Chelsea Women vs. Arsenal, WSL preview, predicted XI

Expect a packed house for this critical league clash. Reviewing what we've seen from other clubs, partially Arsenal, the west Londoners' ticket sales for contests in the larger venue have been quite underwhelming. The players deserve much more, and hopefully, on Friday more seats will be filled compared to what we've seen at the Bridge this season.

The record attendance in the SW6 for a women's match is just over 38,000 which is set against Tottenham in November of 2022. As of earlier this week, a reported over 30,000 tickets were sold already for the match with only seats on the west side of the stadium still available for purchase via the club's website.

The motivation to send the long-time manager out on a positive note has been well-documented. Carter recently described her feelings regarding the departure of a mentor.

"Some people were really devastated to hear that she’s going and it might have hit their confidence a little bit to know she’s not going to be there," Carter stated. "But at the same time [it will] also motivate people to try and get an extra win. One last win, one last push.”

To make these final few months of Hayes' tenure as memorable as many crave, the depth of this outfit is really going to have to flourish and then some. Friday evening will arguably be the biggest test this squad has had all season considering who's in and who's out.

Chelsea Women vs. Arsenal predicted starting XI

Goalkeeper: Hannah Hampton

Defenders: Jess Carter, Eve Perisset, Kadeisha Buchanan, Niamh Charles

Midfielders: Erin Cuthbert, Melanie Leupolz, Jelena Cankovic

Forwards: Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Guro Reiten, Aggie Beever-Jones

Chelsea Women vs. Arsenal match info

Date: Friday, March 15

Time: 19:00 GMT, 3:00 p.m. EST

TV Broadcast: Paramount+, Sky Sports

The west Londoners return to the UEFA Women's Champions League on the road at Johan Cruyff Arena against Ajax on Tuesday in the quarterfinals.