Chelsea host Manchester City at Kingsmeadow in what could be a title-deciding Women’s Super League clash.
Chelsea have won the last three successive titles, including a win in 2021 where they pipped their opponents to the title by just two points.
Emma Hayes’ side lead City by three points this season, and have the opportunity to extend their advantage to six points with just eight games remaining.
Chelsea are still in the hunt for four trophies, and it will be Hayes’ last chance to win the Champions League before she departs at the end of the season to become head coach of the United States’ Women’s team.
Follow all the live action in the blog below, and get the latest odds and tips here.
WSL Chelsea vs Man City LIVE
Kick off at Kingsmeadow is at 7.15pm GMT
Manchester City XI: Keating, Aleixandri, Greenwood (C), Coombs, Kelly, Hemp, Ouahabi, Park, Casparij, Shaw, Hasegawa
Chelsea XI: Hampton, Charles, Carter, Bjorn, Lawrence, Leupolz, Cuthbert (c), Reiten, James, Kirby, Ramirez
Chelsea FC Women – Manchester City WFC
Chelsea vs Man City
18:51 , Jamie Braidwood
Tonight’s clash at Kingsmeadow features the top two leading scorers in the WSL this season.
Khdaija Shaw leads the WSL with 13 for Manchester City this season while Lauren James is one behind on 12.
James has already doubled her tally from last season already, and has stepped up in recent weeks in the absence of Sam Kerr.
(Getty Images)
Chelsea vs Man City
18:40 , Sonia Twigg
There were no fancy cars on show as the players arrived at the ground:
Chelsea vs Man City
18:30 , Sonia Twigg
We are now nearing kick off and the players will soon be heading out onto the field to warm up.
Chelsea team news
18:19 , Sonia Twigg
Chelsea XI: Hampton, Charles, Carter, Bjorn, Lawrence, Leupolz, Cuthbert (c), Reiten, James, Kirby, Ramirez
Subs: Musovic, Nusken, Perisset, Mjelde, Kaneryd, Buchanan, Cankovic, Beever-Jones, Ingle
Manchester City team news:
18:17 , Sonia Twigg
Manchester City XI: Keating, Aleixandri, Greenwood (C), Coombs, Kelly, Hemp, Ouahabi, Park, Casparij, Shaw, Hasegawa
SUBS | MacIver, Stokes, Fowler, Angeldahl, Morgan, Mace, Blindkilde-Brown, Mace, Kennedy
The players have been arriving at the ground
18:15 , Sonia Twigg
The players are there and the match is now just over an hour away from kicking off:
Chelsea vs Man City
18:00 , Sonia Twigg
The teams will be announced shortly, but a quick reminder that Chelsea are without talisman goalscorer Sam Kerr for the rest of the season after she sustained an ACL injury during warm weather training.
Gareth Taylor spoke to the media ahead of the match
17:30 , Sonia Twigg
“I don’t think we need to hype it up any more,” Gareth Taylor said, reported by BBC Sport.
“For us, normalising it is the sensible thing for us. When you play against Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United, the nerves and everything is there anyway.
“It’s a big game. It feels big. There’s no denying that. There’s no doubt the importance of the game and this is what we want, to be in this position.
“It’s when you come into it at this stage of the season and you have the opportunity to potentially go within goal difference of the league leaders. That’s exactly what we wanted.”
Emma Hayes spoke ahead of the match
17:00 , Sonia Twigg
“We have experience of being in this position and we understand what it takes to win titles,” Hayes said, reported by BBC Sport.
“We will have to use all of that experience in the next part, starting from tomorrow, to be in the best position possible to win another title. But one thing is for certain, the title isn’t decided over one or two games, it’s effectively breaking down the season in blocks.
“We’re in a strong position for sure, but I do not believe we are overwhelming favourites to win a title just because of our position.”
WSL title race following same pattern as Chelsea face defining test
16:30 , Sonia Twigg
Every year, the nature of the Women’s Super League dictates a single game or moment will define its season. If hindsight can identify where the title race was won and lost, Chelsea’s last three titles follow a theme: in 2021, their winning margin over Manchester City was two points, in 2022, Emma Hayes’s side edged Arsenal by just one point, and in 2023, against Manchester United, it was two again. As the champions now target a fifth league in a row in what is Hayes’s final season, all the evidence suggests tonight’s clash with City may be looked back on as its defining moment.
WSL title race following same pattern as Chelsea face defining test
Is Chelsea vs Man City on TV?
16:00 , Sonia Twigg
Chelsea host Manchester City as first meets second in a key clash in the Women’s Super League title race tonight.
Chelsea are aiming to win a fifth league title in a row in what is Emma Hayes’s final season with the Blues.
The defending champions hold a three-point lead at the top of the table after bouncing back from December’s 4-1 defeat at Arsenal.
City are in an impressive run of form under Gareth Taylor, winning seven in a row since November, and held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw earlier this season.
Is Chelsea vs Man City on TV? Channel, time and how to watch
WSL Chelsea vs Man City
14:38 , Sonia Twigg
Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the Women’s Super League clash between Chelsea and Manchester City at Kingsmeadow.
