After the disappointment of the Women's Champions League again by Barcelona, Chelsea will want to confirm itself in the Super League for women.
Even serial winner Sonia Bompastor was unable to prevent the cycle of defeat against the Blaugrana, who triumphed 4-1 on Sunday to seal no less than 8-2 aggregated victory in the semi-final.
The blues wait for their Champions League to end up, a different season will roll in rolls, and although the four -fold hope is now blurred, Bompastor can still complete a triplicate in its first campaign that has been leading since taking over Emma Hayes.
The second of those trophies could be worked on Wednesday. Both Chelsea and Arsenal – the top two of the Women's Super League – are in action, respectively against Manchester United and Aston Villa.
With six points that separate Chelsea from the Gunners, who beat Lyon 5-3 on aggregated to reach the Champions League final, the permutations are simple.
If the blues better the result of Arsenal better, then they are crowned WSL champions for the sixth consecutive season and for the ninth time in general. That would be three times as many titles as any other team (Arsenal has won it three times).
That is the schedule, Chelsea will know what is needed due to the kick -off in the Leigh Sports Village Stadium, with the Arsenal match against Villa that ended by that time. If the Gunners win, Chelsea would have to wait until at least the weekend, when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur for a London Derby, to get the job done.
However, the team that stands in the way will not be pushovers.
United has been a formidable force this season. Marc Skinner and his team went efficiently about their company and will strive to get one on Chelsea prior to a FA Cup Final Clash against Bompastor's side next month.
But Chelsea, who won the reverse match against United 1-0 earlier this season, is an injured animal in the aftermath of that heavy loss for Barca, and she can make that even more dangerous.
Opta's supercomputer makes the blues the favorites. They have a chance of winning of 48.8%, compared to only 27.3% for United, while there is a chance of 23.9% on a draw.
Although it is not entirely the procession that it could have been, the blues still have a 98% chance of winning the title.
We dive into the most important storylines prior to a crucial competition.
I think that's why they call it the blues
United has never beat Chelsea in the WSL (D1 L9) and are currently an eight-match losing series against the blues in the competition. Their only point came in their very first home game against Chelsea in September 2020 (1-1).
Chelsea has dropped three consecutive WSL victories against United and scored six goals in two of those victories: 6-1 in September 2021 and 6-0 in May 2024.
The last victory came to Old Trafford on the last day of last season, when Chelsea won the title and broke the hearts of Manchester City in the process. Even if it denied their neighbors, it was a painful result for the United Faithful.
More than a third of the defeats that United has suffered in the WSL have come into the hands of Chelsea (36% – 9/25).
The Red Devils did not succeed in scoring with the blues in four of their 10 meetings and have never scored in any of the last two. In general, they have only scored seven goals against Chelsea, admitted 28.
Skinner has indeed lost all seven of his matches against Chelsea in the WSL, but managed to supervise the only victory of United against them last season, while the Red Devils triumphed 2-1 in the FA Cup-Halve final on the way to winning the trophy.
However, the pressure is all on Chelsea that comes in this, especially if Arsenal Villa would beat and close the gap to three points prior to the kick -off, and that could fit with United.
Under the radar and undervalued?
The remarkable undefeated line of Chelsea under Bompastor has taken the headlines reasonably, while the revival of Arsenal among Renee Slesers and the fall of Manchester City this season have also been big talk points in the WSL.
However, Skinner and United have demonstrably went under the radar. They have been extremely consistent, have only lost two league games throughout the season and have answered many of the questions that were asked before the campaign started.
Sitting in third place, they are four points ahead of Man City and two points on Arsenal in second place. After Chelsea their last two games against both teams, so United must be at their best to guarantee the Champions League qualification.
Part of the secret of their success was their incredible defensive performances. United has the best defensive record in the WSL-ZE has only admitted nine goals, four less than the second best Chelsea (13).
The key to all this was goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who took more than the challenge to fill the void left by Mary Earps since her departure in the summer to Paris Saint-Germain.
She has held a competition-high 13 clean sheets and leads the Golden Glove Race before Arsenal's Daphne by Domselaar and Chelsea's Hannah Hampton, who each held 10 shutouts.
Tullis-Joyce also made 50 saves and last week she signed a new contract with United, who tied her to the club until June 2028.
The American international could also match the WSL record for most shutouts that are kept by a keeper in one season. That is a record that is currently owned by its predecessor EARPs (14 in 2022-23).
