Bompastor confirms Lauren James will sit out Chelsea's Champions League opener as Arsenal showdown looms

James rested as Chelsea prioritise Arsenal showdown

Chelsea will begin their Women's Champions League campaign against Austria Wien on Wednesday as overwhelming favourites — the Opta supercomputer gives them a 93.3% chance of beating the tournament debutants — but star forward Lauren James will play no part, as manager Sonia Bompastor keeps her fresh for Sunday's Women's Super League showdown with Arsenal.

James picked up a minor injury in training this week, and Bompastor has confirmed the Blues will not take any risks with the forward with a huge London derby on the horizon. "She should be available for the game on the weekend, but we don't want to take any risks for the game tomorrow," Bompastor said. "She's a bit short."

With three points fully expected in Austria, squad rotation is likely this week, and Bompastor has also been handed a boost with Erin Cuthbert, Manaka Matsukubo and Aggie Beever-Jones all back in training — though Beever-Jones is the only one of that trio to have appeared in a WSL match so far this season.

"They are training again with the team, so a lot of players and it's good news. Manaka is back in training, not fully fit yet, but it's good to have her back," Bompastor said. "It's really good to see Erin back. I'm always happy when I have most of my players on the pitch. It brings positivity around the team and the quality on the pitch progresses.

"It's always good to have that competition in the squad, with everyone happy to be on the pitch together."

Blues out to go one better in Europe

Chelsea have fallen just short in Europe in recent seasons, exiting at the quarter-final stage last term after three consecutive semi-final defeats, and the Blues are hoping to go further in the competition this time around.

Their recent record suggests they are well placed to do so: Chelsea lost just one of their eight Champions League games last season (W5 D2) and conceded the fewest goals of any side in the competition, with just six against.

Chelsea's only previous meeting with an Austrian side in the Champions League came last season, when they thumped St. Pölten 6-0 in the league phase.

Daunting history awaits Austria Wien

Austria Wien will become the fourth different side from Austria to participate in the Champions League, but the omens are not promising: Austrian teams are winless in 21 games in the competition (D3 L18) since St. Pölten beat Slavia Prague 1-0 in November 2022.

English sides, meanwhile, have won all five of their meetings with Austrian opponents in the Champions League, by an aggregate score of 17-2 — a record Chelsea will look to extend when the two sides meet on Wednesday before all attention turns to Arsenal on Sunday.