Chelsea Women make the journey across south London to play Championship side Crystal Palace in the Continental Tyres League Cup tomorrow and here we take a look at fixture details…
WHEN AND WHERE
The Group D match kicks off at 2pm on Sunday and is being held at our opponents’ home ground Hayes Lane in Bromley.
THE FORM
The Blues go into this match off the back of a satisfying victory against Women’s Super League champions Arsenal. Second-half goals from Bethany England and Maria Thorisdottir sealed us the league three points. The Gunners opened the scoring after nine minutes when Danielle van de Donk clinically placed her effort past Ann-Katrin Berger. England got the equaliser and notched her third goal of the season when she turned her marker and buried past Arsenal’s shotstopper. Thorisdottir came on as a substitute and netted the winner with five minutes left of play from 25 yards out.
Tomorrow’s match will be the Blues’ second Continental Cup match of the season having beaten West Ham United 2-0 at the end of September. Chelsea are unbeaten in the WSL. We have won three and drawn one and sit second behind Manchester City.
Crystal Palace are in their second season of the Women’s Championship. Six league games in they have lost three, drawn two and won one. Palace were victorious in their opening Continental Tyres Cup game against fellow second-tier side Lewes. The Eagles defeated the East Sussex 3-2 when Magda Mosengo, Cherelle Khassel and Rea Laudat all found the net. Palace sit seventh in the Championship and their most recent result ended in a 5-1 defeat against second place Sheffield United.
CHELSEA V CRYSTAL PALACE HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
The Blues will meet Crystal Palace for the second time since the structure change within women’s football in 2011. We travelled to Hayes Lane just over a year ago in our Conti Cup campaign and ran out 4-0 winners thanks to two goals from England and a goal apiece Adelina Engman and Drew Spence. Chelsea took the lead through Engman after 10 minutes and the other three goals came in a space of 20 minutes in the second half. Fran Kirby was the creator for all three, sending England and Spence through to score in quick succession before a neat backheel allowed England the simplest of finishes to bag her second.
Prior to last season’s clash, we came up against our fellow London club in the Surrey Cup final in 2006. A 1-0 win at the home of Horley Town FC was secured by a late winner from 15-year-old Katie Owen. Ellen White, who now plays for Manchester City and England, was part of the winning team and our leading scorer that season.
HOW TO FOLLOW AND MATCH TICKETS
For fans who are not travelling to Bromley can keep up to date with the match via our social media channels. There will be live text commentary on our Twitter page, regular updates on Facebook and for behind-the-scenes footage, make sure you check out our matchday Instagram story. Simply search 'ChelseaFCW' on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Tickets can be purchased 90 minutes before the game at Hayes Lane and are priced at £7 for adults and kids go free.
ELSEWHERE IN GROUP D
There are two other matches in our group taking place on Sunday. Reading host Lewes and kick-off at 2pm, while West Ham welcome Tottenham Hotspur for a three o’clock start.
WATCH THE BLUES TAKES ON THE RED DEVILS
The Blues’ next home game at Kingsmeadow takes place on Sunday 17 November, with 2pm kick-off against league debutants Manchester United. Tickets are on sale and priced at £1 for juniors (aged under 20) and seniors (aged over 65) and £9 for adults.