Celtic are back in UEFA Women's Champions League duties this evening on match day four of the group stages. It's the second instalment of the back-to-back fixtures with five in a row English Champions Chelsea, with tonight's match taking place at Stamford Bridge, SW6 in London... Stamford Bridge ahead of Chelsea v Celtic in the UEFA Women's Champions League, photo Celtic FC "Obviously we were really happy with our performance after the first leg," Elena Sadiku stated at yesterday's media conference which also featured her star performer Emma Lawton.

"I think also we've been growing into the competition, so how we played against Chelsea last time obviously encourages us to grow even more," the Celtic FC Women manager said.

"I think we've been defending really well in all of the games. What the players have learned the most is about being more brave and confident, especially in possession," the Celtic manager said.

Elena Sadiku speaking to Celtic TV after the match. Celtic v Chelsea, UWCL, Wednesday 13 November 2024. Celtic Park. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star) "So that's something that we want to do again, and tomorrow night we'll see how Chelsea line up. I think we kind of know what to expect from Chelsea, but we want to do better and better, so that's up to us."

Elena added: "Obviously coming into the competition for the first time ever for Celtic, we knew that it was going to be tough. It was going to be hard, especially with the teams that we have against us, so we are really learning during the competition.

"Obviously, we want to win, that's our game-plan. We always want to make sure that we go into a game to try to win. But I feel that the performances have been improving during the competition, so hopefully we can get some points soon enough."

Chelsea actually got a tougher match and a bigger fright in Glasgow last midweek than they got from their subsequent match at the weekend against title rivals Manchester City.

And Elena Sadiku had an eventual weekend herself, getting the first red card of her managerial career against theRangers at the weekend after referee Jamie Wilkie gifted theRangers a penalty after making an incredibly poor call. Just another Honest Mistake, the third in two games against theRangers this season.

Tonight's match officials are from Sweden, with Tess Olofsson having the whistle.

Emma Lawton in action against Chelsea in the UWCL at Celtic Park. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star) In terms of Celtic team news, Hana Kerner returns and could make the bench, however there's still no sign of Kit Loferski coming back. It will be pretty much the same squad that took on Chelsea last midweek and theRangers at the weekend for Elena Sadiku to choose from.

Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is at 8pm and the match is live on TNT Sport 1 and will be streamed on DAZN and discovery+ (UK).

Here are last week's highlights via Chelsea TV...

Emma Lawton has certainly not looked out of her depth playing Champions League football, quite remarkable really as she was training at Petershill with part-time Partick Thistle just a few months back.

"I would have been at Petershill training with Partick Thistle," Emma reflected at yesterday's media conference. "It's really exciting, even three months ago I would have been at Petershill training on Wednesday night so it's been such a great journey and I'm just really excited.

Emma Lawton in action against Chelsea in the UWCL at Celtic Park. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star) "In the Champions League, playing against some of the best players in the world is, for me, what I want to do. You want to go and challenge yourself and learn as much as you can, so that's what I'm looking forward to.

"They are very good, they are challenging, with different movements and their abilities are unbelievable, so I'm just doing my best to stop them if I can," Emma Lawton added.

It's going to be a tough shift at Stamford Bridge but Celtic can stand up to their biggest test yet. However it's unlikely that tonight will be our night to pick up a point.

Score prediction - Chelsea 2 Celtic 0. Now prove me wrong troops.

MATCHDAY in London

Chelsea 8pm Stamford Bridge @UWCL Live on @CelticTV Live on @footballontnt & @DAZNWFootball #ChelseaCeltic | #UWCL | #CelticFC pic.twitter.com/V80tnSMCPC

- Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) November 20, 2024

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