WHEN AND WHERE?

The Blues return to Kingsmeadow on Sunday for our first group stage game of the Continental Tyres League Cup. It’s another London derby as we welcome West Ham to our KT1 home.

HOW TO BUY TICKETS

Tickets for this Continental Tyres League Cup fixture are priced at £3 for adults and £1 for junior (aged under 20) and senior fans (aged 65 or over).

Women’s season tickets are still available for just £49 for the whole season. Junior fans (aged under 20) as well as senior fans (aged 65 or over) can enjoy the whole season for just £5!

Tickets go off-sale online at 10pm on Saturday with limited number of tickets will be available on the gate.

Purchase your tickets here

THE FORM

Emma Hayes’ side have four points from two Women’s Super League games this term. We were victorious in our opening league game at Stamford Bridge against newly-promoted Tottenham Hotspur. Last season’s top scorer Bethany England rifled in a magnificent strike from 25 yards out inside five minutes of play. Although we were unable to add to that lead during a contest which we largely controlled, it was an entertaining London derby and an important win for our quest to regain the Barclays Women’s Super League title.

Last Sunday’s match away to Brighton and Hove Albion finished in a frustrating draw. The Blues dominated for large periods and fashioned the better opportunities, but it was a case of us failing to hit the target. With just a few minutes left to play Brighton’s Aileen Whelan put the home side ahead with a right-footed finish that blazed into the far corner. However, substitute Adelina Engman, earned us a point right at the death when she calmly netted from close range in stoppage time.

West Ham took the reigning WSL champions Arsenal all the way in their first game of the season. The match was highly entertaining for the neutral and finished 2-1 to the Gunners. West Ham were chasing two goals going into the second half after Arsenal’s Beth Mead and Jill Roord found the target. However, the Irons struck back when summer signing Martha Thomas headed into the bottom corner just before the hour mark.

West Ham are coming into this game with a win after triumphing 1-0 against Birmingham City last Sunday. A low first-half strike from Adriana Leon was enough for the Irons to pick up their first three points from two rounds of WSL fixtures.

CHELSEA V WEST HAM HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD

Chelsea have met West Ham United twice competitively, both in the WSL last term. The Blues secured a hard-fought win over them in our first-ever competitive meeting with our London rivals. After a goalless first half in which Hammers goalkeeper at the time, and former Chelsea player, Becky Spencer played an absolute blinder to keep her side level, we came to life after the break with two outstanding goals and Ramona Bachmann was the scorer of them both. The first goal was a well-taken effort after she had hit the post and the second was a peach of a curler from the edge of the box to make the points safe.

Our second meet was our final home game of the season, and it was a special occasion as we celebrated Drew Spence’s 10 years as a Chelsea first team player. The Blues dominated the first half and deservedly went into the interval with the lead due to Bethany England who headed home an Erin Cuthbert free-kick. There were plenty of other opportunities throughout the contest, but we were made to pay when our opponents levelled the scoring. Gilly Flaherty, who was a twice Double winner with the Blues, headed past Carly Telford on 65 minutes which meant the afternoon of celebration ultimately ended in frustration.

HOW TO FOLLOW AND HOW TO WATCH THE LIVE STREAM

Fans who are unable to support the Blues at our KT1 home can keep up to date with the clash via our social media channels. There will be live commentary on our Twitter page, regular updates Facebook and behind-the-scenes footage of the matchday on our Instagram story. Simply search ‘ChelseaFCW' on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date.

The London derby will also be shown live on The FA Player, a free streaming platform, exclusively dedicated for women’s football in England.

VIEW FROM THE DUGOUT

Manager Emma Hayes is anticipating a difficult encounter against the south-east London side on Sunday afternoon and here she explains why.

‘I think West Ham have strengthened really well over the summer, they took Arsenal all the way a couple of weeks ago and have got an array of talent. The manager knows the league inside out and there won’t be much in it on Sunday at all.'

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