Chelsea Women at Manchester City, Conti Cup semifinal preview, predicted XI

Back to the cup competitions we go. A little more than two weeks after it fell short at Kingsmeadow vs. Manchester City, Chelsea Women travel north for a chance to punch a ticket to the Conti Cup final.

Manchester City v Chelsea FC - Barclays Women´s Super League / Alex Livesey/GettyImages

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Only three clubs have ever lifted the Conti Cup since its introduction in 2011. Two of them will be in Manchester this Thursday. The reward---a chance to travel to Molineux Stadium for the final on the afternoon of March 31.

Of course, it had to be Manchester City away. Chelsea Women would've needed to beat the Northern England club anyway, so why not get it over with now?

Gareth Taylor's team has lost on home soil just once this season across all competitions, most recently edging a stubborn Everton FC by a goal in the WSL. The west Londoners scraped a point away at Joie Stadium earlier this season, a match where the referee made most of the headlines rather than the players on the pitch.

In the last two League Cup campaigns, Chelsea have been unable to put together a complete display with the silverware on the line. Since the obliteration of Bristol City at Vicarage Road, the west Londoners have squandered multiple first-half advantages, dropping consecutive finals by a 3-1 score line. One of those was a defeat to City at Plough Lane. The now Real Madrid midfielder Caroline Weir
led the charge with her two goals, denying the Blues of a third straight league cup. In the most recent Conti Cup final defeat, Hayes called her team out for a lack of hunger.

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