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This time next week, Arsenal will be in action in the Women’s Champions Cup – a new tournament set up by Fifa in the form of the old men’s Club World Cup. The European champions face the African champions, FAR Rabat, in their semi-final at Brentford, while the Concacaf and Conmebol champions are also taking part. The final will be at the Emirates on 1 February.
Despite the nascent nature of this tournament, Fifa is, of course, going to expand it. The first edition of the Women’s Club World Cup is slated for January 2028. Qatar are in talks with Fifa to host the (for now) 16-team tournament. The WSL does not like this. Or rather, it doesn’t like that it’s been scheduled to take place throughout January, when it would affect five rounds of domestic fixtures.
Starting lineups
Arsenal v Manchester United
Arsenal: Borbe, Hinds, Wubben-Moy, Codina, McCabe, Pelova, Caldentey, Maanum, Smith, Foord, Russo.
Subs: Van Domselaar, Liddiard, Catley, Mead, Little, Blackstenius, Holmberg, Harwood.
Manchester United: Tullis-Joyce, Sandberg, Le Tissier, Park, Terland, Awujo, Rivière, Janssen, Zigiotti, Wangerheim, Hinata.
Subs: Middleton-Patel, Rendell, Lundkvist, Turner, Griffiths, Naalsund, Drury, Malard, Schüller.
Manchester City v Chelsea
Manchester City: Yamashita, Rose, Knaak, Greenwood, Casparij, Blindkilde Brown, Hasegawa, Hemp, Clinton, Miedema, Shaw.
Subs: Keating, Coombs, Ouahabi, Beney, Prior, Thomas, Murphy, Lewis, Adedini.
Chelsea: Hampton, Carpenter, Girma, Bright, Bronze, Baltimore, Cuthbert, Nüsken, Kaptein, Thompson, Kerr.
Subs: Spencer, Peng, Buurman, James, Reiten, Kaneryd, Potter, Beever-Jones.
Preamble
Hello and welcome. As the WSL title race hots up, winning the first trophy of the season could give a challenger the mental edge. Four of England’s top teams do battle for a spot in the Women’s League Cup final this evening. In a repeat of last season’s final, the competition holders Chelsea visit WSL leaders Manchester City, while European champions Arsenal host 2024 FA Cup winners Manchester United.
There will be plenty of star quality on show in both semi-finals, which kick off simultaneously at 7pm (GMT). These are one-legged ties, so there will be extra time and penalties tonight if required.
If you’re heading to a game or watching in the warmth, feel free to get in touch with your thoughts and predictions.
