Chelsea Women vs Manchester United Women preview: Kick-off time, where to watch live and more!
From the official Chelsea FC website:
Chelsea Women are preparing to take on Manchester United in what promises to be a blockbuster 2023 Vitality Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
This year’s final sees the top two teams in the Women’s Super League go head-to-head in front of a sell-out crowd at the home of English football, where we will be aiming to clinch our fifth FA Cup trophy of Emma Hayes’ reign.
We have overcome four WSL opponents to reach the showpiece final this weekend, starting with Liverpool when we entered the fray at the fourth round. Further victories against Arsenal, Reading and Aston Villa bring us back to Wembley in search of our first silverware of the season.
Our FA Cup campaign has included some landmark moments including Melanie Leupolz returning from maternity leave in the fourth-round victory over Liverpool, Sam Kerr making her 100th Blues appearance in the fifth-round win over Arsenal, and we will be looking to make further memories on Sunday.
When and where?
We meet Manchester United in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup final this Sunday 14 May, with kick-off scheduled for 2.30pm (UK time) at Wembley Stadium.
How to follow
As always, you can follow the game via Chelsea Women’s social media channels. There will be live commentary on our Twitter page and regular updates on Facebook and Instagram. Simply search ‘ChelseaFCW’ on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Supporters who cannot attend will be able to watch the match which has been selected for live broadcast on BBC One.
The form
Our FA Cup journey began at the fourth round of the competition where we overcame fellow WSL outfit Liverpool 3-2 in an entertaining affair at Kingsmeadow in January. Kerr netted a stunning hat-trick against stubborn opposition as we progressed to the fifth round.
For the second round running, we were pitted against WSL opposition at Kingsmeadow with Arsenal the visitors at the end of February. Kerr and Sophie Ingle netted a goal in each half to book our place in the quarter-finals.
Here, we travelled to another WSL opponent in the shape of Reading. Goals from Jess Carter, Maren Mjelde and Guro Reiten did the damage and sealed our spot in the last four where we overcame Aston Villa thanks to a single goal from Kerr, booking our place in Sunday’s final.
As for our opponents, Manchester United progressed through the fourth round with a 2-1 victory against Sunderland. They hit five without reply against Durham in the fifth round, overcame Championship outfit Lewes 3-1 at the quarter-final stage, before edging out Brighton and Hove Albion 3-2 in the semi-finals to secure their spot at Wembley.
Chelsea Women vs Manchester United Women recent head-to-head record
Our previous competitive fixture against Manchester United came in the Women’s Super League at Kingsmeadow on 12 March. Kerr scored the deciding goal of the game on 23 minutes, a finish which won the Barclays WSL Goal of the Month award for March.
In the reverse fixture at Leigh Sports Village last November, we ran out 3-1 winners to extend our winning streak to eight matches in all competitions. Kerr and Lauren James scored a quickfire double on the hour mark to set us on our way.
With twenty minutes remaining, Alessia Russo pulled a goal back for the hosts who had a 100 per cent record in the league prior to kick-off. There was a sigh of relief during a nervous finale when Erin Cuthbert netted a third for the Blues to secure a brilliant three points to bring back to London.
Pre-Match Thoughts
Speaking in the build-up to the showpiece final, midfielder Cuthbert talked about her affinity with Chelsea and what it will mean to represent the club in front of a packed crowd at Wembley on Sunday afternoon.
‘I can’t wait,’ Cuthbert said. ‘Chelsea means the world to me. It’s a great football club and it’s finally here that the women’s game is selling out Wembley on a domestic level. It’s going to be a great day but as players, we need to make sure we play the game and not the occasion.’
Elsewhere, forward Sam Kerr said she relishes the chance to play at Wembley and is looking forward to her loved ones attending on the day.
‘I love playing at Wembley,’ Kerr exclaimed. ‘It’s probably my favourite stadium to play at the world, just based on whenever you go there it’s a big game.
‘I’m really excited, this team steps up when there is a big occasion. It’s going to be amazing, a packed out crowd, my family are coming over for it so it’s going to be very exciting.’
Next up for the Blues
Emma Hayes’ side will return to Women’s Super League action when we travel to take on West Ham United at the Chigwell Construction Stadium on Wednesday 17 May.
This is our game in hand on league leaders Manchester United and victory would see us reclaim top spot and move two points clear of the Reds with two league games remaining.
The match kicks-off at 8.15pm (UK time) and for supporters who cannot attend the fixture, the game has been selected for live television broadcast on Sky Sports.
‘Chelsea Supporters Group’ can also be found on Twitter and Facebook
