Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor is bracing her team to face a “really confident” Arsenal side when the top two teams in the Women’s Super League go head to head this weekend.
An eventful London derby in October saw the Blues earn a 2-1 triumph over the Gunners at the Emirates, a match which proved to be Jonas Eidevall’s final game in charge of Arsenal.
He was replaced by Renee Slegers and the Gunners are currently on a superb 13-match unbeaten run under the Dutchwoman, leaving them second in the WSL – albeit seven points behind Chelsea – as well as making progress in the Champions League and League Cup.
An impressed Bompastor said: “They are in a good run, really confident. It will be a big game on Sunday, good for us because players and managers, you want to be involved in these type of games, so really excited to be in the game on Sunday.
“I’m not expecting big changes, but I watched almost all the games they’ve played since then and with the stuff we know what to expect on the tactical aspects.
“The main thing I would say is more the confidence of the players, and they have been more confident on the pitch, you can see the difference.”
Chelsea are enjoying their own impressive spell of form having not suffered a single defeat across 19 games in all competitions this season.
The meeting of two in-form sides sets up an intriguing encounter at Stamford Bridge, but Arsenal boss Slegers, whose side have recorded 12 wins and nine clean sheets in their 13-match unbeaten run, is simply looking forward to seeing how far her side have progressed since their last meeting with with the five-time reigning WSL champions.
Slegers, who was an assistant coach under Eidevall, said: “I think the momentum of us at that time was maybe not positive momentum, so we came away from (Bayern) Munich with a loss and then had to go straight into a home game against Chelsea.
“But I think, if you look at the game again, look at the stats of the game, we actually did quite well in that game.
“Chelsea went away winning that game, so we know the details that we need to focus on. But at the same time, we also have a belief in what we’re doing at the moment and I think we know what we want to do on Sunday.
“It’s going to be exciting to see where we’re at compared to that game, but I and the players have a big belief in what we’re doing at the moment.”
A tight battle at the top end of the table sees the Gunners level on 24 points with third-placed Manchester United ahead of this weekend’s fixtures, with Manchester City just two points back.
United enjoyed a 4-2 triumph over City in the WSL last Sunday and although they were beaten by their city rivals in the League Cup in midweek, boss Marc Skinner does not believe his side have lost any momentum after suffering their first loss since November.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s meeting with fifth-placed Brighton, Skinner said: “We’ve got to be ruthless in this game, we might only get three or four chances and we’ve got to take them.
“When games come thick and fast we have the opportunity to put the last result right but also build on what we’ve done previously.
“I don’t think we’ve lost momentum, it’s about putting our prior performances into this game and getting a result.”
Sunday’s other fixtures see Liverpool take on Leicester and Everton travel to West Ham, while rock-bottom Crystal Palace host Tottenham.
