As reigning league champions, we raise the curtain on the new WSL season when we host Villa tomorrow evening.

It will be a maiden competitive match in charge for our new head coach, who is looking forward to the action getting started.

During her first pre-season at the helm, Bompastor led Chelsea to three wins: against NJ/NY Gotham and Arsenal in the USA and then Feyenoord on home soil. Thirteen goals were scored and only one was conceded across those friendlies.

‘We are really excited to start the season,’ she said during her pre-match press conference at Cobham. ‘Pre-season has been six or seven weeks working together and I feel like I’ve talked a lot in press conferences and with the staff and players. Now is the time to act.'

With a little over 24 hours until kick-off, Bompastor says her starting XI is ‘really clear' in her head, but the Blues boss knows her entire squad will be ready if and when called upon.

‘The players are ready to start, and that is all of the squad,' she explained. 'It’s not just the 11 players who are going to start tomorrow.

‘We have been working together during pre-season, working on our game model, our philosophy, and our vision of our performance. Everyone who will be involved in the game is ready – I could put 20 players on the field!’

Tomorrow will be Bompastor’s introduction to the WSL, but she is more than aware of how competitive the ever-improving league is and highlights that no opponent can be underestimated.

‘It’s really important,’ she answered when asked about how she will approach the opening fixture. ‘Coming to Chelsea I know how competitive the league is here.

‘If you look at Aston Villa’s results, they had a good pre-season with good results, in their last game they beat Manchester City, who last night beat Paris FC 5-0.

‘We know every team will be so competitive and we will have a hard time because this league is not easy, but we have been working really hard and we are ready for that, especially as it’s a home game in front of our fans at Kingsmeadow.’

Aston Villa travel to west London with a new face in charge; Robert de Pauw is set to manage his side for the first time in a competitive fixture.

‘We are really professional as staff and we have been looking at their games – and I had the opportunity to watch their games, too,’ Bompastor said.

‘I know they have good players in the squad. They are a good team and they are investing in the women’s game. They are as ready as we are and I think it will be a tough game.

‘I always show respect for all the opposition. They have a new coach and I just want to welcome him. I know I am new as well but I want to tell him welcome to the league and I hope we both show good football tomorrow night.’

The Blues will host Villa in front of what is expected to be a sell-out crowd, and many more will watch from home with the fixture being broadcast on BBC Two in the UK.

‘This is what we like, being on TV, being able to start the league, and a Friday night game with a lot of fans in the stadium,’ Bompastor added.

‘At Kingsmeadow, the fans are so close and you can hear them, this is good for us and not the opposition. This is why we do our job. Coaches and players, we just want to enjoy and be with our fans at home.’