With the international break looming on the horizon, the Chelsea Women face its biggest test of the league season so far. Manchester United are yet to lose a match within 90 minutes in all competitions, possessing the best goal differential in the Women’s Super League through five contests played at +14. Although Marc Skinner and the Red Devils have lost both of their Conti Cup contests in the early stages of this season, including a penalty shootout defeat to Championship side Durham, their league record speaks for itself.
Manchester United are the only team in the WSL not to have allowed a single goal through five games, behind the stability of the 29-year-old English international, Mary Earps between the sticks. Through the first five matches last season, the Red Devils allowed an astounding nine goals, including six in a 6-1 loss to Chelsea on their home turf. Skinner and his team have shown the progress this club has made in just a year, and will no doubt have that traumatizing defeat against the Blues in the third match of the 21/22 league season in the back of their mind as a reminder with CFC coming back to town.
After the match against Aston Villa, general manager Paul Green expressed his thoughts on the opposition coming up this weekend:
"Manchester United are a top team, they’re an improving team. Marc (Skinner) has done some good work there over his period in charge…We know it’s going to be a tough game, they are currently unbeaten, and we’ve been up there before, and know what to expect, and we are all looking forward to the challenge, but we know it is going to be a tough game.”"
Over seven matches in all competitions, United has never defeated the Blues, but in last season’s league finale, it took the brilliance of Sam Kerr to rescue Chelsea as it fell behind by a goal after the first 45 minutes. Despite all the past results going the way of the Blues, the Red Devils have always been one of CFC’s toughest opponents in the league. Pernille Harder seems to like playing against Manchester United, netting a goal against it in three straight games. Kerr and Jessie Fleming each have two goals apiece against United over the last two meetings in the WSL.
On top of bringing the Blues to the brink of disaster on the final day of the league season, Skinner’s group battled in the Conti Cup semi-final, cutting the lead in half following two Chelsea goals, but ultimately falling short due to a red card with under 15 minutes to play. Last season, United finished fourth in the table, just five points behind its Manchester rivals, falling short of the top-three, and an opportunity to qualify for the Champions League.
United is scoring an average of three goals per game, with four players sitting in double-digit goals in the WSL. The next two games in the league for United are against the top-two finishers in the WSL last season, and if this club wants to make a statement and have a shot at the top three, these are the games where it is going to make up that ground.
New arrivals, Maya Le Tissier from Brighton and Canadian international Adriana Leon have provided that spark to go along with the firepower of Alessia Russo, and Elle Tonne among others in the attack. The English international Nikita Parris has scored in back-to-back league games, and with Russo coming back from injury last week, the Blues are going to see a Red Devils attack with all its weapons ready to go.
Chelsea is going to take on two of its former players including Hannah Blundell who played five seasons for the club, capturing four trophies in the process. For both clubs, this match is one that is going to make a difference at the end of the season. Skinner has aspirations of winning the WSL in the near future, and while he knows that Chelsea and Arsenal are the cream of the crop, the Red Devils are demonstrating even without their star striker at times that this is a team ready to compete for Champions League spots right now.
Both clubs have rotated their squads regularly during the opening few matches of the year, but with the depth this Chelsea team has, it should be able to find a way to break down this defense for the first time this season. There is far too much quality at each level in the starting IX, and on the bench for the Blues compared to the Red Devils. United has nothing to lose in a match like this against the defending champions, while CFCW is still trying to play catch up following its early blunder against Liverpool. An ambitious Skinner leads a determined Manchester United team against a red-hot Chelsea, it is all anyone could want from a WSL match.