Chelsea boss Emma Hayes does not expect her players to be intimidated by a partisan home crowd in Paris in their final Women’s Champions League group match.
Hayes’ side, who secured their place in the knockout stages by beating Real Madrid 2-1 last week to finish top of Group D, face a Paris FC side who can also progress with victory.
Paris must win at the Sebastien Charlety Stadium on Tuesday night and hope Swedish side Hacken fail to beat bottom club Real Madrid.
Hayes told a press conference: “It’s an important game for both of us. We know from the home game the qualities of Paris. We know it’s a game they want to win, but so do we.
“We respect them. It’s their home, we know it will be a big crowd and we’re looking forward to it.
“Playing in front of a crowd is normal for us. We’re used to big numbers, we like to play with a crowd.
“We’ve played in Paris before, albeit at PSG, so we know what the atmosphere is like and the players very much like playing in front of numbers.”
Chelsea, currently top of the Women’s Super League after just one defeat in their first 12 matches, are unbeaten in Group D after three wins and two draws.
They will be bidding to extend their three-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the WSL on Sunday when they face Everton at home, but Hayes is not looking beyond the next challenge in the French capital.
“We respect the competition and the group,” added Hayes, whose side beat Paris 4-1 at home in November. “We know what their threats are. We know particularly the pace they have in the wide areas.
“I also think they’ve got good experience centrally. I think it will be a different game from the game at Stamford Bridge.”
Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger has remained at home due to injury and Germany midfielder Melanie Leupolz will be rested, but Hayes confirmed she will otherwise be selecting from an unchanged squad.
Saudi Pro League: Mahrez and Firmino on target as Al-Ahli tighten grip on third place
Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino were both on target as Al-Ahli tightened their grip on third place in the Saudi Pro League table with a 4-1 win over Damac on Thursday.
Matthias Jaissle's team were four goals up within just 25 minutes as Damac folded, Ziyad Al Johani and Feras Al Brikan netting their first two before Franck Kessie was felled by Dhari Al Anazi for a penalty, converted by Mahrez.
Firmino then tapped home a fourth after being teed up by former Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin on the break, but Al-Ahli took their foot off the gas from there, Domagoj Antolic's second-half consolation rounding off the scoring.
Elsewhere, 10-man Al-Riyadh scored two stoppage-time draws to earn a dramatic 2-2 draw with Al-Fateh in Al-Mubarraz.
Goals from Djaniny and former Columbus Crew star Lucas Zelarayan put Slaven Bilic's hosts on the brink of victory, with Al-Riyadh playing almost half the game a player down after Khalid Al Shuwayyi's 54th-minute red card.
An astonishing collapse denied them, however, with Mohammed Al Shwirekh halving the arrears one minute into stoppage time before Didier Ndong headed in a left-wing cross three minutes later.
Thursday's other game saw Al-Hazm and Al-Akhdoud play out a goalless draw, keeping the hosts bottom of the table while Al-Akhdoud inched two points clear of the relegation zone.
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
Former Spain boss Del Bosque to oversee RFEF
Former Spain boss Vicente del Bosque will oversee a new committee supervising the RFEF.
Spain, which is due to be one of six host countries for the 2030 World Cup, announced the creation of a special committee until the federation holds elections to replace Luis Rubiales.
That is despite Pedro Rocha having this week been appointed as Rubiales' replacement, though he himself is under investigation amid a corruption probe.
Rubiales was dismissed following his unsolicited kiss on Jenni Hermoso during the Women's World Cup trophy ceremony in 2023.
The federation's former president was then arrested in early April as part of a corruption investigation.
Del Bosque led Spain to three consecutive trophies, winning the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, while also leading the team to their first World Cup success in 2010.
Prior to his time with the national team, he also won two Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles while in charge of Real Madrid, where he made over 400 appearances as a player.
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