🏏 Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00 BST
Manchester United Women
vs
Chelsea Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
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- Both sides arrive under early pressure after stumbling on the opening weekend. United lost 2-1 away at London City Lionesses and sit 10th on zero points, while Chelsea were held 1-1 at home by Aston Villa and sit 9th on one point. With Liverpool already clear at the top on three points and a +4 goal difference, neither club can afford to wait any longer for a first win.
- Japan's Hinata Miyazawa starts on the right wing for United. The 26-year-old, who won the Golden Boot at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, uses her pace and close control at just 157cm to slice through back lines. She arrived from Mynavi Sendai Ladies and produced a stunning long-range strike to claim Player of the Match in a Manchester derby last season.
- Chelsea have another Japan international on the bench in 22-year-old Maika Hamano. A right winger who came through Cerezo Osaka Sakai and INAC Kobe Leonessa before joining Chelsea, she banked WSL minutes on loan at Tottenham Hotspur and scored the winning goal in the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup final. If she comes on, it sets up a direct Japan-international duel with Miyazawa.
- Chelsea's number 10 Lauren James faces one of her former clubs. The 24-year-old right winger came through Manchester United Women and also had a spell with Arsenal Women before signing a contract extension at Chelsea that runs to 2030. Her one-on-one dribbling and the shots and passes struck off her left foot make her the most direct threat to United's back four.
- The holding-midfield battle should set the tone. United's Julia Zigiotti Olme, 28, is a Sweden international CDM who won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich and offers relentless running and defensive graft. Chelsea counter with England's Keira Walsh, 29, back from FC Barcelona and one of the world's best at dictating tempo and hitting long, precise switches.
- United academy graduate Ella Toone, 27, is the creative hub at CAM, with the touch and the big-game nerve she showed in England's EURO 2022 triumph. Alongside her is Jess Park, 24, a EURO 2025 winner who joined from Manchester City on a four-year deal in September 2025. They must find room against Germany's versatile Sjoeke Nusken, 25, and 21-year-old Netherlands midfielder Wieke Kaptein, signed from FC Twente.
- The goalkeeping match-up is a genuine highlight. United's 185cm United States international Phallon Tullis-Joyce, 29, shared the WSL Golden Glove in 2024-25 with 13 clean sheets. Chelsea's Hannah Hampton, 25, is England's first choice and a FIFA Best Women's Goalkeeper award winner, strong in one-on-one situations and commanding on set pieces. In a tight game, either could decide it.
- Chelsea field two natural right-backs in the same defence: 34-year-old Lucy Bronze and 26-year-old Ellie Carpenter, the Australia international who won the Champions League at Olympique Lyonnais before moving to London in the summer of 2025. In the middle sits Canada's Kadeisha Buchanan, 30, who spent five seasons at Lyon. Norway striker Elisabeth Terland, 25, who once scored 13 goals in a WSL season with Brighton, must find the gaps behind that pace and power.
- United rebuilt their full-back and wide areas over the summer. Left-back Andrea Medina, 22, arrived on a free from Atletico Madrid on 1 July 2026 as the club's first signing of the window, and had started all three Champions League matches against United last season for the opposition. Winger Monica Jusu Bah, a 22-year-old Swede signed for around 400,000 pounds on 28 August, also starts, with Mexico captain Rebeca Bernal held in reserve on the bench.
- Chelsea's bench carries serious weight too. Giulia Dragoni, a 19-year-old Italy international, joined from FC Barcelona in July 2026 on a four-year deal after winning Serie A on loan at Roma, where she was named the league's best midfielder with 11 goal involvements (seven goals, four assists). France winger Sandy Baltimore, 26, a PSG academy product, and Aggie Beever-Jones, who once scored a 30-minute hat-trick in the Nations League against Portugal, are also available to change the game.