UWCL matchweek 2: Chelsea Women v Vllaznia preview

Following the loss to Real Madrid in the first match of the Champions League, Vllaznia defender Ezmiralda Franja spoke about mindset heading into this competition:

"“It was not an easy match. We are happy we made it this far. We are happy we are one of the best 16 teams in Europe. This is a different level of football. Our next opponents are tougher, they are stronger opponents than Real Madrid.”"

There is no doubt that this team can put the ball into the back of the net, the only issue is the lack of experience in a competition like this. Trying to get a read on this game is difficult, but at the end of the day, Vllaznia knows that they are overmatched. This is simply a learned experience for Nikolin Leka and his crew as they begin to set the standard that this is where they want to be each season.

The Blues will be thrilled to be back in the confines of Kingsmeadow for two games in a row before it heads north to take on Manchester United. Kadeisha Buchanan is fully rested, and ready to go after not making an appearance against Brighton. This quite well could be the match where Katerina Svitkova shines as she did against West Ham with the Blues potentially aiming to utilize even more of their depth for the second straight match. It may take some time for these two sides to familiarize themselves with each other. The west London side may not know much about Vllaznia, but the Albanian side definitely knows what the Blues have in their arsenal.