Arsenal desperately need three points when they face Valerenga in the UEFA Women’s Champions League (WUCL) on Wednesday night.

There’s been significant news out of Arsenal ahead of this game, with the club confirming on Tuesday that long-time head coach Jonas Eidevall has resigned from his post following a poor start to the 2024/25 season.

The Gunners were thrashed 5-2 by Bayern Munich on Matchday 1 of the group stage last week and have won just one of their opening four Women’s Super League (WSL) encounters. Eidevall departed after overseeing a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday. Eidevall’s assistant, Renee Slegers, will be in charge for Valerenga’s visit.

The Norwegian outfit are two-time Toppserien champions and have been dominant throughout the 2024 campaign – winning 21 of their 23 league games thus far. Their title triumph last year meant they entered qualifying for this competition, and victories over Farul Constanta and Anderlecht saw them progress into the group stage. Valerenga were beaten 1-0 by Juventus on Matchday 1.

Here’s 90min’s preview of Wednesday’s WUCL clash.

Arsenal vs Valerenga H2H Record

This is the first competitive fixture between Arsenal and Valerenga.

Current form (all competitions)

Eidevall’s departure means there could be some tinkering to the starting XI, especially given the current volume of games.

Kyra Cooney-Cross and Frida Maanum are two players that could come into the team after making substitute appearances at the weekend. Stina Blackstenius also might be preferred to Alessia Russo up top.

Laura Wienroither, Amanda Ilestedt, Victoria Pelova and Lina Hurtig all remain out for the home side.

Arsenal predicted lineup vs Valerenga (4-2-3-1): Van Domselaar; Fox, Wubben-Moy, Codina, McCabe; Little, Cooney-Cross; Foord, Maanum, Caldentey; Blackstenius.

Thea Bjelde is a doubt for Wednesday’s game after she was forced off in the first half against Lyn at the weekend. Bjelde could join goalkeeper Jalen Tompkins and Selma Pettersen on the sidelines.

Mimmi Lofwenius has been out for the long haul with a knee ligament injury, and she’s still some way off making a full recovery.

Valerenga predicted lineup vs Arsenal (3-4-3): Enblom; Horte, Thorsnes, Olsen; Thomsen, Brekken, Vickus, Heidarsdottir; Godo, Tvedten, Saevik.

Arsenal have underwhelmed at the start of the new season, and their defensive woes reared their ugly head in Munich last week. Valerenga, however, do not boast Bayern’s quality in forward areas, and this could be a more serene night for the hosts.

The cutting of ties with Eidevall was necessary, although the presence of his assistant on the touchline means this is not yet a clean break. However, we should expect some sort of resurgence on Wednesday night in front of the Emirates crowd. This is a game they really need to win.

Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Valerenga

READ THE LATEST WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS, PREVIEWS & RATINGS HERE