Man Utd v Chelsea – Women’s Super League Matchup
Squad Updates & Lineups
Manchester United introduced a single alteration to the lineup compared to the side that began last Sunday’s 2-0 win against Liverpool. Anna Sandberg comes in for top scorer Malard, who drops to the bench.
The Blues rotate three players in/out of the starting eleven that started last weekend’s victory at West Ham United. Ellie Carpenter replaces Veerle Buurman at the back, Catarina Macario comes in instead of Oriane Jean-François in midfield, and Baltimore claims Alyssa Thompson’s place in attack. The players dropped are substitutes.
Official Lineups
Man Utd: 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.
Substitutes: Peng, Reiten, Thompson, Buurman, Kerr, Hamano, Jean-Francois, Nusken, Potter.
Build-Up
Only four matches into the season, and it seems this appears to be potentially a decisive fixture. 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 if they win this evening. It’s a tough challenge, despite playing at home, especially since Chelsea haven’t lost in the Women’s Super League since late in last season – and they went on to claim the championship. Moreover, Erin Cuthbert and Aggie Beever-Jones are displaying the sort of form that has them firing shots past goalkeepers.
However having said all that, Manchester United will still have confidence in their ability to end the long unbeaten WSL run of the top side in the land. This is partly due to their defence is strong – they’ve only conceded one goal in their first four gamedays – and they possess impressive strikes in them as well: step forward Miyazawa, capable of unleash a powerful shot. Since Malard joint top of the early goalscoring charts alongside the aforementioned Aggie Beever-Jones, there is ample in-form attacking talent on show for this to be an exciting match. Should the Football Gods tempt to deliver a goalless draw, apologies are in order in advance. Kick-off in Leigh, Greater Manchester is at 7.30pm BST. It’s on!
