Manchester United v Chelsea – WSL Clash
Squad Updates & Starting XIs
Man Utd introduced a single alteration in their starting XI compared to the one that started the previous weekend’s victory at Liverpool. Anna Sandberg comes in replacing top scorer Malard, who is among the substitutes.
Chelsea rotate a trio of players in and out of the starting eleven that began last weekend’s victory at West Ham. Carpenter takes over from Buurman at the back, Catarina Macario comes in for Jean-François in the middle of the park, and Sandy Baltimore claims Alyssa Thompson’s spot in attack. The three replaced are substitutes.
Confirmed Lineups
Manchester United: Tullis-Joyce, Riviere, Le Tissier, Janssen, Rolfo, Sandberg, Miyazawa, Park, Toone, Zigiotti Olme, Terland.
Substitutes: Middleton-Patel, Rendell, Blundell, George, Awujo, Ildhusoy, Naalsund, Malard, Williams.
The Blues: Hampton, Bjorn, Bright, Carpenter, Kaptein, Cuthbert, Walsh, Baltimore, Kaneryd, Macario, Beever-Jones.
Subs: Peng, Reiten, Thompson, Buurman, Kerr, Hamano, Jean-Francois, Nusken, Potter.
Match Preview
Just four games in, and already this appears to be potentially a decisive fixture. Look! the table:
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 this evening. It’s a tough challenge, despite playing at home, not least because Chelsea haven’t lost in the WSL since the tail end of the 2023-24 season – and they went on to win the title. Moreover, Cuthbert along with Beever-Jones are displaying the sort of form that has them pinging the ball into the top corner.
Yet despite that, United retain belief in their capacity to halt the 500-day-plus unbeaten WSL run of the best team in the land. Partly because their defence is strong – they have allowed just one goal so far this season – and they’ve got impressive strikes in them as well: step forward Miyazawa, capable of launch a howitzer. With Melvine Malard sharing the lead of the early goalscoring charts alongside the aforementioned Beever-Jones, there is ample firepower on show for this to be an exciting match. If fate decide into serving up a goalless draw, apologies are in order in advance. Kick-off in Leigh, Greater Manchester is at 19:30 BST. Let’s go!
