Gareth Taylor’s side travel to Kingsmeadow on Sunday 11 October (kick-off, 14:30 UK), having recorded impressive victories over Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal this month.
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Like Chelsea, City are unbeaten in the league, but Bonner admits our recent wins have provided a welcome confidence boost after a frustrating start to the season that saw us lose out to Emma Hayes’ side in the Community Shield before a surprise draw with Brighton and Hove Albion.
“It’s been an important few weeks for us,” she said.
“We’d been a bit frustrated with ourselves in terms of the results we’d been getting at the start of the season and some elements of our performance.
“Particularly in this last week, you can see things starting to come together on the pitch. We’ve had some positive results and we’re in a good position.”
Bonner concedes early season frustrations were understandable given the influx of players at the Academy Stadium during the summer.
City significantly strengthened with five new arrivals, including world champions Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle and Champions League winners Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood.
Whilst it took time for Taylor’s new-look squad to gel, Bonner believes the new signings have given the manager a depth of quality that will prove crucial this season.
“It was always going to take time with a new manager and new players coming in, trying to get familiar with new concepts,” added the 29-year-old.
“You can really see now that we’ve used a lot of the squad as well, which has been a huge positive.
“Players are coming off the bench, playing each and every game, and when you make changes, it doesn’t make a difference to the team on the pitch.
“That’s massive going forwards. We’ve not always have that strength in depth.
“If we keep building and getting good results, we’ll be in good positions come the end of the season.”