United has admitted 18.29 expected goals against (XGA), better than that in total with 9.29. In the meantime, Chelsea has an XGA total of 15.61, a totally only improved by Arsenal (15.12).
In anticipation of Tullis-Joyce, Millie Turner and Maya Le Tissier have formed an excellent partnership.
This season Turner has made the seventh most approvals in the WSL (87), where Le Tissier makes 82. Turner has also made the joint sect blocks (18), behind only West Ham's Amber Tysiak (19).
Skinner's solid foundations are the basis for the success of United this season, although keeping Chelsea at a distance will never be easy.
History hunters
This season was one of the record-breaking performance for this Chelsea side, although Bompastor will be wary that the job has not yet been done completely.
Chelsea remains unbeaten in their 19 WSL matches this season (W16 D3) and could establish a new record for most consecutive games unbeaten in a single campaign (Man City was also 19 unbeaten in 2018-19).
If the blues remain undefeated for the rest of the season, they will match the 25-game streak that they themselves have set up between May 2017 and September 2018 and rank as the third longest unbeaten run in the WSL, behind Man City's 31 between 2015 and 2017 and Chelsea's 33 between 2019 and 2021.
If Chelsea wins all their remaining competitions, they would not only be sure of the title, but they would also set the record points in total in a WSL season, making the 58 set by Hayes' Blues in 2022-23.
Chelsea has won seven of their nine out matches (D2), and could ever match their most away victories in a campaign if they beat United (eight in each of the last four campaigns), while they want to complete a WSL doubles over United for the fourth consecutive season, without a different team that has been doing more than once in the 2021-22)-Terder
But these records will mean little if the Chelsea season ends in disappointment, and based on the elevated standards of Bompastor, she will settle for nothing less than a domestic treble.
They have made large money signalies in the will of Naomi Girma, Keira Walsh, Lucy Bronze and Sandy Baltimore, although their search for that elusive Champions League trophy rolls, so Bompastor will know that the pressure is to ensure that fans are spent well.
If the inaugural WSL campaign, when Arsenal won Laura Harvey, won the title, Bompastor wants to become the first manager to triumph in her first season in the competition. Gareth Taylor (Man City 2020-21) and Jonas Eidevall (Arsenal 2021-22) finished second in their respective Maidencampagnes.
Those to look at
Chelsea are the second highest scorers in the WSL this season and pay attention to 53 goals (Arsenal is at the forefront of 54). Their migration comes from 44.09 expected goals (an over performance of 8.91), so the blues will certainly be the United Defense tests that has been watertight this season so far.
In the meantime, United has scored 36 goals (from 32.91 XG), with 258 shots in the general fourth best count in the WSL. They have a marginal better shot conversion rate than their opponents (13.95% to 13.77% of Chelsea).
Striker Elisabeth Terland has played a crucial role, with its nine goals that are jointly in the WSL this period. She has performed on the right track compared to her 9.06 xg, which shows that she generally has reserved the opportunities she would have expected.
Terland has actually had the most great opportunities in the competition, with 19, at least five more than anyone. However, she only scored four.
Aggie Beever-Jones from Chelsea, on the other hand, has converted six of its 11 big chances. She has only scored one less and is joint in the rankings (eight goals of 5.82 xg), together with Guro Reiten (eight of 5.87 xg).
Beever-Jones (19.51%) and Reiten (26.67%) both also have a higher shot conversion rate than Teerland (14.75%).
Reiten was an unused replacement at the weekend and Bever-Jones appeared too late in the second half, so it seems likely that they will be involved against United.
Grace Clinton has had a brilliant season and plundered seven goals in midfield and surpasses her 4.48 xg to start up. She is a driving force in the midfield of United.
Johanna Rytting Kanyd is the primary playmaker of Chelsea and United will want to close her. She has four assists and has created 33 chances, with only four players who create more in the WSL.
Catarina Macario was a highlight for Chelsea in their 4-0 win over Crystal Palace last week, scored twice (which brought five goals for the season) and five of the 30 shots of the blues. She also created a game-high six opportunities for her teammates.
Two of the last three WSL goals from Macario have been scored via direct free kicks, making it the first Chelsea player to score several free kicks in one campaign and the first player to do this in general since Siri Worm for Spurs in 2020-21.
There are many striking players who can make a difference in what promises to be a fascinating encounter.