WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 26: General view inside the stadium before the UEFA Women’s Champions League Third Qualifying Round First Leg match between Chelsea and Real Sociedad on August 26, 2026 in Wimbledon, England. (Photo by Patrick Khachfe/Getty Images)
Chelsea Women’s new season starts on a new home ground for us with the Blues set to play cup matches — including continental ones — at Plough Lane in Wimbledon. It has almost twice Kingsmeadow’s capacity and hopefully it’ll into a fortress just as strong.
This is also a good test for a squad with a lot of question marks still lingering. How will this team fare without Sam Kerr? Will bringing a former enemy in Katie McCabe to the fold work out just as well as it did with Lucy Bronze? Can Sonia Bompastor impress fans just as she did with her domestically unbeaten debut season?
Stay tuned to find the answers, and more!
Chelsea starting lineup (4-2-3-1):
Hampton; Carpenter, Girma (c), Buurman, McCabe; Walsh, Nüsken; James, Thompson, Baltimore; Beever-Jones
Substitutes from: Peng, Spencer, Björn, Las, Bronze, Buchanan, Dragoni, Kaptein, Hamano, Potter, Sarwie, Malard
Real Sociedad starting eleven:
Arrula; Camino, N. Aparício, Florentino, Moraza, Franco, Cahynova, Fernández, A. Aparício, Marín, Marcos
Substitutes from: Estensoro, Mendiburu, Soroa, Cabanillas, Eizagirre, Lezeta, Isasisasmendi, Eguiguren, Seelenfreund, Chacon
Date / Time: Wednesday, August 26, 2026, 18.45 BST; 1:45pm EDT
Venue: Plough Lane, Wimbledon, UK
Referee: Silvia Gasperotti (ITA)
On TV: none (UK); none (USA); elsewhere
Streaming: Free at Chelsea FC and the club’s official app
Let’s do this!