WSL match preview: Chelsea v Spurs

We’re back in Women’s Super League action this weekend in front of a sold out Stamford Bridge.

We face Chelsea on Sunday, with the game kicking off at 1pm in the UK.

Chelsea’s WSL story so far

One of the eight founding members of the WSL in March 2011, Chelsea have now won a record five Super League championships.

But when Emma Hayes was brought in as manager in 2012, the team finished third-bottom in her first season and second-bottom the following campaign.

However, going from part-time to fully professional allowed success to follow.

After coming second behind Liverpool on goal difference, Chelsea won the WSL title in 2015, 2017/18, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22.

This season

So far this season, Chelsea have taken 18 points from 21, putting them level at the top with Arsenal having played one more game.

Their one defeat came right at the start of the season, when newly promoted Liverpool won 2-1 at Anfield against Chelsea thanks to two penalties from Katherine Stengel.

Since then, the Blues have put two past Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion, and scored three against West Ham United, Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester United, only conceding four times in the process.

In the UEFA Women’s Champions League, Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 and Vllaznia 8-0 in October.

Rehanne’s thoughts

Rehanne Skinner said: “Every game we want to get as many points as we possibly can. For us, it’s just about continuing the momentum that we had before the break.”

Team news

Rehanne confirmed in her pre-match press conference that everyone came back from international duty in a good position. However, we’ll be without Nikola Karczewska, as she picked up an ankle injury prior to the international break.

Match officials

Rebecca Welch has been appointed to take charge of Sunday’s game, Andy Bennett and Declan O’Shea her assistants and Cheryl Foster the fourth official.

How to follow

Sunday’s game is being broadcast live on BBC in the UK, the programme beginning at 12.50pm on BBC One.

Head-to-head

We’ve been beaten in all five of our WSL meetings with Chelsea since September 2019, and will be looking to rectify that by taking our first points from the Blues this weekend.

Last time we met in the league was in April 2022, when Chelsea won 2-1 thanks to goals from Beth England and Sam Kerr.