Key events
Vålerenga are facing an English team for the first time in European competition when they play Arsenal tonight. Both clubs are looking to bounce back after opening group stage defeats. The Norwegian side lost 1-0 to Juventus, while Arsenal fell to a 5-2 defeat against Bayern Munich.
Here is what Nils Lexerød, Vålerenga manager, had to say about the Women’s Champions League before the group stage started:
Renée Slegers was asked at a press conference about having to take over the team at such short notice. she said: “I’m happy to do it because I care about the team, I care about the players. I’ve been here for a year now. It’s a massive club so I’m happy to help.
“We have a really, really good staff. We work really well together. A lot was already prepared behind the scenes. With players, everything stays the same for players, so we now have a task in front of us, and that’s what we’re going to focus on. Right now, I’m just focusing on the next two games that are ahead of us. They’re both important games for us.”
On the Women’s Football Weekly podcast our writers spoke about Eidevall’s departure and the Lionesses squad announcement. You can listen here:
Suzanne Wrack
It is sad to see a journey that started with such promise end in a whimper. That is the reality of Jonas Eidevall’s Arsenal tenure, which was bookended by matches against Chelsea – his opening game a thrilling 3-2 victory and his final one a blunt 2-1 defeat that epitomised problems that just would not go away.
The announcement on Tuesday that Eidevall had resigned as head coach was not surprising, but it was unexpected.
Read the full piece:
Here is the story on Jonas Eidevall’s departure for all the details:
The team news is in. Arsenal start Laia Codina with Lotte Wubben-Moy not in this evening’s squad, while Lina Hurtig is on the bench.
Arsenal: Van Domselaar, Fox, Codina, Williamson, Mariona, Mead, Little (C), McCabe, Walti, Foord, Russo
Subs: Zinsberger, Williams, Catley, Reid, Cooney-Cross, Kuhl, Maanum, Kafaji, Hurtig, Godfrey, Lia, Blackstenius
Vålerenga, meanwhile, start Michaela Kovacs who scored in their Topperserien win at the weekend.
Vålerenga: Enblom, Harte, Thorsnes, Kovacs, Thomsen, Vicklus, Bjelde, Heiðarsdóttir, Stolen Gode, Tvedten, Saevik
Subs: Erichsen, Grinde-Hansen, Olsen, Lindwall, Sesay, Arnesen, Enger.
Preamble
Hello and welcome back to the Women’s Champions League group stage. Tonight we will be focusing on Arsenal v Vålerenga after a few days of change at the Gunners.
On Tuesday, manager Jonas Eidevall resigned from his role after a run of disappointing results. His assistant coach Renée Slegers is taking interim charge of the club and so leads the team in tonight’s match.
Arsenal will still head into this match-up as the favourites to take the win, especially as they are at home. It will be interesting for fans to see how they set up and who Slegers will pick to start the match, with the team also playing West Ham in the Women’s Super League on Sunday.
The team news from both clubs will be out shortly so stay tuned for all the updates. We will dive into more detail behind Eidevall’s departure and what each camp has said in the build-up to the game. Kick-off coming at 8pm BST.
