Preview: Lyon Women vs. Arsenal Women - prediction, team news, lineups

Lyon Women will begin the defence of their Women's Champions League crown when they welcome Arsenal Women to the Groupama Stadium on Wednesday.

While the hosts are looking to retain their title, the Gunners are dreaming of winning the competition for the second time in their history.

Match preview

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Lyon were crowned Champions of Europe for five straight seasons before their reign came to an end in the 2020-21 campaign when Barcelona lifted the trophy.

However, the silverware did not spend too long away from France as Lyon reclaimed their title last term after beating Barcelona 3-1 in the final.

The European champions will now attempt to retain their crown, beginning their defence with a group that features Arsenal, Juventus and Zurich.

Sonia Bampastor's side have already won the Trophee des Championnes this season thanks to a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain, while they have begun their league campaign with five consecutive victories.

The hosts have not lost a competitive home game since April 2021, and after winning all three home matches in last season's group stage by a combined 11-1 scoreline, Lyon will be confident that they can claim all three points on Wednesday.

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Arsenal will be hoping that the midweek meeting with Lyon is the start of a memorable European journey as they bid to win their second European trophy

The Gunners won the competition in 2007 - when it was known as the UEFA Cup - but they have failed to reach the final since winning the title.

While reaching the latter stages of the Champions League will be Arsenal's objective, they first need to negotiate a tricky group.

The Gunners have already been in European action this season after beating Ajax 2-1 on aggregate in the qualifying round to book their place in the group stage, and their two games against the Dutch champions have formed part of a five-match unbeaten run to start to the season.

Arsenal will be hoping to fare better on their travels than they did in the 2021-22 Champions League group stage when they lost two of their three away games.

Team News

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Ada Hegerberg and Delphine Cascarino are both ruled out for the hosts after the pair picked up injuries while away on international duty.

They are also unable to call upon Griedge Mbock, Ellie Carpenter, Catarina Macario and Sara Dabritz, who are all currently sidelined.

After coming off the bench at half time in Sunday's 3-1 win over Bordeaux, Janice Cayman could be brought into the starting lineup for Wednesday's contest.

As for the Gunners, they will be without the services of Leah Williamson and Rafaelle for several weeks due to injury issues.

With Arsenal's key defenders missing, Steph Catley partnered Lotte Wubben-Moy in central defence against Reading at the weekend, and the pair are expected to retain their places, with Eideval set to name an unchanged side.

Stina Blackstenius scored the winner in Sunday's 1-0 victory, and she will be looking to add to her three-goal tally for the season when she leads the line against Lyon.

Lyon Women possible starting lineup:

Endler; Jaurena, Sombath, Renard, Bacha; Van de Donk, Henry, Horan; Cayman, Malard, Le Sommer

Arsenal Women possible starting lineup:

Zinsberger; Wieroither, Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe; Little, Walti, Miedema; Mead, Foord, Blackstenius

We say: Lyon Women 3-1 Arsenal Women

Although they are without the services of a number of key players, Lyon usually perform well on home turf, and we think that they will begin the defence of their European crown with a victory over Arsenal.

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