The FA Cup final at Wembley is Chelsea's women's team's 40th and final game this season. Having already won the League Cup and become the first team in WSL history to go unbeaten in a 22-game season, the Blues are now aiming to secure the domestic treble for the second time in our history, having done so during the 2020/21 campaign.

Manchester United finished the WSL campaign in third, 16 points behind the Blues, but head into this clash as the reigning FA Cup holders following last year's 4-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

Head-to-head

Chelsea and Manchester United have been paired together on two previous occasions in the FA Cup since the Red Devils’ formation in 2018.

The first was in the final two seasons ago, with Chelsea winning 1-0 thanks to a Sam Kerr goal. The second meeting was last season in the semi-finals. Man Utd, who were playing at home, went into an early two-goal through Lucia Garcia and Rachel Williams and despite a Lauren James goal on the stroke of half-time, the Red Devils ran out 2-1 winners.

The 2023/24 semi-final was Man United’s first and only victory over Chelsea. In our two WSL contests this season, Chelsea won 1-0. At Kingsmeadow in November, a Guro Reiten penalty won the day and last month at Leigh Sports Village, a Lucy Bronze header was sufficient on the day the league title was sealed.

Chelsea have won 13 of our past 15 meetings with Manchester United across all competitions (D1 L1), with the Red Devils losing more games since they became a WSL club in 2019/20 to the Blues (13) than any other opponent.

Previous meeting in the Women’s FA Cup final

Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United (Sunday 14 May 2023)

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Berger; Perisset, Eriksson, Mjelde, Charles (Carter 72); Leupolz (Ingle 56), Fleming (Harder 56), Cuthbert; James (Buchanan 87), Reiten, Kerr
Unused subs: Musovic, Svitkova, Kaneryd, Abdullina, Cankovic
Scorer: Kerr 68
Booked: Reiten, Charles, Ingle, James

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Earps, Batlle, Blundell (Garcia 78), Toone (Mannion 78), Zelem, Galton, Ladd (Thomas 90), Le Tissier, Turner, Parris (Williams 60), Russo
Unused subs: Baggaley, Riviere, Boe Risa, Cascarino, Nallsund

Biggest win for each team against the other

Manchester United 0-6 Chelsea Women’s (Super League 2023/24)
Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea Women’s (FA Cup 2023/24)

Chelsea stats

Chelsea are contesting our eighth Women’s FA Cup final, having won five of our previous seven (2015, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023). Only Arsenal (14), Southampton (8) and Doncaster Rovers Belles (6) have won the competition more often.

Having beat Manchester City 2-1 in this season’s League Cup final back in March, Chelsea are aiming to be the first team to win both domestic cups in the same campaign since we won the treble in 2020/21 (won WSL, beat Bristol City in League Cup and Arsenal in FA Cup).

Sonia Bompastor is aiming to become the first non-British manager to win the Women’s FA Cup since Arsenal’s Spanish manager Pedro Martínez Losa in 2016 (who beat Chelsea). The Frenchwoman has won all four of her domestic finals as a manager (one with Chelsea, three with Lyon).

Chelsea’s route to the final

Chelsea 4 Charlton Athletic 0
Sunday 12 January
Scorers: Ramirez 40, Reiten (pen) 45+3, Beever-Jones 48, Charles 73

Chelsea 4 Everton 1
Sunday 9 February
Scorers: Macario (pen) 36, Ramirez 45+2, Hamano 71, Baltimore (pen) 90+2

Chelsea 1 Crystal Palace 0
Sunday 9 March
Scorer: James 64

Chelsea 2 Liverpool 1
Saturday 12 April
Scorers: Cuthbert 45+2, Beever-Jones 90+4

Chelsea's 2024/25 Women’s FA Cup appearances

Bjorn 4, Bright 4, Cuthbert 4, Hampton 4, James 3, Baltimore 3+1, Macario 3+1, Ramirez 3+1, Beever-Jones 2+2, Kaneryd 2+1, Kaptein 2+1, Bronze 2, Lawrence 2, Walsh 2, Charles 1+2, Hamano 1+2, Jean-Francois 1+2, Reiten 1+1, Nusken 0+4

