UWCL: Celtic v Chelsea, Match Preview, Kick-off Time and Where to Watch | OneFootball

UEFA Women’s Champions League football comes to Celtic Park for the first time ever this evening.

UEFA Women’s Champions League. Real Madrid v Celtic. Photo Celtic FC

Be part of history as Scottish Champions Celtic take on five-in-a-row English Champions Chelsea under the lights and with the Green Wall in full flow. See you at Paradise!

The Green Wall is back at Celtic Park this evening for the Celtic v Chelsea match in the UWCL. Photo North Curve Celtic

It’s going to be an exciting day for supporters as the Scottish and English champions go head-to-head. Chelsea have an unbeaten start to the season that will make them the strong favourites. However Elena Sadiku’s side will be looking to upset the odds and believe that if they stick to the game plan, they could come away with something here, especially in front of a large and noisy home crowd at Paradise.

Celtic celebrations at Hampden played before a record breaking crowd as Celtic beat theRangers 2-0 in the 2023 Scottish Cup Final. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

Despite having lost one game in the league, Celtic’s start to domestic action has been promising. New players have looked good, and returning ones are clearly still up to the task. Even on the European front, despite suffering two losses so far in the group stage, the Ghirls looked very good against Real Madrid for 70 minutes, and Twente at home was decent for a first game in the competition proper. All of this has made some fans, including myself, think that maybe we could snatch something in the big game tonight.

The Green wall is back at Celtic Park for the UWCL match between Celtic and Chelsea/ Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

Managers View

Speaking to the media before the game, Sadiku said: “It’s going to be a huge taste because of the quality team they are. It’s going to be amazing to see some of the best players in the whole world coming to Celtic Park, playing here and the girls getting the experience of playing against high-quality players like that.

“We know that our main job is going to be to really try to take the main threats away as much as possible. But something we’ve learned from Real Madrid as well is when we’re in possession, when we create chances, how we can execute it better, because we will probably get some chances and that’s always going to be about how well we can do that to get something more from the game.

Elena Sadiku, Manager of Celtic reacts after the UEFA Women’s Champions League 2024/25 Second Round Second Leg match between Celtic and Vorskla Poltava at Albert Bartlett Stadium on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“Defending a lot takes a lot of energy, takes a lot of focus, and then we have the ball, it’s about how we can execute it better so that energy can stay higher. It’s not the most fun to defend all the time and that’s something that we’ve been talking about in the group is, we know how to create better chances now, that’s something we’ve got to try and focus on.

Elena Sadiku, Manager of Celtic and her team, acknowledge the fans after the UEFA Women’s Champions League 2024/25 Second Round Second Leg match between Celtic and Vorskla Poltava at Albert Bartlett Stadium on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“When we go through the game plan, our principles never change. It’s more about adapting to defending more than we usually do. But the girls have been doing amazing. You can see how well we defended against Twente, how well we defended against Real Madrid, and then the progress of us being more confident with the ball was a huge step for us that we showed in Real Madrid. I was proud, and I’m still so proud. That’s something I can look forward to – I want them to go out at Paradise and be confident and be brave and enjoy the moment.”

Celtic Team News

Kit Loferski and Hana Kerner will be sidelined for this game. Sadiku spoke last week about how unfortunate Loferski has been with injuries, so fingers crossed that she’ll be back sooner rather than later. The American is a big miss as pace is vital in the Champions League and she has that in abundance.

Caitlin Hayes on 4 November. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

And as touched on earlier by The Celtic Star, the manager has said that Caitlin Hayes will be back for this one and that rumours of a suspension by the club are false. The Ireland international centre-half has been a key player for Celtic for years now and will pose a significant threat to Chelsea at set pieces.

Celtic Captain’s View

Captain Kelly Clark spoke to the media as well. She said: “There’s no point in not being confident. What have we got to lose?

“An amazing occasion for us to enjoy. Anybody that looks at the fixtures, they’ve got one outcome in their head and it’s our job to try and do our best to give us the opportunity to make that prediction wrong.

Kelly Clark shakes supporters hands. SWPL1 Motherwell 0-4 Celtic., K-Park Sunday 3 November. Photos AJ for The Celtic Star

“We know we’re playing against some of the best players in the world but it’s the challenge that everybody will embrace. There’s no point in saying you want to play Champions League and then hoping that you get a draw that has nobody like Chelsea in it. You really want to play these big games, these big occasions.

“It’s something that we can enjoy and then learn from after it. I think everybody is just excited, like I say, there’s no point in feeling any other emotion.”

Match Officials

Hristiyana Guteva takes the whistle at Paradise. Pavleta Rashkova and Irina Pozdejeva assist the Bulgarian. Kristina Georgieva has been named as the Fourth Official, and you can celebrate any goal from the Ghirls with all your energy because there’s thankfully no VAR to worry about.

Kick-off Time

Can Celtic break the record attendance tonight? Photos AJ

This Group B game kicks off at 20:00. The stadium opens from 18:30 with a chance to get your picture with the SWPL trophy 45 minutes before kick-off in the North Stand! Supporters can also meet the players after the game, no matter the result. Let’s hope there are some Hoops goals to cheer for!

Where to Watch

This game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1 for those who can’t make it to Celtic Park. A great crowd would definitely spur on the Ghirls though, and The Celtic End will be there, so if you can, get down to Paradise. Celtic TV will have audio only live coverage.

Ticket Information

If you’ve not got your tickets yet then there’s still time.  For non women’s season ticket holders the prices are just £12 for adults and £6 for u16s.  Order via official Celtic Fc Website HERE.

The Green Wall at Celtic Park. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

Score Prediction

I’ll be confident today and go for 1-0 to Celtic! Our Editor reckons there are shades of Celtic v Barcelona in November 2012 so is going for a scoreline of Celtic 2 Chelsea 1.

The odds may not in our favour, this from English newspaper The Independent: Football betting sites are not optimistic regarding their chances on Wednesday, offering 66/1 on them winning at Celtic Park and just 1/40 on Chelsea taking all three points, with a draw at 16/1.

Clearly Celtic are the underdogs, we have nothing to lose,  let’s go out and cause an upset Ghirls. Last minute Amy Gallacher winner anyone? You never know…

Amy Gallacher’s title winning last minute goal. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

COYGIG! And Paradise, let’s make some noise for the Ghirls!

Jessica Elliott

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