Chelsea incentive and Arsenal opportunity as Women’s Champions League set for dramatic showdown

The final matches of the Women’s Champions League group stage will be played at the same time on Wednesday evening, with all three England teams aiming to qualify for the knockout stage.

The Women’s Champions League group stages conclude on Wednesday evening in what could be a dramatic evening as clubs look to secure their place in the last 16. Currently, there are just two points separating last automatic qualifying spot Juventus and 10th-placed Paris FC.

Each game will start at the same time and will be streamed live on Disney+. The top four teams automatically qualify for the round of 16, with teams fifth through 12th participating in a play-off match.

Defending champions Arsenal are in eighth position, but are just one point away from the automatic qualification spot. The problem for the Gunners is how narrow the league is, with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg currently ahead of them in the queue if any of the top four fail.

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Arsenal have won three and lost two of their league matches so far. Last week, they recorded a 1-0 victory against FC Twente. They face Belgian side OH Leuven in their final group match, and former Arsenal striker Lianne Sanderson believes the team is exceeding expectations.

Sanderson exclusively told the Mirror: “I think just because Arsenal won the Champions League, people think: ‘Oh, they’ll win it again this year’. I’ve won it once in my career. We haven’t won it for about 20 years. It’s a tough competition to win, just ask Chelsea, you know, it’s a tough competition.

“I think Arsenal will have an opportunity, obviously they won’t finish in the top four for me, that goes without saying, but having to play a play-off game is always better than we would expect at that point.”

Before Arsenal’s unexpected victory in the competition last season, it was Chelsea who had come closest. While Arsenal’s success last season may have stung, it’s something the Blues can also use. Sonia Bompastor’s side sit in third automatic qualification spot ahead of their final group match against Wolfsburg, who are just two points behind them.

“I think if I was playing for Chelsea I wouldn’t be happy (with Arsenal’s win) because there’s been so much emphasis on the fact that they can’t get over the line,” Sanderson said. “Therefore, it feels like, okay, Arsenal have crossed the line into a team and a group that was nowhere near Chelsea’s level, to some extent.

“So for me, I think if I was a Chelsea player, I would use that as motivation. I think Chelsea did very well, as far as the game against Barcelona (a 1-1 draw) goes, they can take a lot of confidence from that because I thought they should have won that game, and Barcelona are my favorite team to watch.

“So I think looking at it, this year has been really competitive, very competitive, and that’s what we’ve been asking of the women’s game for several years now.”

It is this competitiveness that will put on a show in the final match of the group stage. “This is the first time all matches have ended on the same day,” added Sanderson.

“So there are a lot of things, like Man United (9th place, 9 points) who have to go to Juventus (4th place, 10 points). So, there are a lot of things to play for in these last matches, for all the teams involved. There are some like Leuven, St Polten, teams, they have had a good run, haven’t they?

“They had a good run, they did their best, but it’s difficult to compete with teams who have more money and better players. But I think the competitiveness, the competitiveness has always been there in Europe.”

Sanderson will be part of the team bringing the latest games to Disney+. She explained how coverage of the match has changed in the few years since her retirement, with fans having more chances to watch it than ever before.

“I keep saying it, but like when I was playing, sometimes there was only one game a year – I only retired seven years ago – that was on TV, and that was the FA Cup final,” she said. “So the fact that every game is available and also on-demand, like I can come back from a game and watch the game immediately, I can watch the highlights immediately, which I think has been lacking over the years in women’s football.

“Even now I’m trying to find games and some of them are on TV, some of them aren’t, and I also want to be able to watch the championship games. So, you know, I think it’s gotten better, but I think for Disney, the fact that all the games are available is amazing.”

Watch UEFA Women’sMatchday 6 of the Champions League live on Disney+ this December 17, with expert analysis as all nine matches kick off together.