Chelsea's 2024/25 Women’s FA Cup scorers

Beever-Jones 2, Ramirez 2, Baltimore 1 (pen), Charles 1, Cuthbert 1, Hamano 1, James 1, Macario 1 (pen), Reiten 1 (pen)

2024/25 Women’s FA Cup assists

Ramirez 2, Baltimore 1, Cuthbert 1, Nusken 1

Milestones

Against Liverpool last weekend, Erin Cuthbert made her 150th WSL appearance for Chelsea. She became the second player to reach that milestone with the club after Millie Bright.

With the winning goal against Liverpool, Chelsea reached 100 goals scored in all competitions this season.

Manchester United stats

Manchester United have reached their third Women’s FA Cup final and are the first team from outside of London to reach the final of the competition in three consecutive seasons since Liverpool between 1994 and 1996. The Red Devils lost to Chelsea in 2023 before beating Spurs 4-0 in 2024 to win their first major trophy.

Having won their first Women’s FA Cup last season, Man United are looking to become the first team to win their inaugural trophy in the competition and successfully defend it the very next campaign since Fulham in 2001 and 2002.

Ella Toone scored the opening goal in Manchester United’s 4-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the 2024 Women’s FA Cup final, before Rachel Williams doubled the lead. The only English player to score in consecutive finals in the WSL era is Georgia Stanway, with Manchester City in 2019 and 2020.

Emma Hayes (7) is the only manager that has reached the Women’s FA Cup final more often in the WSL era than Manchester United’s Marc Skinner (4 including 2025). He lost with Birmingham City in 2017 and Manchester United in 2023, before winning the competition in 2024.

Man United’s Celin Bizet Ildhusoy has been involved in the most goals among WSL players in this season’s Women’s FA Cup, scoring (4) or assisting (2) in all three of her appearances in the competition, including netting the winning goal in the semi-final against Manchester City.

Man Utd are without a win since their semi-final triumph over Man City on 13 April, but they have secured two league draws - 0-0 at West Ham and 2-2 against City at Old Trafford - to ensure European qualification for next season.

Manchester United have reached this season’s Women’s FA Cup final having scored 18 goals and conceded once. Only three WSL teams have reached the final with a better goal difference than their +17: Chelsea in 2017/18 (21F 0A), Arsenal in 2020/21 (27F 1A) and Manchester City in 2021/22 (20F 2A).

Man United’s route to the final

Man United 7 West Brom 0Saturday 11 JanuaryScorers: Malard 23 Bizet Ildhusoy 77, 89, 90+5 Williams 79, 90+1 Toone 83

Wolves 0 Man United 6 Saturday 8 February
Scorers: Terland 26, Galton 36, Mannion 52, Toone 54, Griffiths 88, 90+5

Man United 3 Sunderland 1Saturday 8 March
Scorers:Galton 7, Le Tissier 45+2, Toone 90+1

Manchester City 0 Manchester United 2
Sunday 13 April
Scorers: Bizet 6, Clinton 22

2024/25 FA Cup scorers

Bizet Ildhusoy 4, Toone 3, Galton 2, Griffiths 2, Williams 2, Clinton, Le Tissier, Malard, Mannion, Terland

Man Utd's most recent line-up

Arsenal 4 Manchester United 3
Women’s Super League
Saturday 10 May
Team: Tullis-Joyce; Le Tissier (c), Turner, Janssen; Bizet, Toone (Naalsund 71), Miyazawa (Awujo 89), Clinton, Sandberg (Terland 46); Malard, Galton
Unused subs: Middleton-Patel, Rendell, George, Hill, Griffiths
Scorers: Toone 13, Terland 70, Le Tissier (pen) 76

This weekend's match officials

Referee: Stacey Fullicks
Assistant referee: Ceri Williams
Assistant referee: Isabel Chaplin VAR: Peter Bankes