Chelsea vs. Brighton: WSL preview, focus on building

It’s hard to believe, but the first women’s international break during the Women’s Super League is nearly here. Doesn’t it feel like yesterday that Mia Fishel netted the first goal of the Infinite Athlete era? Before the players disperse to their respective national teams, Chelsea Women have a battle against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon. Emma Hayes’ side is riding a 16-game Kingsmeadow winning streak in the WSL.

We all remember the last side to waltz into Kingston and take down the home side. It’s engrained in the brains of Blues’ fans. So are Aileen Whelan and Megan Connolly. There is no erasing those names from the minds of CFCW fans everywhere. Melissa Phillips and the south coast side may have an uphill climb, but the knowledge that this club has done it before has to be encouraging. The west London outfit is no where near the kind of form we all saw against Everton and Leicester City at the conclusion of the 2022/2023 campaign.

Just look at when the Albion have found the back of the net so far this season. All three have been within the first 14 minutes of the game. When have the Blues been at there worst? That’s a rhetorical question. It’s the first 30 or so minutes. The Seagulls will seek that fast start once again while for hopefully the first time, the west Londoners are ready to go from the opening whistle. Keep an eye out for that. Those first 25-30 minutes will be significant.

Phillips, an incredibly intelligent tactician has all the tools to give the four-time defending champions a scare. After Elisabeth Terland converted two chances against the Toffees to lift the Seagulls to an opening day victory, BHA have been outscored 5-1 in the WSL.

Take that in whatever way you want. All history has told us is that few mid-table clubs have given the Blues more of a challenge than the Albion. Even with Hayes’ side outscoring the Brighton 8-2 in the past four matches, the east Sussex outfit held the west Londoners scoreless in January 2022.

Following the 3-1 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur, the leader of the south coast side was real honest.

"“There’s no time to feel sorry about ourselves”, Phillips said, “The games in this league come thick and fast.”"

She’s right, and with an international break ahead, both sides will attempt to lay it all on the line.

Through two matches, the west Londoners are one of three clubs with seven points, sitting tied with Manchester City and interestingly enough Leicester at the top. What the table looks like now means almost nothing, but the Blues are in a much better position than this time last year. Niamh Charles is scorching hot. Jess Carter could not be in better form. The train is still rolling down the tracks pretty smoothly despite a little hiccup in match week two.

Lineup-wise, I could be proven wrong, but a shakeup may be likely. Zecira Musovic has played every minute in goal for the west London outfit so far. It just feels like it is time for the German Ann-Katrin Berger to get a shot.

Serbian midfielder Jelena Cankovic did not contribute at all last weekend against West Ham after making a solid impact in Manchester. With the goal of rotating, a start at the No. 10 for her would not be out of the question. Last time at Kingsmeadow against this same opponent, the Serbian international was arguably the best midfielder of the bunch on that day. She amassed an astounding 14 progressive passes while completing over 82 percent of her total passes.

Chelsea Women vs. Brighton and Hove Albion predicted starting XI

Goalkeeper: Ann-Katrin Berger

Defenders: Jess Carter, Niamh Charles, Millie Bright, Eve Perisset

Midfielders: Melanie Leupolz, Erin Cuthbert, Lauren James, Jelena Cankovic, Guro Reiten

Forward: Sam Kerr

Chelsea Women vs. Brighton and Hove Albion match info

Date: Sunday, October 22

Time: 14:00 BST, 9:00 a.m. EST

TV Broadcast: The FA Player (UK), Paramount+ (USA)