Chelsea vs Real Madrid match facts

Chelsea will hope to continue their perfect start to the 2022/23 UEFA Women's Champions League as they host Real Madrid at Kingsmeadow with neither team having yet conceded a goal in Group A.

The London club kicked off their seventh successive UEFA Women's Champions League campaign with one of their most striking results, winning 1-0 away at Paris Saint-Germain with an emphatic volley from England Women's EURO winner Millie Bright. They then followed that up with an 8-0 home dismantling of Albanian champions Vllaznia.

Madrid were 2-0 winners in Albania on Matchday 1, second-half goals from Esther González and Olga Carmona, a penalty, sealing victory in a contest they dominated with 33 shots to none, before drawing 0-0 at home to Paris Saint-Germain six days later.

This is the clubs' first European meeting, though Real Madrid have already met English opponents this term. They won 1-0 in Round 1 against a Manchester City side they also eliminated in round 2 last season (1-1 h, 1-0 a) in the Spanish club's debut tie in the competition, Claudia Zornoza getting the only goal in Manchester.

Chelsea have unhappy memories of their most recent match against Spanish opposition – the 4-0 defeat by Barcelona in the 2020/21 final. They had previously got the better of another Spanish side, Atlético de Madrid, in that season's group stage, winning 2-0 at home – with goals from Maren Mjelde (58 pen) and Fran Kirby (64) after Sophie Ingle's early red card – and drawing 1-1 away.

While Chelsea were dramatic group stage fallers last season, edged out on the final day in a three-way tiebreak with Wolfsburg and Juventus, Madrid reached the quarter-finals on their UEFA Women's Champions League debut, losing to domestic rivals Barcelona (1-3 h, 2-5 a).

Chelsea, as English champions for the third straight season, received a bye through to the group stage. Madrid, who finished third in their 2021/22 domestic league, had to negotiate two qualifying rounds, getting past Sturm Graz (6-0 h) and Manchester City in the first before overcoming Norwegian Toppserien runners-up Rosenborg (3-0 a, 2-1 h).

Players to watch

Sam Kerr

The 29-year-old Australian striker is the leading scorer after two matchdays of this season's UEFA Women's Champions League with four goals – all scored in the first hour of Chelsea's 8-0 home win against Vllaznia.

That lifted her tally of UEFA Women's Champions League goals to 11 in 16 games.

She has been the top scorer in the FA Women's Super League in each of the past two seasons, firing Chelsea to the title with 21 goals in 2020/21 and 20 in 2021/22. She was also voted the league's Player of the Season last term.

Kerr is the record scorer for Australia having reached the 60-goal mark. She has competed in nine major tournaments for her country, including three FIFA Women's World Cups. She scored five goals at the 2019 tournament in France and is expected to captain her country at next year's finals, which Australia co-host with New Zealand.

She joined Chelsea midway through the curtailed 2019/20 season from American side Chicago Red Stars.

Athenea del Castillo

The 22-year-old forward is one of the rising stars of Spanish football, scoring her first three UEFA Women's Champions League goals in this season's qualifying phase – one against Sturm Graz and two (one in each leg) against Rosenborg.

She started each of Las Blancas' first two group stage matches against Vllaznia and Paris Saint-Germain.

Born in Cantabria in northern Spain, she started out with Santander club Racing Féminas, her prolific scoring in Spain's second tier earning her a move to top-flight side Deportivo La Coruña, where she spent two seasons before joining Real Madrid in July 2021.

A winner of the 2018 UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship with Spain, she made her senior international debut in October 2020.

A member of Spain's UEFA Women's EURO 2022 squad, defeated by England in the quarter-finals.

Key facts

Chelsea have lost only one of their last eight UEFA Women's Champions League matches (W5 D2).

The Blues are unbeaten in their last 12 European matches at home (W9 D3), keeping eight clean sheets, since going down 1-3 to Wolfsburg in the first leg of the 2017/18 semi-final. Indeed, the German club are the only visiting team ever to have beaten them in the competition – on three occasions.

The London club have also kept five clean sheets in their last six UEFA Women's Champions League matches.

Real Madrid won all of their first five European matches this season before drawing with Paris last time out.

Madrid have not conceded a goal in their last four UEFA Women's Champions League group matches.

Las Blancas have also kept five clean sheets in their six European matches this season.