Chelsea Women have some catching up to do in the Women's Super League as the season enters gameweek three this weekend, with Emma Hayes's side currently sitting three points behind Sunday's hosts Manchester United Women.
Marc Skinner's team have a 100% record so far this campaign, and the Red Devils will be looking to continue that form against the reigning champions.
Match preview
© Reuters
Man United's 2021-22 season could not have started better, recording two victories in their opening fixtures and scoring five goals.
Before the international break, Skinner's side travelled to face Jonathan Morgan's Leicester City, and a test against the top-flight newcomers did not cause a stumble for the away team, who ran out 3-1 winners at the King Power stadium.
Ella Toone and Maria Thorisdottir gave Man United a 2-0 lead before Martha Thomas settled the match with the visitors' third goal, after former Red Devils centre-back Abbie McManus had given the Foxes a route back into the game.
That dominant display, which saw Manchester United create 33 attempts at goal, with 10 shots on target, will give the side confidence heading into this weekend's clash against the champions.
Skinner will hope that the international week has not disrupted his side's momentum that they were building at the start of the season, with nine United players representing their country over the last few days.
© Reuters
Chelsea started the defence of their WSL title with a tough trip to the Emirates where they faced Arsenal, who defeated Hayes's team 3-2.
The Blues responded to that loss in perfect fashion a week later, when they welcomed Willie Kirk's Everton to Kingsmeadow and ran out as 4-0 winners.
Fran Kirby started the home side's tally of goals that day, before Samantha Kerr scored a brace and Bethany England completed the job 11 minutes from time.
That was a needed victory for Chelsea, who will not panic about their league position at this early stage of the season, but they will want to climb up the table to put pressure on their title-chasing rivals, including Manchester United.
The home side earned a point when they hosted Chelsea at Leigh Sports Village at the beginning of last season, but the Blues claimed victory the last time these two teams met in January, when Pernille Harder and Kirby sealed a 2-1 win.
- W
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Manchester United centre-back Millie Turner is the only injury concern facing Skinner, after she was forced off just 15 minutes into the Red Devils' match against Leicester with a dislocated kneecap.
The home side will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, consisting of Leah Galton, Lucy Staniforth and Kirsty Hanson in the midfield three behind Toone, who will lead the line.
Hannah Blundell and Ona Batlle will retain their places at full-back after highly rated performances in the opening two WSL fixtures.
Former Manchester United striker Lauren James has not been included in either of the first two Chelsea matchday squads as she continues to work on her fitness, but she could feature on the bench against her old club on Sunday.
Hayes is expected to name a back three including Jessica Carter, Millie Bright and Magdalena Eriksson, with Guro Reiten and Erin Cuthbert operating as wing-backs.
Kerr and Kirby started to find their form which they showed last season against Everton last time out, scoring three out of the four goals the team scored between them, and they will be looking to continue their strong partnership this weekend.
Manchester United Women possible starting lineup:
Earps; Batlle, Thorisdottir, Mannion, Blundell; Groenen, Zelem; Galton, Staniforth, Hanson; Toone
Chelsea Women possible starting lineup:
Berger; Eriksson, Carter, Bright; Reiten, Ji, Ingle, Cuthbert; Harder, Kerr, Kirby
We say: Manchester United Women 1-2 Chelsea Women
Man United have had a strong start to the season, but Chelsea pose a different threat and it is likely to be a closely fought encounter with both teams expected to be pushing for top spot this season.
Chelsea will not want to drop any more points at this early stage of the campaign and give their rivals a bigger gap, and Hayes is likely to have targeted this game as a vital three points against a side which also has high aspirations.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Chelsea Women win with a probability of 43.62%. A win for Manchester United Women had a probability of 29.96% and a draw had a probability of 26.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Chelsea Women win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.16%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.88%) and 0-2 (7.9%). The likeliest Manchester United Women win was 1-0 (8.88%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.55%). The actual scoreline of 1-6 was predicted with a 0.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Chelsea Women would win this match.
