Women's Champions League preview: Chelsea vs Juventus

The top two sides in Group A meet in London with Chelsea taking on Juventus as each look to claim a place in the UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-finals

• Chelsea were 2-1 winners against the Italian side on Matchday 2 in front of 16,871 spectators in Turin. Erin Cuthbert's fine solo goal (31) was cancelled out by Barbara Bonansea's volley six minutes later, but the Blues dominated after the interval and Pernille Harder's 69th-minute winner helped to earn her the Player of the Match award.

• The English club have won their last three Group A encounters – conceding just one goal – since a dramatic late comeback earned a 3-3 draw at home to Wolfsburg on Matchday 1.

• The Londoners beat Servette 7-0 on Matchday 3, the biggest victory of this inaugural group stage.

• Chelsea will go through to the last eight and be confirmed in first place if they win, or if they draw and Wolfsburg do not win at Servette. Chelsea will be through regardless if Wolfsburg do not win.

• That Matchday 2 loss to Chelsea is Juve's only loss in Group A having got the better of Servette 3-0 in Switzerland on Matchday 1 before four points from a possible six against two-time winners Wolfsburg (2-2 home, 2-0 away). That Matchday 4 victory made them only the third club, after Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain to beat Die Wölfinnen away in Germany in European competition.

• The Bianconere are one of four sides to have gained maximum points from their two away games in this group stage, along with Barcelona, Paris and Chelsea.

• Juventus will go through if they win and Wolfsburg do not, or if Juventus draw and Wolfsburg lose.

Ones to watch: Chelsea

Millie Bright
• The 28-year-old is the only Blues player to feature in every minute of their Group A campaign so far.

• The defender was also the only Chelsea player to start all nine of their matches as they were runners-up in this competition last term.

• Bright is in her eighth season with the Blues after joining in December 2014 from Doncaster Belles, where she worked with Emma Hayes' assistant Paul Green.

• The England international captained the Lionesses for their November FIFA Women's World Cup qualifiers in the absence of regular skipper Steph Houghton, having been handed the armband for the first time in April this year.

Sam Kerr
• The 28-year-old's tally of four group strikes is only bettered by Wolfsburg's Tabea Wassmuth (five).

• Kerr was named Player of the Match in each of the last two matchdays with three goals across both meetings against Servette; her impressive lob in the 3-3 draw against Wolfsburg on 6 October was voted the Matchday 1 Goal of the Week.

• The forward scored her hat-trick this season in the space of 26 first-half minutes in a 5-0 Women's Super League win against Birmingham on 21 November, also supplying an assist for strike partner Fran Kirby's second of the game.

• The Australian international scored her 49th strike for the Matildas in the 2-2 friendly draw against Brazil in Sydney on 26 October, edging closer to former men's international Tim Cahill's national record of 50 goals.

Fran Kirby
• The 28-year-old has scored twice and provided three assists across her last two European outings and has the joint most assists in the group stage with three along with Arsenal's Beth Mead and Lena Oberdorf of Wolfsburg.

• The forward netted her 100th Chelsea goal with her second in the 5-0 Women's Super League win against Birmingham on 21 November, having become the club's all-time leading goalscorer in December 2020.

• The forward was joint top scorer in last season's UEFA Women's Champions League with six goals, level with Barcelona's Jenni Hermoso.

• The English international won her 50th cap for the Lionesses in the 10-0 World Cup qualifying win in Latvia on 26 October.

Ones to watch: Juventus

Barbara Bonansea
• The 30-year-old was named Player of the Match in Juve's 2-0 victory in Wolfsburg on Matchday 4, setting up Andrea Stašková's added-time strike.

• The forward registered her fourth UEFA Women's Champions League goal this season including qualifying against Chelsea on Matchday 2 – only Cristiana Girelli (six) and Stašková (five) have managed more for the club this term.

• Bonansea ended 2018/19 as the Bianconere's joint-top scorer along with Eni Aluko on 16 goals in all competitions as they secured the league and cup double.

• The Italian international scored in both of her country's November FIFA Women's World Cup qualifiers, in the 2-1 home loss to Switzerland on 26 November and the 5-0 away success against Romania four days later.

Lina Hurtig
• The 26-year-old has scored four times in her nine appearances for the Bianconere in the UEFA Women's Champions League, qualifiers included, most recently in the 3-0 Matchday 1 victory against Servette.

• The forward joined Juventus in August 2020 after three years with Swedish side Linköpings, with whom she clinched a Damallsvenskan title in 2017.

• Hurtig was a member of the Linköpings team that reached the last eight of this competition in 2017/18, losing 7-3 on aggregate to Manchester City. She failed to breach the Cityzens' defence, but hit four goals en route to the quarter-finals.

• The Swedish international scored in both of her nation's recent FIFA Women's World Cup qualifiers, marking her 50th cap with the opener in the 3-0 success against Slovakia on 30 November.

Andrea Stašková
• The 21-year-old scored as a late substitute in the win in Wolfsburg, having also come off the bench to supply the assist for Girelli's added-time equaliser in the Matchday 3 draw against the German club.

• The striker has created two goals in this group stage – also laying on Lena Hurtig's strike against Servette on Matchday 1 – with only three players, including Kirby, managing more.

• Stašková scored a hat-trick in the 8-1 Coppa Italia victory at Roma on 21 November, her third goal the 400th in Juve's history.

• The Czech Republic international started her country's 2-2 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying draw against the Netherlands on 27 November, setting up her side's first goal.

Key stats

• Chelsea have won seven and drawn two of their last nine UEFA Women’s Champions League home matches.

• The London club have lost only two of their last 14 European League matches (W9 D3).

• Chelsea have only failed to score in one of their last 21 UEFA Women's Champions League matches.

• Sam Kerr opened the scoring in each of Chelsea's first two home group games.

• Juventus have lost only one of their eight European matches this season (W6 D1); the sole defeat was inflicted by Chelsea on Matchday 2.

• Juventus won each of their previous two away group matches without conceding and have kept five clean sheets in their eight European matches this season.

• The Italian club have scored in ten of their last 11 European fixtures.