Chelsea v Arsenal: Women's Super League – live!

35 mins: Another Arsenal goal-kick, another Chelsea chance. This time they get as far as the halfway line before losing the ball, which find its way to Reiter who wastes no time in unleashing on goal. Her rasping left-foot drive rattles the bar.

31 mins: Walti and Van de Donk dance into the Chelsea box, exchanging passes to create an opening for the latter, but her low shot is blocked. Chelsea respond with a terrific spell of sustained possession that doesn’t quite turn into a chance – Ji’s final ball too heavy for England.

27 mins: Ji is a terrifically alert player: she has won the ball back numerous times in dangerous positions and does so again to spark an attack that comes to nothing before getting on the ball again, feeding Kirby whose strike whistles wide. It’s hard to see Chelsea failing to score while those two are on the pitch.

25 mins: Arsenal mount an attack through Little, who looks for Miedema’s goalward run with a precise lofted pass, but Eriksson watches it closely and heads clear.

21 mins: Ji snatches possession in midfield, drives forward and offloads to Reiten. She swings in a looping cross towards England, who puts a tricky header wide. Then, from the resulting goal-kick, Arsenal pass themselves into trouble again – Ji spots the dithering, pounces and curls a 20-yard strike inches wide.

18 mins: England scampers into space on the right and latches onto a nice long ball from Bright, though McCabe has her on a tight leash. Ji takes over but is crowded out as she enters the box and hits the deck. Chelsea are attacking purposefully but can’t quite engineer a chance.

15 mins: Chelsea threaten again with the impish Kirby pouncing on a loose ball in the Arsenal half and feeding Reiten, who can’t quite get it under control.

12 mins: Chelsea have responded well, Kirby beginning to dictate things in the middle and almost finishing off a move she started by getting on the end of Andersson’s cross from the left. Bright takes leave from centre-back duties to maraud forward into the box as Chelsea attack – they mean business.

Arsenal score with their first attack of note, and it’s a lovely, neat goal. Miedema drops into space and collects the ball on the right, snaking forward before picking out Van de Donk, who has beaten the offside trap and rifles a cool finish low across the keeper. Game on!

6 mins: Arsenal get themselves in trouble, insisting on passing it intricately out from a goal-kick. Evans is soon dispossessed in the right-back spot and Kirky is played clean through, albeit at an acute angle. Zinsberger comes out and smothers. The resulting corner is scrambled desperately clear.

4 mins: An early sighter for Miedema, who jinks into space on the D and curls a shot off the underside of the bar, though the whistle had already gone – offside.

2 mins: Some dainty playing-it-out-from-the-back stuff from Arsenal comes to an abrupt end when McCabe hoofs the ball semi-aimlessly down the left. Chelsea gather and duly hoof it back. Look away now, Pep.

And we’re off. Chelsea take kickoff and make early inroads towards the Arsenal box, but the attack fizzles out.

The teams are out. Handshakes are exchanged and game faces are on. Kickoff imminent.

A run-through of the day’s other WSL action: Liverpool and Bristol City played out a 1-1 draw, Mel Lawley salvaging a point for the Merseysiders from the spot late on, while WSL newcomers Manchester United travelled to Spurs and gave their hosts a tonking, 3-0. Those two are final scores, and right now West Ham lead Brighton 1-0 while Reading and Everton are locked at 2-2 – both of those games at half-time.

Chelsea: Berger; Mjelde, Bright, Eriksson, Andersson; Cuthbert, Ingle; Ji, Reiten, Kirby; England. Subs: Thorisdottir, Asante, Carter, Cooper, Bachmann, Spence, Telford.

Arsenal: Zinsberger; Evans, Williamson, Beattie, McCabe; Wälti, Little, Roord, Van de Donk; Miedema, Mead. Subs: Peyraud-Magnin, Mitchell, Quinn, Veje, Nobbs, Grant, Filis.

Last season Arsenal set the standard. Manchester City might have come within a whisker of going the season undefeated but it was the Gunners who were the WSL’s real team to beat and, powered by the goals of Vivianne Miedema – 22 in all – they duly wrapped up the title with a game to spare.

This time it’s City who have come bolting out of the traps (picking up their fourth win from four yesterday and yet to concede a goal), and ensuring that Joe Montemurro’s side will have to strain every sinew if they’re to retain their title. But with a flawless start of their own, the early signs are that it’s a challenge Arsenal look up to.

Chelsea meanwhile have motivations of their own, not only looking to build on last season’s third-place finish but also to get revenge over the team that did the double over them last term, most chasteningly with a 5-0 drubbing at this very ground – their home turf – in October. A win today would not just help banish those memories, it would also see them leapfrog their fellow title-hopefuls into second. What more incentive do you need? Strap in.