Reading vs Chelsea Women, FA Cup preview: semifinals on the line

After a critical victory over Manchester United in the Women’s Super League, the Chelsea Women turn their eyes to the FA Cup with a trip to the semifinals up for grabs.

Since the Blues were defeated by Arsenal in the Conti Cup final, Emma Hayes’ side have responded just how everyone would have thought. A convincing win against Brighton and Hove Albion followed by a sensational goal that led to Chelsea pushing itself back to the top of the table sets up the FA Cup quarterfinal tie against Reading.

Not only is Sam Kerr one of the most prolific goal scorers in the world at the moment, but players like Melanie Leupolz, and Eve Perisset are on the top of their game among others at the moment. Lauren James has accumulated the most dribbles in the WSL so far this season at 23, one more than Manchester City attacker Lauren Hemp. With Erin Cuthbert out due to an injury against United, CFC had Jessie Fleming fill the role nearly seamlessly in the midfield. She was one of three players that concluded the match with a pass accuracy higher than 70 percent while collecting the most shot-creating actions in the 74 minutes on the pitch.