with this fixture.
Juventus head coach Massimiliano Canzi said of Arsenal: “Compared to last week, we’ll need to be more clinical when chances arise. We’ll have to stay in the game for as long as we can, despite Arsenal’s strength. Of course we spoke after the game at home and we know we can do better.”
Arsenal’s Emily Fox said of the team’s confidence: “Right now, we’re all very confident in each other and ourselves. And I think with the entire team, we feel together.
“Each game has been very difficult and we’ve been learning from each and really finishing our chances and learning from the hiccups at the beginning of the season. I think with tomorrow, like Renee was saying, it’s another game, another challenge, and I think we’re up for it. And I think with just the variety of games and opponents that we’ve played, it’s given us more confidence in the sense that we can deal with anything.”
Renee Slegers was asked about the challenges that come with playing the same team twice in a week. She said: “They know us very well now, and we know them very well. I think it’s a guessing game of what they will tweak and what they will do differently, we’re also a little bit further into the group stage now, what’s their mindset, what do they want to achieve in this game and how will they try to achieve it?
“So we’ve been going through a couple of scenarios of what we think they might do. I think we have three or four scenarios in our heads so we have to be prepared for all of them. I think, from a coaching perspective, it’s fun because you have one performance and you play against the exact same opponent and the challenge you have in front of you is to try to do better.”
The team news is in. Arsenal start Emily Fox who was player of the match last week. Mariona Caldentey again gets the nod over Beth Mead, who was also benched against Tottenham.
Arsenal: Van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Walti, Little; Caldentey, Maanum, Foord; Russo
Subs: Zinsberger, Williams, Wubben-Moy, Codina, Mead, Kafaji, Hurtig, Kuhl, Blackstenius, Wienroither, Cooney-Cross, Reid.
Juventus, meanwhile, start Hanna Bennison who was benched last week.
Juventus: Peyraud-Magnin; Lenzini, Calligaris, Cascarino; Bergamaschi, Schatzer, Bennison, Krumbiegel; Caruso, Cantore, Vangsgaard
Subs: Capelletti, Proulx, Kullberg, Lehmann, Rosucci, Girelli, Bonansea, Boattin, Bragonzi, Beccari, Thomas, Gallo
Preamble
Hello and welcome back to our Women’s Champions League coverage where tonight we will be focusing on Arsenal v Juventus.
The two teams played each other in the reverse fixture last week and the Gunners clocked an impressive 4-0 win. Arsenal are unbeaten under interim boss Renee Slegers after Jonas Eidevall resigned in October.
The London side are second in their group with Bayern Munich topping the pile. Juventus, meanwhile, are third with just one win from three and so a win tonight would help their prospects of getting out of the group.
We will be looking at what has been said in the build-up to the game shortly but first let’s take a look at the team news before kick-off at 8pm GMT.
