Preview: Real Madrid Femenino vs. Arsenal Women

Arsenal Women will travel to the Spanish capital for Tuesday’s Women’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid Femenino at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.

The Gunners finished top of Group C to guarantee home advantage for the second leg, while Las Blancas settled for second place behind Chelsea in Group B.

Match preview

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Real Madrid Femenino are set to make their first quarter-final appearance since 2021-22 after suffering group-stage exits in the last two seasons.

They lost both of their games against Chelsea in the group phase, but crucially, they took maximum points from their home and away matches against Twente and Celtic to seal second place, setting up a quarter-final clash against Arsenal.

The Spanish side are now dreaming of reaching their first-ever Women’s Champions League semi-final, although they head into the first leg off the back of an underwhelming run of form, having won just one of their last four competitive matches (W1, D2).

Alberto Toril‘s side lost both legs of their Copa de la Reina semi-final against Barcelona, either side of a 4-0 league win over Sevilla, before they had to settle for a point in Saturday’s home clash with Deportivo La Coruna.

Las Blancas came from behind on two occasions thanks to a Carla Camacho effort and an Olga Carmona penalty, but they would have still been disappointed to drop two points against Depor, leaving them seven points adrift of Liga F leaders Barcelona.

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Arsenal are making their 16th appearance in the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals after finishing top of a group that featured Bayern Munich, Juventus and Valerenga.

The Gunners began the main draw with a 5-2 defeat against Bayern under the watch of Jonas Eidevall, before his successor Renee Slegers oversaw five consecutive victories to finish two points clear at the top of Group C.

This competition represents Arsenal’s best chance to win a trophy this season due to the fact that they are eight points behind Women’s Super League leaders Chelsea and were recently dumped out of the FA Cup with a 1-0 home defeat against Liverpool.

Arsenal bounced back from their cup exit with a 3-1 win in Friday’s away league clash against Everton, courtesy of an Alessia Russo brace and a Maren Mjelde own goal.

The 2006-07 European champions will now turn their focus to their bid to reach the Women’s Champions League semi-finals for the eighth time in their history.

Arsenal have won seven of their last eight away matches in all competitions, scoring at least three goals in six of those victories.

Real Madrid Femenino Women’s Champions League form:

Real Madrid Femenino form (all competitions):

Arsenal Women Women’s Champions League form:

Arsenal Women form (all competitions):

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Real Madrid midfielder Teresa Abelleira is set for a long spell on the sidelines after she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury while on international duty with Spain last month.

Las Blancas will be without defender Rocio Galvez, while Melanie Leupolz and Caroline Weir will hope to prove their fitness after missing Saturday’s clash.

If fit, Leupolz and Weir could come into the starting lineup, along with Carmona, Maelle Lakrar, Sandie Toletti, Linda Caicedo and Alba Redondo.

Arsenal defender Lotte Wubben-Moy is unavailable for selection after missing the last four matches with an injury issue.

Goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar missed Friday’s win over Everton with concussion, leaving Manuel Zinsberger in line to feature in back-to-back matches.

Full-back Emily Fox should be ready to operate on the right side of defence despite being forced off in the closing stages against the Toffees.

Slegers could decide to freshen up her attacking options, with Beth Mead and Caitlin Foord among those pushing for starting spots.

Real Madrid Femenino possible starting lineup:
Misa; Antonia, Lakrar, Mendez, Carmona; Angeldal, Toletti, Leupolz; Weir, Caicedo, Redondo

We say: Real Madrid Femenino 1-2 Arsenal Women

Real Madrid will be desperate to establish a first-leg lead ahead of next week’s trip to the Emirates Stadium, but we think that they could experience disappointment when they face Arsenal on Tuesday.

The Gunners won their final five group games to seal a quarter-final spot, and we think that they will pick up from where they left off in the group phase by claiming a narrow win in the Spanish capital.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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