'Titans' Arsenal ready to roll

Ahead of the start of the defence of their UEFA Women's Cup crown against ASD CF Bardolino Verona, Alma KTZH and SV Neulengbach in Group B1, Arsenal LFC have begun their domestic season in style if a little belatedly.

Late start
The London club could not begin their FA Women's Premier League campaign until England's involvement in the FIFA Women's World Cup was over as nine of their squad were included in Hope Powell's squad. "Due to the majority of our players being away in China it was imperative for us to host this group stage," manager Vic Akers said.

'Raring to go'
Despite the late start, the Gunners have a 100 per cent league record after three games. Faye White, Arsenal's captain, said: "All of the girls came into this season on a high from the achievements of 2006/07, and couldn't wait to get started again. We’re raring to go and can't wait to kick-off against Alma in our first match."

Impressive form
Italian champions Bardolino are also in excellent form ahead of their trip to London. Like Arsenal, they are yet to drop a point after three league games, with an impressive 18 goals scored and none conceded. They prepared for the second qualifying round in the best possible way, beating Calcio Chiasellis 6-0 on Sunday.

'Positive sign'
"We played well; a very positive sign ahead of the UEFA Women's Cup," coach Renato Longega said. "I was scared that my players' minds were already in London but they were good enough to keep focused on the league instead. Now we can start thinking about this important week with optimism."

Italian pride
Veteran striker Patrizia Panico, who scored a hat-trick at the weekend, said: "If we play a European game or if we play Chiasellis we always have to play with the same determination. In London we will give our very best to get an important result for us and for the whole of women's football in Italy."

Games with boys
Meanwhile, Kazakh representatives Alma have prepared with four matches against local men's youth teams, winning three and drawing one. "By playing against boys, we tried to overcome a mental barrier that occurred after the draw because the team sees the Arsenal match as a battle against a titan," said Alma head coach Nikolay Alexandrov. "I believe we are being treated as underdogs, but that was also the case when we twice made it to the quarter-finals."

Austrian threat
The fourth team in the section are Austrian challengers Neulengbach. They are second in their domestic league, three points behind leaders FC Wacker Innsbruck with a game in hand. Boasting the best attack and defence – in terms of goals scored and conceded – in the league, they prepared for European competition with a 7-1 home defeat of LUV Graz at the weekend.

Additional reporting by Paolo Menicucci, Eugene Ravdin and Manfred Christoph.