🏏 Sun, 4 Oct 2026 14:00 BST
West Ham Women
vs
Chelsea Women
3-5-2 vs 3-4-2-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Tenth against third, with seven points between them. West Ham have taken three points from four games, winning once and losing three times with four goals scored, seven conceded and a goal difference of -3. Chelsea are unbeaten in third on 10 points, three wins and a draw, and have conceded just once all season. Manchester City lead on 12 and Tottenham are second on 10 with +13, and these two have not met yet this term.
- Two generations of Japan internationals meet on opposite sides. West Ham's Saki Kumagai is 35, a national team captain with more than 162 caps, the player who struck the winning penalty in the 2011 World Cup final and a centre-back who collected 19 trophies at Lyon, including five Champions Leagues. Chelsea's Maika Hamano, 22 and a right winger, won the Golden Ball and Silver Boot at the U20 World Cup and scored the decisive goal in the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup final.
- Breaking down Chelsea's defence is the central question. One goal conceded in four matches tells the story, backed by a 5-0 win away at Manchester United in round two and a 1-0 home victory over Arsenal in round four. England's Hannah Hampton, a FIFA women's goalkeeper of the year winner, is behind a back line featuring Canada centre-back Kadeisha Buchanan, a Champions League winner during her Lyon years.
- West Ham's only win this season came at home in round two, 2-1 against London City Lionesses. Since then they have lost 1-3 at Tottenham in round one, 0-1 at home to Everton in round three and 1-2 away at Manchester United in round four. Four goals in four games underlines the attacking problem as they host a Chelsea side that has given up a single goal in the same number of matches.
- A 4-4-2 against a 4-3-3 makes the central numbers the key battleground. West Ham field Katie Zelem, the 30-year-old defensive midfielder who captained Manchester United and sits third on their all-time scoring list, alongside Finland's Oona Siren, a back-to-back league champion with KuPS, with Kumagai also stationed in the midfield band. Chelsea counter with Keira Walsh, the 29-year-old controller signed after spells at Manchester City and Barcelona, flanked by Germany's Sjoeke Nüsken and 21-year-old Netherlands midfielder Wieke Kaptein.
- West Ham's front two mix power and craft. Kelly Gago, the 178cm France forward who arrived from Nantes in December 2024, leads with her physical presence and heading. Beside her is Seraina Piubel, who spent eight seasons at Zürich, helped them to four consecutive Swiss titles, was named player of the year in 2023-24 and started three matches at the 2023 World Cup, scoring once.
- Chelsea's attack has a distinctly French accent. On the left is 156cm Sandy Baltimore, a product of the PSG academy who debuted at 16 for the French club. Through the middle is Melvine Malard, 26, a four-time Champions League winner at Lyon who joined permanently in 2024 after a spell with Manchester United. With Hamano on the right, Chelsea have pace across the front line to stretch the home defence.
- The benches are not evenly matched. Chelsea can turn to England's number 10 Lauren James, who extended her contract until 2030, 19-year-old Italy midfielder Giulia Dragoni, signed on a four-year deal from Barcelona in July 2026 with 24 senior caps already, and Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe. West Ham hold back Wales striker Ffion Morgan, capped more than 50 times, and 20-year-old Switzerland forward Leila Wandeler, a Lyon academy graduate who featured at Euro 2025.
- West Ham's back line carries real pedigree even in a difficult start. Laia Codina is a 26-year-old Spain centre-back who came through at Barcelona, won the 2023 World Cup and has also played for Arsenal and Milan. Estelle Cascarino is a France right-back with Lyon, PSG and Juventus on her CV, and the twin sister of London City's Delphine Cascarino. Behind them stands 180cm goalkeeper Constance Picaud, formerly of PSG.