Chelsea vs. Durham, Women's League Cup: Preview, team news, how to watch
Yesterday at 06:36 PM
Another competition starter
It's Chelsea's first match of the Women's League Cup this season, as we enter at the competition's quarterfinal stage thanks to our participation in the group stage of the Women's Champions League.
And as luck would have it, we get what is arguably the easiest draw of the stage, facing Championship side Durham at home at Kingsmeadow.
That said, we still have a job to do and the game won't win itself.
Date / Time: Wednesday, January 22, 2025, 18:45 GMT; 1:45pm EST
Venue: Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames, UK
Referee: Kirsty Dowle
Forecast: Light cloud and light winds
On TV:none (UK); none (US); elsewhere
Streaming: YouTube (int'l)
Chelsea team news: Over the weekend, we resumed our Women's Super League campaign by completely dominating West Ham United at Victoria Road, winning 5-0. That followed a 4-0 win against Charlton in the Women's FA Cup the prior week. So that's two impressive victories following the winter break, and similar domination will be expected in the third.
Sonia Bompastor will surely look to rotate the squad, which means that we could see the likes of Oriane Jean-François, Maika Hamano, and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd all getting starts.
Durham team news: The Wildcats were one of five teams who finished first in the league stage of the Women's League Cup, with wins against Blackburn and Sunderland and a draw versus Sheffield United in which they got an extra point by winning a penalty shootout. Their performance wasn't that all surprising given their Championship league table status, sitting in fifth place with 19 points but only four away from leaders Birmingham.
However they haven't been in the greatest form. They lost 5-0 to Bristol City just before the winter break, and on their return to the Championship they were beaten 2-1 by Charlton Athletic at home. They come into the match as massive underdogs and that might be just what they need to push for an upset at Kingsmeadow.
Previously: Nearly six years ago, Chelsea got a narrow 1-0 win over Durham in the FA Cup quarter-final thanks to a first-half goal from Ji So-yun.
