Team Changes & Starting XIs
Manchester United have made one change in their lineup from the side that began the previous weekend’s victory against Liverpool. Sandberg comes in replacing leading scorer Malard, who is among the substitutes.
Chelsea make changes to a trio of players in/out of the XI that began last weekend’s victory at West Ham. Ellie Carpenter replaces Buurman at the back, Catarina Macario is included for Oriane Jean-François in midfield, and Baltimore takes Thompson’s spot up front. All of the three replaced are substitutes.
Official Lineups
Manchester United: Tullis-Joyce (GK), Riviere, Le Tissier, Janssen, Rolfo, Sandberg, Miyazawa, Park, Toone, Zigiotti Olme, Terland.
Subs: Middleton-Patel, Rendell, Blundell, George, Awujo, Ildhusoy, Naalsund, Malard, Williams.
Chelsea: Hampton (GK), Bjorn, Bright, Carpenter, Kaptein, Cuthbert, Walsh, Baltimore, Kaneryd, Macario, Beever-Jones.
Substitutes: Peng, Reiten, Thompson, Buurman, Kerr, Hamano, Jean-Francois, Nusken, Potter.
Build-Up
Just four games in, and already this feels like potentially a pivotal encounter. Look! the standings:
Pos Team P GD Pts 1 Chelsea Women 4 8 12 2 Man Utd Women 4 10 10 3 Man City Women 4 7 9 4 Tottenham Hotspur Women 4 0 9 5 Arsenal Women 4 7 8
Man Utd could take the lead with a victory tonight. It’s a tough challenge, despite home advantage, especially since Chelsea haven’t lost in the WSL since the tail end of the 2023-24 season – and they still managed to claim the championship. Additionally, Cuthbert along with Beever-Jones are displaying the sort of form that’s seen them pinging the ball past goalkeepers.
Yet despite that, Manchester United will still have belief in their capacity to end the long undefeated streak of the top side in the land. This is partly due to their backline is formidable – they have allowed just one goal so far this season – and they’ve got impressive strikes in their arsenal too: including Hinata Miyazawa, capable of launch a howitzer. With Melvine Malard sharing the lead among the top scorers alongside the previously mentioned Aggie Beever-Jones, there’s enough firepower on display to make this an exciting match. If fate tempt into serving up a goalless draw, I can only apologise ahead of time. Kick-off at Leigh Sports Village will be at 7.30pm BST. It’s on!
