Lauren James scored Chelsea's first goal
Lauren James scored Chelsea's first goal
The Subway Women’s League Cup final headlines this weekend’s women's football action as top of the table Chelsea takes on rivals Manchester City at Pride Park on Saturday.
Sonia Bompastor’s side have featured in the last five finals but have not tasted victory in the competition since 2021.
Four-time winners Manchester City last reached the final in 2022, where they beat Chelsea 3-1, and will be hoping for a repeat of that year’s success against the same opponents.
Elsewhere, in the Barclays Women's Super League, a relegation six-pointer takes place at the VBS Community Stadium and local bragging are up for grabs.
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Chelsea v Manchester City – Subway Women's League Cup Final
Two WSL heavyweights will battle it out for first trophy of the season as Chelsea look to win their first piece of silverware of the post-Emma Hayes era.
Sitting unbeaten at the WSL summit, the Blues will be hoping to carry their impressive form into Saturday’s final and have the league’s best attack to help their cause, though they will be without the talismanic Guro Reiten while new additions Keira Walsh and Naomi Girma also miss out.
Their opponents were rocked by the dismissal of manager Gareth Taylor this week but will hope interim boss Nick Cushing can steady the ship with silverware.
City have won five of their last six games after a rocky start to 2025, and in Khadija Shaw have the most lethal striker in the country. Her partnership with Mary Fowler, who powered City past Arsenal into the final, could be crucial to their hopes.
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
Time is running out for Crystal Palace at the bottom of the WSL, but a relegation six-pointer at home to Aston Villa offers a prime chance to kick start their survival attempt.
Four points separate Leif Smerud’s side from Sunday’s opponents in the table and anything less than a win would risk all-but sealing their immediate return to the Championship.
With one win all campaign, Palace will be hoping to avenge the 3-2 loss they suffered in the reverse fixture thanks to Ebony Salmon’s last-minute winner with new Villa boss Natalia Arroyo hoping to pick up her first league win.
Ebony Salmon
Ebony Salmon was on target last time these two sides met
Liverpool v Manchester United
Liverpool welcome Manchester United to Anfield on Friday night, with the Reds resurgent after last weekend's FA Cup victory over Arsenal.
Interim boss Amber Whiteley will be looking to continue her strong start with a rare victory at Anfield over rivals Manchester United.
United are flying high under Marc Skinner, and are closing in on a European place. A repeat of the 4-0 victory over Liverpool in the reverse fixture would be just the trick as they look to extend their WSL winning run to eight matches.
Everton v Arsenal
Arsenal travel to Everton on Friday night knowing nothing but a win will do in their hunt for a top three finish.
The Gunners' trophy hopes took a hit with defeat to Liverpool in the FA Cup, and they will hope to pick up all three points against mid-table Everton to extend the gap to fourth-place Man City.
Everton have dragged themselves to relative safety with a number of stronger results in recent months, including a 2-0 win away at Aston Villa last time out.
Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton make the trip to Tottenham on Sunday, with both sides battling it out to be crowned best of the rest.
Fifth place is the biggest prize on offer to both sides, and Brighton currently lead the way with a two-point advantage over Spurs.
A creditable 2-2 draw at leaders Chelsea showed Brighton's ability to mix it with the best and Spurs will be wary of the threat posed by the likes of Nikita Parris.
Spurs are winless in their last three, though faced Manchester United, Arsenal, and Manchester City in that time, and will be keen to return to winning ways to finish the season strongly.
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