🏏 Sun, 26 Apr 2026 12:00 BST
Everton Women
vs
Chelsea Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Japan midfielder Honoka Hayashi waits on the Everton bench. Standing just 157cm, the 27-year-old holding midfielder wins the ball and keeps it moving, and she has already scored the goal that ended Chelsea's 34-match unbeaten run. After coming through Speranza Osaka and spells at AIK and West Ham, she joined Everton in the summer of 2024, and her introduction could reshape the closing stages.
- Everton right-back Hannah Blundell faces the club she knows best. The 31-year-old won four WSL titles and three FA Cups across her time at Chelsea and Manchester United before returning from maternity leave and joining Everton on loan in January 2026. How she copes with her former team-mates' pace will shape the battle down that flank.
- Chelsea's defence has its own Merseyside subplot. Lucy Bronze, now 34, played for Everton early in a career that also took in Sunderland and Liverpool before she conquered Europe with Lyon, Manchester City and Barcelona. She is joined on the right by Ellie Carpenter, a 25-year-old Champions League winner with Lyon, while Euro 2025 winner Niamh Charles fills the left.
- Chelsea's forward line is as strong as anything in the league. Lauren James wears the number 10 and can settle a game with her left foot, having signed a contract that runs to 2030 at the age of 24. Ahead of her is Australia captain Sam Kerr, whose finishing and aerial threat will stretch the Everton centre-backs from the first whistle.
- Bridging the midfield gap is Everton's biggest problem. Keira Walsh, signed from Barcelona, dictates tempo with her range of passing for England and Chelsea alike, while Scotland's Erin Cuthbert, at the club since she was 18, presses relentlessly. Germany international Sjoeke Nüsken, a former Eintracht Frankfurt player, adds late runs into the box from deep.
- Everton are not short of know-how in the centre either. Clare Wheeler, 28, played for Australia at the 2023 World Cup and the Paris 2024 Olympics and made her loan from Fortuna Hjørring permanent. Alongside her is Aurora Galli, the first Italian woman to play in the WSL, a four-time Serie A champion with Juventus and the scorer of a stunning goal against Jamaica at the 2019 World Cup.
- The hosts mix height and pace up front. Kelly Gago, a 178cm France forward, arrived from Nantes in December 2024 and has since extended her deal to 2028, giving Everton a genuine focal point. Out wide is Toni Payne, a Nigeria international who made 169 appearances for Sevilla and featured at the 2023 World Cup, offering vision and directness.
- Everton's back line is built around 21-year-old Martina Fernández. A left-footed centre-back from Barcelona's academy who won back-to-back U-19 European Championships, she scored her first WSL brace against Aston Villa in February 2026. Flanking her are Norwegian left-back Elise Stenevik and Maz Pacheco, who was first called up by the Philippines in 2024.
- The goalkeeping matchup carries weight. Chelsea's Hannah Hampton is England's number one and a FIFA best goalkeeper award winner, particularly sharp in one-on-one situations and commanding on set pieces. Everton answer with Courtney Brosnan, the American-born Republic of Ireland keeper whose WSL experience spans Houston Dash, West Ham and Tottenham.
- Chelsea also hold the advantage in bench depth. Canada centre-back Kadeisha Buchanan won multiple Champions Leagues at Lyon, France winger Sandy Baltimore came through the PSG academy, and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd has been named Sweden's player of the year. Everton counter with Zara Kramžar, a 20-year-old two-time Serie A winner with Roma and the first Slovenian in the WSL, plus Katja Snoeijs, who wore the Netherlands' number 9 at the 2023 World Cup.