Manchester United v Chelsea FC – WSL Clash
Squad Changes & Starting XIs
Manchester United introduced a single alteration to the starting XI compared to the one that began the previous weekend’s 2-0 win against Liverpool. Anna Sandberg steps in for top scorer Melvine Malard, who is among the substitutes.
The Blues make changes to a trio of players in/out of the XI that started the 4-0 win against West Ham United. Ellie Carpenter replaces Veerle Buurman in defense, Catarina Macario comes in for Jean-François in the middle of the park, and Sandy Baltimore claims Thompson’s spot in attack. All of the three replaced are substitutes.
Official 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.
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.
Preamble
Just four games in, and it seems this feels like it could be a crucial match. 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 may climb to first place with a victory tonight. It won’t be easy, despite playing at home, not least because Chelsea haven’t lost in the WSL since late in last season – and they still managed to win the title. Additionally, Cuthbert along with Beever-Jones are currently in the sort of form that’s seen them pinging the ball past goalkeepers.
However despite that, United retain confidence in their capacity to halt the 500-day-plus undefeated streak of the best team in the league. This is partly due to their defence is formidable – they’ve only conceded one goal in their first four gamedays – and they’ve got impressive strikes in their arsenal as well: step forward Miyazawa, who can launch a howitzer. With Malard joint top among the top scorers with the previously mentioned Aggie Beever-Jones, there is ample in-form attacking talent on show for this to be a thriller. Should fate decide into serving up a goalless draw, apologies are in order in advance. The match starts in Leigh, Greater Manchester is at 19:30 BST. It’s on!
