Match Preview: Chelsea Women face Tottenham in London derby
After the international break the WSL is back with the next highlight. Chelsea will face Tottenham at Stamford Bridge celebrating not only one but two anniversaries: on the one hand Blues manager Emma Hayes’ 10th year in charge of the club, on the other the club’s anniversary itself 30 years into the game.
All general sale tickets were already sold out before the game with hopes to surpass the previous attendance record of over 25,000 fans.
The London derby will be an especially crucial match for the home side as they could have a chance to surpass table toppers Arsenal if the Gunners lose their Saturday evening game against Manchester United. The Blues go into the game as favourites as they bid to continue their winning streak with a ninth consecutive victory.
Emma Hayes’s highly anticipated return
For the first time after undergoing an emergency hysterectomy to battle endometriosis six weeks ago, Chelsea coach Emma Hayes will be back on the sideline. “I’m still recovering but grateful to be feeling a lot better”, she said. “I’m happy to come back to a team that’s been doing really well in my absence and to be around the players and staff again”.
For the last games, the 46-year-old communicated with the coaching staff via an earpiece during matches. As the game on Sunday is also a celebration of Hayes’s 10th anniversary at Chelsea, it will mark an important milestone not only for the manager but the whole club.
Both teams will start with their best possible XI.
For Chelsea, it will be interesting to see if they will go into the game with four defenders or three as they did against Manchester United. A defence consisting of Eriksson, Bright and Buchanan allows greater attacking power. At the same time it requires greater running effort from the wingers.
Harder to miss out due to injury
Sam Kerr and Lauren James will most likely start in the attacking line. Pernille Harder could miss out after picking up an injury on international duty with Denmark. Johanna Kaneryd is a possible replacement.
For Tottenham, Ashleigh Neville, Drew Spence and Jessica Naz scored two goals apiece in the 8-0 win over Brighton in their last WSL game. Their face-off with Everton, which should have taken place two weeks ago, was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
The player to watch for the guests surely is Neville who has scored four goals in all competitions this season.
The Spurs have to do without Karczewska due to an ankle problem. Naz, who came off the bench against Brighton, could replace her as a striker.
