Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Women's Champions League clash between Arsenal Women and Wolfsburg Women, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

On Wednesday, Arsenal Women will play host to Wolfsburg Women in the first leg of their Women's Champions League quarter-final.

The hosts are making their 14th appearance in the last eight, while the visitors are set to take part in the quarter-finals for the 10th consecutive season.

Match preview

Arsenal Women's Beth Mead celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on March 18, 2022 © Reuters

Arsenal finished in second place in a group that featured Barcelona to book their place in the last eight of the Champions League.

The Gunners are aiming to win the competition for the second time in their history, but first, they must negotiate a tough quarter-final tie against Wolfsburg, who have been crowned European champions on two occasions.

Jonas Eidevall's side have been in impressive form of late, winning their last five competitive matches by a combined 19-2 scoreline.

The treble also remains a possibility after Arsenal eased past second-tier Coventry United at the weekend to seal their place in the FA Cup semi-finals, with Stina Blackstenius, Beth Mead, Nikita Parris and Vivianne Miedema all netting in the 4-0 victory.

The Women's Super League leaders will now turn their focus to European action, with the Gunners bidding to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

Arsenal Women manager Jonas Eidevall applauds fans after the match on February 11, 2022 © Reuters

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, secured their place in the last eight after coming out on top in a tough group that featured Chelsea and Juventus.

The Wolves will now be hoping that they can avoid another exit at this stage, with their quarter-final appearance last season resulting in a 5-1 aggregate defeat to eventual runners-up Chelsea.

Domestically, Wolfsburg are currently embroiled in a fierce title battle with fellow Champions League quarter-finalists Bayern Munich, and they will be hoping to transfer their domestic form into their quest for European success.

Tommy Stroot's charges have won seven of their matches across league and cup competitions in 2022 with the Wolves netting 27 goals in that period.

Having lost just two of their 12 European matches against English opposition, Wolfsburg will be confident that they can claim a positive result on Wednesday.

Arsenal Women Women's Champions League form:

Arsenal Women form (all competitions):

Wolfsburg Women Women's Champions League form:

Wolfsburg Women form (all competitions):

Team News

Arsenal Women's Vivianne Miedema celebrates scoring their second goal with Stina Blackstenius on March 6, 2022 © Reuters

Rafaelle has impressed since joining Arsenal in January, but the defender has missed the last two games and remains a doubt for the first leg.

Manuela Zinsberger and Leah Williamson were both rested for the FA Cup tie against Coventry United, but the pair will return to the starting lineup on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Blackstenius featured in the group stage for Hacken, but in midweek she will make her first appearance in Europe as an Arsenal player after joining the Gunners in January.

As for Wolfsburg, they have received a boost in recent weeks following Alex Popp's return from injury, and she is expected to start at the Emirates Stadium.

Dominique Janssen and Jill Roord once donned the red and white of Arsenal, but they will be plotting their former side's downfall over the next two games.

Tabea Wassmuth is the current top-scorer in the Champions League, and she will be aiming to add to the eight goals that she has already scored in Europe this season when she leads the line in midweek.

Arsenal Women possible starting lineup:
Zinsberger; Maritz, Williamson, Wubben-Moy, Catley; Little, Miedema, Walti; Mead, McCabe, Blackstenius

Wolfsburg Women possible starting lineup:
Schult; Wedemeyer, Hendrich, Janssen, Rauch; Lattwein, Oberdorf; Huth, Roord, Popp; Wassmuth

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We say: Arsenal Women 2-2 Wolfsburg Women

Arsenal will be looking to take a lead into the second leg in Germany, but they face a formidable Wolfsburg team that have already played in London this season, with the Wolves playing out a 3-3 draw against Chelsea, and we think that the visitors will see another contest with an English side end all square on Wednesday.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Written by
Ben Sully

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Arsenal Women win with a probability of 42.63%. A win for Wolfsburg Women had a probability of 34.28% and a draw had a probability of 23.1%.

The most likely scoreline for an Arsenal Women win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.79%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (6.67%) and 2-0 (5.75%). The likeliest Wolfsburg Women win was 1-2 (7.78%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.18%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10.2% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.