Man City Manchester City

Chelsea Chelsea

WHEN AND WHERE

The game takes place at the Academy Stadium on Sunday 14 November, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 (UK).

The match will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK, while fans around the world can check out which broadcasters are showing the game via the list below, courtesy of livesoccertv.com.

We’ll also have updates of the game in our Matchday Centre and on Twitter @ManCityWomen, and following the full-time whistle, a comprehensive match report and post-match reaction from Gareth Taylor will be available to view on mancity.com and our official app.

Highlights will be available from midday the following day and should you miss the action entirely, a full-match replay will also be available to view with a CITY+ subscription.

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Ticket information

Tickets for all City home games are on sale and are able to be purchased online or at the Academy Stadium on the day of the game.

WATCH: CITY v CHELSEA | FA WSL | WOMEN’S FOOTBALL WEEKEND TICKETS

Team news

Gareth Taylor names an unchanged side to the one that defeated Leicester 4-1 at the King Power Stadium seven days ago.

Karima Benameur Taieb is shielded by a backline of Demi Stokes, Alex Greenwood, Jill Scott and Georgia Stanway.

Keira Walsh protects the back four, employed behind Caroline Weir and Filippa Angeldahl, while Lauren Hemp and Jess Park occupy the wings.

Captain Ellen White leads the line upfront.

Khadija Shaw (foot), Karen Bardsley (hamstring), Ellie Roebuck (calf), Khiara Keating (fractured elbow), Steph Houghton (Achilles), Esme Morgan (leg fracture), Lucy Bronze (knee) and Chloe Kelly (ACL) remain sidelined.

CITY XI | Taieb, Stanway, Scott, Greenwood, Stokes, Walsh, Angeldahl, Weir, Park, Hemp, White (C)

SUBS | Pilling, Coombs, Beckie, Raso, Losada, Mace, Kennedy

CHELSEA XI | Berger, Bright, Carter, Leupolz, Ji, Reiten, Kirby, Eriksson (C), Fleming, Kerr, Cuthbert.

SUBS | Musovic, Ingle, England, Mjelde, James, Charles, Spence, Andersson, Fox

Gareth Taylor preview

“We’re coming up against one of the best teams in the division. They’re very strong on all fronts. It’s a tough challenge but if we stick to our principles we have a really good opportunity.

“We know we’re playing a good team who are ahead of us in a few transfer windows The strength and depth they have is superior to ours.

“Winning on Sunday drags us closer to Chelsea - it’d be five points, which isn’t a huge amount at this point. It’d be a big shift for us.

“It’d be a real statement - not revenge but an opportunity. Our challenge is to keep the players grounded, humble and believing in what we do.

“There’s potentially (more freedom than in previous fixtures) but there’s still that desire to win and do well.

“We know the importance of every game we play. It’s just finding that balance where we feel relaxed and confident to express ourselves.”

WATCH: Taylor: Players enjoyed Leicester victory

Last time out

City returned to winning ways in the Women’s Super League thanks to a 4-1 triumph over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

City fell behind in the first minute when Jessica Sigsworth gave the hosts the lead, but Caroline Weir and Keira Walsh struck back before half-time.

Lauren Hemp blasted home a third before Laura Coombs rounded off the scoring in the East Midlands to grab a deserved first WSL victory since September, in Gareth Taylor‘s 50th game in charge.

Previous encounter

City’s recent dominance of the Women’s FA Cup was brought to an end in a 3-0 semi-final defeat to Chelsea at the Academy Stadium.

The visitors booked their place in December’s Wembley final courtesy of first half strikes from Erin Cuthbert and Melanie Leupolz, before a late Beth England header completed the scoring.

City continued to press for a route back into the game, enjoying the majority of the second half play, but were unable to carve out any truly clear-cut chances to break Chelsea’s stubborn resistance.

Form guide

City head into the game in encouraging form with three wins in our last four games in all competitions and on the back of successive 3-0 and 4-1 victories over Durham and Leicester City.

Second-placed Chelsea are unbeaten since their FA Women’s Super League opening day defeat to Arsenal, winning nine of their last ten, and head into the game having defeated Servette 7-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Stats

● City have never lost at home to Chelsea in the FA Women’s Super League (W3 D5). We are the only team Emma Hayes’s side have not defeated on away soil in the league.

● We have won four of our six home FA WSL matches against the reigning champions (D2), scoring twice in each of our last five meetings.

● City (61.8%) and Chelsea (61.9%) are the two sides with the most possession in the FA Women’s Super League this season, while both sides have had the most open play sequences with 10+ passes – City with 71 and Chelsea on 73.

● Chelsea have lost five games against City in the WSL, only versus Arsenal (9) and Birmingham (6) have they lost more times in the competition’s history.

● Chelsea have scored in their last 57 FA WSL matches, a run that is 27 matches longer than any other consecutive scoring run by a team in WSL history. Since last failing to score in October 2018, they have scored 178 goals in the WSL, more than anyone else.

● Georgia Stanway created seven chances in open play in our win over Leicester City on MD6 – it was the most she’d ever created in a single FA WSL match. The forward has also scored in three of her last seven league appearances against Chelsea, with all three of those goals coming at home.

● Lauren Hemp has had a hand in four goals in her last two WSL games against Chelsea, scoring and assisting in each of those games.

● In 2021, Fran Kirby has been involved in 28 goals in 14 starts in the FA WSL (16 goals, 12 assists). She is the only player in WSL history to both score and assist more than 10 goals in a single calendar year, while only Vivianne Miedema has been involved in more goals in a single year, 32 in 2019 (22 goals, 10 assists).