Key events
22 min: Bright attempts to find Bronze with a lofted pass over to the right. Probably not the best decision given the strong winds as the ball flies out of play and into the press box.
19 min: It’s been coming. Chelsea have completely dominated this match and it was only a matter of time before they broke the deadlock. Manchester United are yet to challenge at all.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United (Guro Reiten, 16)
Reiten calmly slots the spot-kick into the bottom-left corner! Chelsea lead!
PENALTY! Chelsea
Ramírez is brought down in the box by Tullis-Joyce and Chelsea have a penalty! The Manchester United goalkeeper is also booked for the foul.
15 min: Bright picks up the ball in defence and makes a run out from the back before sending it through to Baltimore. The full-back sends a cross in to Kaneryd, but the forward’s strike is off-target.
12 min: Huge chance for Chelsea! A corner is sent into the box and it falls to Nüsken at the back post. The midfielder lets it bounce before unleashing a powerful strike, but it runs across the face of goal and behind for a goal kick.
10 min: Geyse appears to have picked up a knock and play stops so she can receive treatment. Replays show she landed awkwardly on her hand. She is able to play on for now.
8 min: Chelsea have certainly been dominant so far. Manchester United are struggling to contain Reiten, Kaneryd and Ramírez especially.
5 min: Nüsken picks out Baltimore on the left with a great pass. The full-back brings it down with a perfect touch before setting the ball to Reiten, who plays inside. Kaneryd goes for goal but Ramírez accidentally gets in the way.
3 min: Reiten receives the ball on the left and looks to play a low-driven cross inside, but Riviere deflects it behind. Bizarrely, a goal kick is given despite the obvious contact.
2 min: Bronze gives the ball away cheaply to Janssen in midfield, who plays it to Williams. The striker eventually passes back to George, who puts a cross in, but Hampton is there to claim.
Kick-off
We’re under way at Kingsmeadow!
Tom has been in touch to give his take on this huge fixture…
“I was at the semi vs Chelsea last season which was one of the best matches and atmospheres I’ve ever been to in men’s or women’s football. I was also at the absolute hammering that Chelsea gave Utd at Old Trafford in the last game of the season which was one of the worst matches I’ve ever been too!
“Utd seem to really struggle to physically cope against Chelsea and I’m honest in expecting more of the same today. Perhaps Grace Clinton can provide a bit of bite and physicality and I guess that’s why Williams is starting too. Anyway, fingers crossed and enjoy the match!”
With just a few minutes to go until kick-off, Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor tells Sky Sports: “It’ll be a big test again. We are going to face a team unbeaten in the league. They didn’t concede a lot of goals, strong defensively, a lot of talent as well. There is an element, the wind will maybe cause issues to both teams. We are ready, confident and if we play the way we want to play we will probably have chances to win the game today.”
Chelsea striker Mayra Ramirez spoke to Suzanne Wrack last week about adjusting to life in England, the differences between the WSL and Liga F and playing under the management of Sonia Bompastor.
Manchester United are yet to lose a WSL match this season, but many fans are still unhappy with manager Marc Skinner. Despite being unbeaten the reigning FA Cup champions currently sit fifth in the table having dropped points on three occasions so far this campaign. A goalless draw at home to Aston Villa earlier this month left supporters furious – and Skinner’s post-match comments certainly didn’t help the matter. The manager’s suggestion that United are still a “new team” baffled fans and pundits alike, especially considering he is in his fourth season with the club. The discontent with Skinner peaked last season before Manchester United won the FA Cup. If they continue dropping points, the pressure could be on. A win today could be crucial.
This is the only WSL match taking place this weekend. Manchester City and Arsenal both have the weekend off while the remaining top-flight clubs compete in the Continental Cup group stage…
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Durham vs Sheffield United
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Brighton vs Leicester
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Crystal Palace vs Charlton
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London City Lionesses vs West Ham
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Newcastle vs Liverpool
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Portsmouth vs Southampton
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Sunderland vs Blackburn
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Bristol City vs Birmingham
Tottenham faced Aston Villa in Group E yesterday. Eveliina Summanen scored the decisive goal as Spurs clinched a 1-0 win.
I want to hear from you! Feel free to email me with any predictions, thoughts, feelings, plans for the day and all that jazz. Are you braving Storm Bert to head to a match this afternoon? Or will you be watching/reading from the sofa? Let me know!
Manchester United are looking to avenge the 6-0 defeat they suffered to Chelsea at Old Trafford last season. Marc Skinner expects his team to use May’s chastening loss as extra motivation this afternoon. In his pre-match press conference, he said: “The reality is, when we walked off that field, nobody felt good. You can have a choice, can’t you? You can [have] fear from it, or you can do something about it. I think these players have now learnt from that. It’s not about blame, it’s about growth. We have to learn and grow from that game.
“We’ve got to be concentrated, be physically present, mentally present for every one of these minutes. And if we can do that to the best of our ability then we can win the game.”
Elisabeth Terland is also unavailable this afternoon due to a muscular issue. The striker experienced groin tightness against Leicester City last week, Marc Skinner confirmed on Friday. She missed Wednesday’s League Cup match against Everton and is now expected to return after the international break.
Ella Toone is absent from the Manchester United squad today due to a calf injury. The midfielder missed last week’s clash with Leicester and could now remain unavailable until 2025. Marc Skinner said: “We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There’s always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, ‘right, if we can get her back, we get her back’. But we’re just not going to rush her in this moment because it’s a calf injury, it’s your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer. So ideally we’d like her back for those games afterwards. The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that and then we’ll see from there. But because it is such a short block of only three games, we’ll assess whether it’s worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas.”
Team news
Chelsea starting XI: Hannah Hampton, Lucy Bronze, Nathalie Björn, Millie Bright (C), Sandy Baltimore; Sjoeke Nüsken, Erin Cuthbert, Guro Reiten; Maika Hamano, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Mayra Ramírez. Substitutes: Zećira Mušović, Ève Périsset, Alejandra Bernabé, Ashley Lawrence, Maelys Mpome, Oriane Jean-François, Wieke Kaptein, Aggie Beever-Jones, Catarina Macario.
Manchester United starting XI: Phallon Tullis-Joyce; Gabby George, Maya Le Tissier (C), Millie Turner, Jayde Riviere; Dominique Janssen, Simi Awujo, Grace Clinton; Geyse, Rachel Williams, Celin Bizet. Substitutes: Safia Middleton-Patel, Anna Sandberg, Jess Simpson, Leah Galton, Hayley Ladd, Hinata Miyazawa, Emma Watson, Melvine Malard.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to coverage of today’s WSL clash between Chelsea and Manchester United. This match was originally scheduled to take place at the start of October but it was postponed with just a week’s notice due to conflict with Chelsea’s Champions League fixture list.
We’re now eight games into the domestic season and both sides remain undefeated. One team could see that run come to an end this afternoon.
Kick-off is at 12pm GMT – join me!
