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Chelsea top of WSL and scoring freely
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Paris FC dumped out Wolfsburg and Arsenal
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Chelsea can win, but likely to concede
Chelsea v Paris FC
Thursday 23 November, 20:00
Live on TNT Sports 1
It was a Barnet blowout for us last night, as the Bees were squashed 4-1 at home by Oldham, courtesy of a late collapse. We'll move swiftly on to the Women's Champions League, because Chelsea are up against Paris FC in a hugely important game.
Chelsea are playing out their final season with legendary coach Emma Hayes at the helm, before she jets off to take over the US national team. A 5-1 win over Liverpool, in which England's Lauren James was the star turn, put the Blues three points clear at the top of the WSL. In the Champions League, Chelsea have begun the group stage with a 2-2 draw at Real Madrid, a game that saw Hayes' side hard done by when it came to refereeing decisions.
Chelsea are the WSL's top scorers by quite a distance, rattling in 23 goals in their seven matches, but they have conceded a goal in four of those outings. Dominant defender Millie Bright is struggling with a knee injury, while key player Guro Reiten is still out.
Paris FC were the story of the qualifiers, as they remarkably dumped out UWCL regulars Arsenal and Wolfsburg on their path to the group stage. They put three goals past Arsenal in North London before beating the Gunners on penalties, and they scored five over two legs against Wolfsburg. They have since had some reality checks - they were beaten 2-1 at home by Swedish side Häcken in their group-stage opener, and they were crushed 6-1 at Lyon in the French top flight.
I believe Chelsea will win this, but with Bright likely to be absent from the rearguard, I fancy Paris to go down swinging and grab at least one goal. On that basis, I'll use the Sportsbook to back Chelsea to win and both teams to score at 9/52.80. Paris FC have scored in all 13 of their competitive games this season, and haven't drawn a blank since a goalless draw at local rivals PSG in May.