Good start for the hosts, who've had the first effort on target before we've even played a minute of football.

Some nice movement from Johanna Rytting Kaneryd to tee up Catarina Macario on the edge of the box, but her low drive is saved.

Chelsea get us under way at Stamford Bridge.

• Chelsea vs Arsenal is the most played fixture in Women’s Super League history with the Blues winning 12 of the previous 28 meetings between the pair and the Gunners picking up 10 wins (six draws).
• Chelsea have won 40 of their past 42 home games in the Women’s Super League (D1 L1), a run that started with a 3-0 victory against Arsenal in February 2021. The Blues have won all seven of their previous league matches at Stamford Bridge.
• Arsenal have won each of their past five WSL games without conceding with the last team to put together a longer such winning run being the Gunners themselves back in October 2022 (10 wins in a row to nil).
• So far in the 2024-25 WSL campaign, Chelsea are the only team to score in every game, have taken the most shots (220) and have the highest expected goals tally (25.3); Arsenal however rank first for shots faced (81), expected goals against (6.7) and clean sheets recorded (eight).

Not long to go until kick-off, with the teams now out at Stamford Bridge.

Who's coming out on top today?

Hit the thumb's up for Chelsea, or the thumb's down for Arsenal.

Rachel Brown-Finnis
Ex-England goalkeeper on BBC Two

Lauren James will be a huge, huge player to have back in the team for Chelsea. She provides a different option and it's a bit out of the blue as well. Renee Slegers would not have prepared to play against James.

Chelsea have a lot in their armoury, however they set up tactically. They have some of the world's best players and it's the toughest test yet for Slegers.

Image source, Getty Images

Fara Williams
Former England midfielder on BBC Two

Naomi Girma is a fantastic player. She is very athletic but you expect that if you are coming from the USWNT.

The WSL is a more control-based style of football. So there will need to be some adaptations from her. But a player of this quality and being signed for that much money, she will adapt quickly.

I expect big things from her.

Image source, PA Media

Arsenal's Beth Mead also spoke to BBC Two before the game.

Hear what she had to say below:

Unveiling a player you have just signed for a world record transfer fee before a game against your biggest rivals is quite the statement.

We'll be hearing from Naomi Girma on BBC Two at half-time.

Arsenal

Arsenal manager Renee Slegers speaking to BBC Sport: "I do enjoy the job. I enjoyed the other role as well - the interim period. Now this is a new phase for me. I want to keep the togetherness in the team. We are working really hard and are in a good place at the moment. It's a big role and there's pressure on us. But if we keep working hard, we can keep improving.

"You learn all the time. I learn upon reflection on myself. You learn from players - how they come up with ideas and how they respond. You learn from other coaches. I learned a lot from Jonas Eidevall as well."

On WSL title race: "You never know. We had a hard start to the season. It's always possible for other teams to slip as well. We have to keep on believing. We know the importance of today's game. It's about which team can manage the tough spells during the game in the best way. It's going to be an interesting game between top two teams."

On facing Sonia Bompastor: "She has done brilliantly at Chelsea. Taking over from Emma Hayes is not easy .You see Arne Slot taking over from Jurgen Klopp in men's football. It's not easy. I am very impressed with what she is doing at Chelsea now."

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at Stamford Bridge

It's the one everyone has been waiting for... USA defender Naomi Girma has finally been announced as a Chelsea player!

The club have just brought her out onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge for a Real Madrid-style unveiling.

As you can imagine, the announcement has gone down EXTREMELY well.

It is a world-record transfer fee, with Chelsea believed to have spent £900,000, as well as offering a long-term deal.

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at Stamford Bridge

Erin Cuthbert has just been presented with a commemorative shirt to celebrate her 250th appearance for Chelsea.

Arsenal's Leah Williamson also hits that milestone today for her club.

Both huge players for their respective clubs.

Chelsea

More from Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor to BBC Two, on Guro Reiten being benched: "When you are Chelsea manager you have a lot of talented players in your squad. We have different option on the left side. Guro is a top class player, she has the right mentality, she's ready to come in if she needs to. She's behind the team."

On how Reiten reacted: "Guro is more focused on the team than herself, she has the right mentality and for me as a coach it's really important that she's behind the team today. Of course she's disappointed not to start, but the most important is the team, the result today, and she's behind the team so that's the most important.

On the importance of a win: "Having 10 points [more than Arsenal] would be a big statement but obviously today we need to really perform because Arsenal are also on a good run. We just want to play and be brave, confident. We want to have the ball, to control the game, and this is important."

Fara Williams
Former England midfielder on BBC Two

It's a really big game for both Chelsea and Arsenal, so it could be a cagey affair.

It's the toughest one to call. Both teams have momentum. Both teams are unbeaten under their managers. Which way it will go might come down to the tactics and line-ups these teams will play today.

Chelsea

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor, speaking to BBC Two, on Naomi Girma: "I've known this player since a long time and she's an incredible player. In that position, since Kadeisha Buchanan injured her ACL, we were looking for someone to strengthen our squad. Probably really soon you'll have an announcement"

On Lauren James being back in the squad: "I'm really pleased with having her in the squad. I think she was not fit enough to start the game, still building up her fitness, but it's always important for a manager to have a player like her on the bench. She can make a big impact when she comes in and hopefully today she can do that."

Arsenal

Arsenal's momentum was "not positive" the last time they faced Chelsea and suffered defeat at Emirates Stadium, says manager Renee Slegers.

Chelsea's 2-1 win in October was the last match under former manager Jonas Eidevall as he resigned a few days later.

Slegers, who was assistant manager at the time, says they now have "belief" and hope to show that in Sunday's crucial derby with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

"The momentum with us at that time was not positive. We came away from Munich with a loss and had to go straight into a home game against Chelsea," said Slegers.

"If you look at the stats, we actually did quite well in that game. But Chelsea won the game so we know the details we need to focus on.

"We have belief in what we are doing at the moment. We know what we want to do on Sunday. It will be exciting to see where we are at."

Arsenal's Beth Mead has an excellent record in fixtures against Chelsea.

She comes into the game having netted in the 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace in her last Women's Super League match.

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea

Chelsea would move back to nine points clear at the top of the Women's Super League if they win today, but goalkeeper Hannah Hampon says that's far from being job done as they look to defend their title and win the Women's Super League for the sixth season in a row.

"It’s only job done after the last game of the season and we’re at home lifting that trophy," Hampton told BBC Sport.

"You’ve seen the whole of this league, people have been taking points off everyone. When we went into the game against Leicester, people probably would have thought that’s it, three points for Chelsea but Leicester thought the whole game and performed very well for their game plan so they took points off us.

"People can take points off everyone, I don’t think we can ever take a game lightly and think it’s going to be an easy win. We will just keep battling away, prodding along until the end of the season. It looks good, but hopefully, that trophy comes back with us."

Can anyone close the gap and prevent Chelsea winning a sixth successive Women's Super League title? How will the first game between Renee Slegers and Sonia Bompastor play out?

Let us know your thoughts on this fixtures, or on the rest of today's action, via #bbcfootball, WhatsApp on 03301231826, or by texting 81111 (UK only, texts will be charged at your standard message rate).

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BBC Two

You can tune in to live coverage of today's game on BBC Two by pressing the 'watch live' button at the top of this page.

Alex Scott, Fara Williams and Rachel Brown-Finnis are at Stamford Bridge.