Arsenal host Benfica at Meadow Park with a changed side
Arsenal host Benfica at Meadow Park on Wednesday in the Women's Champions League, and Renee Slegers has made several changes to her starting line-up for the 8pm kick-off.
The Women's Champions League is Europe's top club competition for women's teams. This is the third matchday of its opening league phase, where every side plays a set group of opponents and results feed one shared table. Arsenal are fifth on four points. Benfica are tenth.
Arsenal have had a mixed run. They have beaten HB Koge 1-0 at home in Europe and Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on 24 October. They drew 2-2 at Paris FC last month after leading 2-0. Georgia Stanway scored and assisted on her Champions League debut in that match. In the Women's Super League, England's top women's division, Arsenal are sixth with two wins from seven.
Benfica have won all four of their opening games in the Campeonato Nacional Feminino, Portugal's top women's league, including a 4-1 win over Sporting CP. In Europe they beat Juventus 2-1 away but lost 3-0 at home to Bayern Munich. Their head coach is Ivan Baptista.
Elisa De Almeida, Ona Batlle and Geraldine Reuteler come into Arsenal's starting line-up in place of Leah Williamson, Emily Fox and Lisa Baum, according to Arsenal's match preview. Arsenal line up in a 4-2-3-1, meaning four defenders, two holding midfielders, three attacking players behind a lone striker. Russo leads the line. Kim Little is back in the squad. Katie Reid and Michelle Agyemang are unavailable, and Frida Maanum is not ready in time.
Benfica set up in a 4-3-3, with three midfielders and three forwards. Pauels is in goal, and Davidson, Dorsin and Alves are their front three.
Arsenal beat Benfica 2-0 away in the previous season. The referee is Ivana Projkovska from North Macedonia. Arsenal won the 2025 Champions League final in Lisbon, beating Barcelona 1-0. Their European campaign has produced four points so far, and a win on Wednesday would move them up a table where every result counts.
