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| Venue: Kingsmeadow Date: Sunday, 12 March Time: 12:30 GMT |
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A decisive blow could be struck in the Women’s Super League this weekend when Chelsea host Manchester United in a battle of the top two.
United, seeking their first WSL title, are just one point clear of champions Chelsea, who have a game in hand.
A win would put United firmly on course for a maiden crown just five years after the club was founded in the second-tier Championship.
To do so, United will have to end a hoodoo which has seen Chelsea dominate fixtures between the sides in recent years.
The uncomfortable stats
In six WSL meetings, United have never won while Chelsea have emerged victorious five times.
The Blues have also won both cup meetings between the sides. Across their eight games since 2018, Chelsea have scored 21 goals to just seven by United.
The nadir for Marc Skinner’s side came in September 2021, losing 6-1 at home to Chelsea. From Fran Kirby opening the scoring in the second minute to Jessie Fleming making it six in the second minute of stoppage time, the visitors dominated the game from beginning to end.
Recent matches indicate the gap is narrowing. On the final day of last season United almost ruined Chelsea’s party, twice taking the lead in a game Emma Hayes’ side needed to win to take the title. Two stunning Sam Kerr volleys helped the Blues to victory, but only after a scare.
This season, United’s only league defeat came in a 3-1 loss to Chelsea at Leigh Sports Village in November. After the game, Skinner vowed his team were going to “bridge the gap” to the champions.
This week, the United manager told a media conference: “We are going to need to be ruthless against Chelsea because you don’t get many chances, so we have to make sure we take them when we create them.
“This game won’t define the title but we have to show we have the mental capacity to go into these games without fear of an opponent.
“When we played them at home, we didn’t maximise our opportunities and potential. That’s what I am going to expect in this game.”
How United have kicked on
That defeat on 6 November remains United’s only loss inside 90 minutes this season – and the match which followed could prove their defining fixture of the season.
In front of 40,000 fans at Emirates Stadium, they beat Arsenal 3-2 with two goals in the final five minutes completing a remarkable comeback victory.
From that springboard they held Manchester City in a thrilling match at Etihad Stadium, smashed Liverpool 6-0 and have progressed to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup alongside their league exploits. It could still be a historic season on several fronts for Skinner and United.
They were also boosted when Arsenal’s attempts to poach Alessia Russo on January transfer deadline day for a world-record fee failed, with Skinner extolling her virtues this week after her hat-trick on Sunday.
“We all know Alessia has wonderful technical abilities, but I have asked her to be more available in the box and more pre-thinking, rather than reactive,” he said.
“For two of her three goals at the weekend, she anticipated perfectly where the ball was going to be.”
While Russo – United’s top scorer this season with nine goals – and company attract the majority of plaudits, the team have also been boosted by a watertight defence marshalled by Mary Earps which has conceded only eight goals in 14 WSL matches.
There are some concerns however, with sloppy goals shipped in recent games against Tottenham and Leicester.
Former WSL centre-back Gilly Flaherty said of the United defence last weekend: “You can get away with that defending against the likes of Leicester, but doing that against Chelsea could be the ultimate punisher.
“They’re not going to have as many chances at the other end to get back in front. I don’t worry about United creating chances, but I do worry defensively with them.”
Will Arsenal defeat linger for Chelsea?
While United enter the weekend on a winning run, Chelsea are still recovering from an uncharacteristic performance in their League Cup final defeat by Arsenal, a first loss in any competition since the opening game of the season.
Hayes was hugely critical of her players following the 3-1 defeat in which they were comprehensively outplayed, and though they beat Brighton by the same score in the WSL on Wednesday, the scars of cup-final failure may still remain.
“You have to win your battles and we didn’t do that,” Hayes said on Sunday. “When you don’t do those things sometimes you need a reality check.
“There was complacency – we won a lot and they haven’t and they wanted it more than us. Simple as.”
On Wednesday, Hayes said she told the players she wanted to take all 11 of them off at half-time of the cup final.
That defeat indicated there are vulnerabilities to Chelsea which were not clear before, particularly if they are pressed in midfield and the service to Kerr is cut off.
However, Skinner is wary of the wounded Blues.
“We’ve been in this rodeo before,” he said. “Emma will have that team fired up. We have to match that, if not go above that.
“We know the magnitude of this, but it’s just another game. If you don’t maximise the playing potential within it, it doesn’t matter about the result.
“Of course there will be emotions on the day – that’s what we expect in a big game. But if we don’t get down to playing the way we can, we won’t deserve to win the game.”
