Manchester City welcome Real Madrid to the Joie Stadium tonight in a heavyweight UEFA Women’s Champions League league phase tie. Kick off is at 8pm UK time on Thursday 1 October, and the match is available to watch live in the UK on Disney+.
City look to build on Munich fightback
Andrée Jeglertz’s side opened their European campaign with a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich last week, and the City boss admitted he learned a lot about his squad’s character in Germany. “We didn’t start well,” he said. “If you’re not on your toes, Bayern Munich will punish you and they did. I also learned that we never give up. There is a fighting spirit in this group.” City have won all four of their WSL games this season. Jeglertz rotated heavily for the weekend win at Charlton, and Yui Hasegawa, Lauren Hemp and top scorer Bunny Shaw are all expected to return to the starting side. Defender Kerstin Casparij said the squad feels confident, describing Real as “a really fast paced team” with “impressive full-backs” who join the attack.
Madrid arrive unbeaten and full of goals
Real Madrid are unbeaten in Liga F this season and warmed up for the trip to Manchester with a 5-3 win at Real Sociedad on Saturday. Sara Däbritz and Lineth Beerensteyn were on target in that game, and Felicia Schröder has scored in all three of Madrid’s Champions League matches this term, including both legs of the qualifying victory over Ajax. The Spanish club named their travelling squad on Wednesday, with Schröder, Beerensteyn, Linda Caicedo and Athenea del Castillo among the forwards making the journey.
What happened in last night’s games
Wednesday’s matchday two fixtures produced plenty of drama. Holders Barcelona thrashed Roma 6-0 in Italy, with Caroline Graham Hansen and Clàudia Pina both scoring twice, plus an own goal from Shukurat Oladipo and a late strike from Ewa Pajor. Barcelona are now the only side on six points after two league phase games, as shown on the official UEFA fixture list. Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw at Lyon after Lauren James had a late penalty overturned by VAR, while Arsenal were held 2-2 at Paris FC despite leading 2-0 through goals from Alessia Russo and Georgia Stanway. Earlier today, HB Køge beat Servette 5-1 and Austria Wien drew 1-1 with Inter Milan, while Paris Saint-Germain face OH Leuven in tonight’s other fixture.
Prediction
City are favourites at home, and some preview writers have tipped a 3-1 win for Jeglertz’s side. But Madrid’s scoring form means this should be far from straightforward. As always with football, predictions are just opinions, so only ever stake what you can comfortably afford to lose.
