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Women's Super League | Gameweek 10
Jan 26, 2022 at 7pm UK
Wheatsheaf Park

Chelsea Women
2 - 0
W Ham Women

England (51'), Cuthbert (82')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Parker (17'), Cissoko (20')

Preview: Chelsea Women vs. West Ham United Women - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Women's Super League clash between Chelsea Women and West Ham United Women, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Chelsea Women continue their quest to catch current league leaders Arsenal on Wednesday evening, when they host seventh-placed West Ham United Women at Kingsmeadow.

The Blues will have to pick up their form to make up the four-point gap to top spot, having only won once in their last five games in all competitions, while the Hammers are aiming to record back-to-back wins for just the second time in the Women's Super League this season.


Match preview

Sam Kerr celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Arsenal in the Women's FA Cup Final on December 5, 2021© Reuters

Emma Hayes's side's form has dipped ever since they were victorious at Wembley on December 5, when they lifted last season's FA Cup, and they struggled to break down a stubborn Brighton & Hove Albion defence last time out.

On Sunday, Chelsea travelled to the People's Pension Stadium and created 26 chances on the Seagulls' goal, but they dropped two points as they were held to a goalless draw.

The Blues were fortunate that Arsenal also only picked up a single point on the weekend, meaning that their lead at the top was not extended, but Hayes's team did drop down to third spot after Manchester United beat Tottenham Hotspur, albeit Chelsea have games in hand to their advantage.

Chelsea's next three WSL games are all to be played on home soil, and that is likely to help the Blues given their 100% record at Kingsmeadow this season, also only conceding once in those four matches.

This meeting on Wednesday is the first between these two teams in the league this campaign, but it will be the second time Chelsea face Olli Harder's side in a week, having knocked the Hammers out of the League Cup last Wednesday.

Goals from West Ham's Katerina Svitkova and Halle Houssein were not enough to get the better of Chelsea, who eased into the semi-final thanks to a strike from Erin Cuthbert and a hat-trick from Pernille Harder.

West Ham United Women's Dagny Brynjarsdottir celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on January 23, 2022© Reuters

West Ham are looking steady for a mid-table finish this season, currently sitting seventh, well clear of relegation but unlikely to catch the teams fighting for a Champions League place.

Harder's side do enter this clash on the back of an impressive 3-0 win over Everton on the weekend, the goals coming from Svitkova, Dagny Brynjarsdottir and Claudia Walker.

That victory perhaps came as no surprise considering that the Hammers have not lost a WSL game on their own patch this season, but in contrast, they have only won once on their travels, suggesting that Chelsea are strong favourites for Wednesday's encounter.

However, the Hammers have been able to pull off some shock results this campaign, most notably beating Manchester City 2-0 at the Academy Stadium in October, and they could be helped having played Chelsea last week to learn from their mistakes in that League Cup defeat.

Chelsea Women Women's Super League form:
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • D

Chelsea Women form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • D

West Ham United Women Women's Super League form:
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • W

West Ham United Women form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • W



Team News

West Ham United Women's Hawa Cissoko is shown a red card by referee Amy Fearn on January 16, 2022© Reuters

Hayes made just two changes to her side for their league match at Brighton on Sunday from the team that defeated West Ham in the cup, with Guro Reiten and Drew Spence coming back into the side.

Chelsea are likely to stick with a front three including Fran Kirby, Harder and Jessie Fleming, in the absence of Australian striker Samantha Kerr, who is away on international duty in the Asian Cup, along with South Korean midfielder Ji So-Yun.

Centre-back Magdalena Eriksson has not featured for the side since December 16 and she will remain sidelined due to injury, but there are no new injury concerns for Hayes to deal with.

West Ham defender Hawa Cissoko was sent off in their London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, but she could return to the side after serving her suspension last time out.

Youngster Houssein, who arrived at West Ham on loan from Arsenal this month, will have been boosted by her goal against the Blues last week, but she is expected to start on the bench and come on as an impact substitute.

After a positive result on Sunday, Harder may opt to pick the same starting 11, which will set up in a 4-4-2 formation with Abbey-Leigh Stringer and Zaneta Wyne protecting the middle of the pitch.

Chelsea Women possible starting lineup:
Berger; Nouwen, Carter, Bright; Reiten, Ingle, Andersson, Cuthbert; Kirby, Harder, Fleming

West Ham United Women possible starting lineup:
Leat; Longhurst, Fisk, Parker, Flaherty; Svitkova, Stringer, Wyne, Evans; Brynjarsdottir, Walker


SM words green background

We say: Chelsea Women 2-1 West Ham United Women

West Ham are likely to be a tough opposition for Chelsea to break down, especially after facing each other last week which should help the visitors be more resilient to Chelsea's pressure.

That is why it could be a tight affair on Wednesday, but the Blues are expected to get the three points with their quality in attack, especially through Harder after her hat-trick last week.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Chelsea Women win with a probability of 92.79%. A draw had a probability of 5.5% and a win for West Ham United Women had a probability of 1.73%.

The most likely scoreline for a Chelsea Women win was 3-0 with a probability of 13.67%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 4-0 (12.58%) and 2-0 (11.14%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (2.61%), while for a West Ham United Women win it was 0-1 (0.71%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 11.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Chelsea Women would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Chelsea Women vs W Ham Women

Chelsea Women
83.3%
Draw
16.7%
West Ham United Women
0.0%
6
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