To be one of the best, you have to beat the very best. We did so last weekend versus Arsenal in the Women’s Super League, and the challenge today is arguably much harder as we travel to France to face eight-time UEFA Women’s Champions League champions — and runners-up to last season’s title — OL Lyonnes.
Date / Time: Wednesday, September 30, 2026, 20.00 BST; 3pm EDT
Venue: Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu, France
Referee: Marta Huerta de Aza (ESP)
Forecast: Light rain and light winds
On TV:
none (UK); CBS Sports Golazo, ESPN Deportes (USA); elsewhere Streaming: Disney+ (UK); ESPN+, fuboTV, Paramount+ (USA)
OL Lyonnes team news: Before Barcelona, Lyon were the uncontended shining beacon of the sport. An example to follow across all terms, from youth development to day-to-day management of several star players.
No wonder we went after Sonia Bompastor as Emma Hayes’ successor, since our current head coach won the Women’s Champions League with Lyon both as a player and as a manager. They are still a model to follow, even with changes in ownership two years ago.
The thus far unbeaten French outfit, who won 8-0 against Swiss team Servette away in the UWCL last week, won’t count on former Chelsea attacker Johanna Rytting Kaneryd who suffered an ACL rupture shortly after joining the club. She’s the only confirmed absence from the squad for this match.
Chelsea team news: Against an Arsenal side who seemed more keen on teaching a lesson to Katie McCabe than winning a football match, the Blues held their own and got the three points over the Gunners at Stamford Bridge last Sunday. It’s a more than welcome result for a team that are still finding their footing in a season that didn’t begin the way they wanted.
Injuries have been a concern since the very beginning of the season, and they continue to be for the Blues. For this match, Sonia Bompastor will miss Erin Cuthbert, Manaka Matsukubo and Mayra Ramírez.
Previously: Great performance and a scoreline to follow, in the first leg of the 2022-23 Women’s Champions League quarterfinals.
