Juventus vs. Chelsea FCW, Women’s Champions League: Preview, team news, how to watch

Chelsea resume our Women’s Champions League campaign with a trip to Turin, Italy to face Juventus. The Blues’ opening match versus familiar foes Wolfsburg ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw after Pernille Harder equalized for new team against her old one in the 92nd minute. Those heroics however were bittersweet as Chelsea dominated play, but lapses in defense gifted Wolfsburg all three of their goals.

Meanwhile, on that first Champions League matchday of group play, Juventus faced Servette FCCF and came away with a comfortable 3-0 win to secure all three points. Midfielder Arianna Caruso scored ten minutes before halftime, then Juventus added two goals in six minutes via 2020 Olympic silver medalist Lina Hurtig and 21-year-old midfielder Valentina Cernoia.

Chelsea should prove a more difficult test for the Italian champions, and after defensive errors cost us two points against Wolfsburg, it’s important to leave Turin with all three. As such, expect a strong lineup and for Chelsea to establish error-free dominance.

Date / Time: Wednesday, October 13, 2021, 20.00 BST; 3pm EDT; 12:30am IST (next day)
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Torino, Italy
Forecast: Clear; 53°F/12°C

Streaming: DAZN (globally; bookmark this page as all UWCL matches will be shown live on DAZN’s YouTube page)

Chelsea team news: Unfortunately, Emma Hayes’ eight changes — including a Chelsea debut for new signing Aniek Nouwen and rare start for Jessie Fleming — didn’t pan out versus Leicester City in the league over the weekend. Hayes needed to bring on Ji So-yun, Erin Cuthbert, Guro Reiten, Sam Kerr and Pernille Harder to find the winner, which only came in the 83rd minute. Fran Kirby added another in the 94th minute to make it appear a comfortable 2-0, but that also means Kirby had to play all 90, which surely wasn’t the plan coming into the match.

Chelsea should continue to utilize the new 3-4-3 formation. If we get a comfortable lead, Hayes may opt to pull players early, with a view towards the run of fixtures after the international break, which include an FA Cup semifinal and a league match against Manchester City.

Juventus team news: Juventus are currently tied at the top of the table with Sassuolo: 18 points on six wins, no losses and no draws. In fact, Juventus have only been scored on once all season, in a 2-1 win over AS Roma.

Players Chelsea will need to keep a close eye on include the aforementioned Caruso, 5’11” forward Lina Hurtig and Italian women’s football legend Barbara Bonansea, who’s still just 30 and certainly more than still capable of moments of magic.

Previously: Chelsea beat Juventus 3-0 in a preseason friendly in 2018, but this will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides.