WSL Preview: Chelsea boss Emma Hayes says her side's encounter with Arsenal will be 'emotional'

Chelsea boss Emma Hayes says she thinks her team are «in another stage of their evolution» as they bid to take the lead of the Women's Super League on Friday night. The Blues host league-leaders Arsenal at Kingsmeadow with the Gunners just two points in front at the top of the table. Ad/> A win would therefore give Hayes and her side the advantage going into the season run-in, especially as they will still have a game in hand.

Women's Champions League‘She was exceptional’ — Hayes lauds ‘outrageous’ James after Chelsea debut19/11/2021 AT 16:08 And she feels the encounter is coming at the right time for her group. Talking to Sky Sports, she said: «My job is to put this team in a position to perform on Friday, that's something they're already doing really well. »Everybody has played their part and contributed to where we're at.

Spurs 'want to move on' from use of 'Y-word' after conducting review Silva urges Chelsea players ahead of CWC final with Palmeiras Saka says Arsenal ‘always the one’ despite interest from Spurs and Chelsea as a youngster «I never think being at the top of our game is a permanent place, it's cyclical, I think it's game-to-game. But what I have realised is that we've been able to play without some of our top players in this recent period, who've produced performances for Chelsea over the years. »And we've not only ground out results, but I think we're finding another level to our play.

So it's a real testament to the strength in depth and shows what a fantastic squad we really do have. «We're playing well, we're defending well, we're scoring goals from different positions on the pitch. /> Hayes did however warn against letting the inevitable emotion of a London derby filter in her team's performance.