Chelsea Women vs Arsenal Women preview: Kick-off time, where to watch live and more!
From the official Chelsea FC website:
Chelsea Women’s quest for silverware on several fronts continues when we host Arsenal in the fifth round of the Women’s FA Cup on Sunday.
Emma Hayes‘ side are still in contention for glory in all four competitions in 2022/23, having booked our place in the Continental League Cup final with a 7-0 thrashing of West Ham United in our last match, as well as progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League and sitting one point off the top of the Women’s Super League table with a game in hand.
However, this weekend attention turns to our defence of the Women’s FA Cup, where the Blues are into the last 16 following a thrilling 3-2 victory over Liverpool in the last round, as we attempt to lift the trophy for the fifth time.
Chelsea Women face a tough task when we welcome another leading WSL side in Arsenal to Kingsmeadow, though. The Gunners defeated Leeds 9-0 to reach this stage of the FA Cup and will also be our opponents in next week’s League Cup final at Selhurst Park, having beaten the holders Manchester City in their own semi-final.
When and where?
Arsenal come to Kingsmeadow for this Women’s FA Cup fifth-round tie on Sunday 26 February.
Kick-off time
The game will start at 2pm UK time.
Where to watch
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 also be able to watch the match live on BBC Two in the UK.
The form
The Blues secured our passage to the Women’s FA Cup fifth round with a 3-2 win over Liverpool at Kingsmeadow, thanks in no small part to a goalscoring masterclass by Sam Kerr. The Australian striker hit a hat-trick against the Reds to ensure our progress and has been in brilliant form recently, finding the net 10 times across our last five matches.
That includes four goals in one game as we dismantled West Ham United 7-0 in our last fixture, in the semi-finals of the Continental League Cup, plus a brace at Tottenham Hotspur in the previous round of that competition.
Those goals have contributed to Chelsea Women winning seven of our last eight games in all competitions, although the odd one out was against Sunday’s opponents, when we drew 1-1 in the Women’s Super League, Kerr again netting our goal.
Arsenal had a high-scoring victory of their own in the FA Cup fourth round, smashing nine goals past Leeds, and also beat Manchester City in the League Cup semi-finals earlier this month. However, their league form has faltered recently, the Gunners being without a win in the WSL since beating Aston Villa 4-1 on 11 December. They have drawn with ourselves and West Ham as well as losing 2-1 at Man City in their last three games in the league.
Chelsea Women vs Arsenal Women recent head-to-head record
Chelsea and Arsenal have already met in the WSL this season, drawing 1-1 at the Emirates Stadium last month, when Kerr scored a dramatic equaliser in the final minute of normal time to cancel out Kim Little’s second-half penalty.
The points were also shared on the Gunners’ last visit to Kingsmeadow, when a tense and tight encounter ended goalless.
However, it was the Blues who emerged victorious when the two teams went up against each other in this competition last season, Guro Reiten and Ji So-Yun’s goals giving us a 2-0 win in the 2021/22 FA Cup semi-final, before we beat Manchester City at Wembley to lift the trophy for the fourth time.
Next up for the Blues
We take on Arsenal again next weekend, this time with a trophy on offer for the winners, as we meet at Selhurst Park in the Continental League Cup final. That game kicks off at 3pm UK time on Sunday 5 March.
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