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Team Updates and Lineups

Man Utd introduced a single alteration in their starting XI from the one that began last Sunday’s 2-0 win at the Reds. Anna Sandberg comes in for leading scorer Malard, who drops to the bench.

Chelsea adjust three players in/out of the starting eleven that began the 4-0 win against West Ham United. Carpenter takes over from Veerle Buurman in defense, Macario comes in instead of Jean-François in the middle of the park, and Sandy Baltimore takes Alyssa Thompson’s place in attack. All of the players dropped are substitutes.

Confirmed Lineups

Manchester United: Tullis-Joyce, 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.
Subs: Peng, Reiten, Thompson, Buurman, Kerr, Hamano, Jean-Francois, Nusken, Potter.

Build-Up

Only four matches into the season, and already this feels like it could be a decisive fixture. Check out 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

Manchester United may climb to first place with a victory this evening. It’s a big ask, even with home advantage, not least because the visitors haven’t lost in the Women’s Super League since late in the 2023-24 season – and they still went on to win the title. Additionally, Cuthbert along with Beever-Jones are currently in impressive form that has them pinging the ball into the top corner.

Yet despite that, United retain confidence in their ability to halt the 500-day-plus undefeated streak of the best team in the league. Partly because their defence is formidable – they’ve only conceded a single goal so far this season – and they possess spectacular goals in their arsenal too: including Miyazawa, capable of launch a howitzer. With Melvine Malard joint top of the early goalscoring charts alongside the previously mentioned Beever-Jones, there is ample in-form attacking talent on display to make this an exciting match. Should fate decide to deliver a goalless draw, apologies are in order in advance. Kick-off at Leigh Sports Village will be at 19:30 BST. Let’s go!