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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Louise Wilkes

'We want to take the game to Chelsea' - Manchester United captain ready for key WSL clash

Manchester United are set for their first real test of the season when they host current Women's Super League title holders Chelsea on Sunday, already with over 8,000 tickets sold.

United currently sit top of the WSL table, one spot above Arsenal with 15 points, having scored 14 times and kept five clean sheets in their first five games.

Manager Marc Skinner said it will take ‘absolutely everything’ for his side to get the better of the away side on the day because United have never beaten current champions, Chelsea in the WSL.

Regardless of previous performances, Captain Katie Zelem believes this United squad can bring results, saying: “Chelsea have been a little stumbling block for us previously, but I think you can see already it feels like a new team.

“It feels like a new wave of passion coming into this season. So for us, it's not something that we're fearing, it's very much the opposite - we want to take the game to Chelsea.

“We're at home and we've got amazing fans behind us. So we're really excited to have this test for us and set us forward for the rest of the season.”

The first team to win their first five WSL games was Manchester City back in 2016, who were crowned champions that year, marking this game a test for the soaring United side.

Chelsea came out victorious in the WSL last season after having lost their season opener against Arsenal. This year, the Blues also lost their first game - this time against Liverpool - but have quickly regained their league form as well as producing top performances in the Champions League.

Chelsea have continued to perform without manager Emma Hayes, with a 7-game winning streak in all competitions to make it 14 wins from 15 WSL games.

On home turf, they sit third in the table, 15 points from six games, a fixture ahead of the current top two; Arsenal and Manchester United.

Training at Carrington, Martha Thomas and Hannah Blundell in action ahead of their clash with Chelsea at the weekend (Photo by Charlotte Tattersall - MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images)

There are zero injury concerns for Skinner as fullback Ona Batlle is set for a return on Sunday and Alessia Russo was back in action last week against Everton. An ideal scenario for the manager would be for his players to give it their all against Chelsea.

He said: “In these games, you have to try and take the result. But [performing well is] probably the most difficult task. We have to be ready, we have to give absolutely everything.

“I want to see that growth in the psychology of managing moments because it's not going to be as smooth as we would like it to be.

"We have to be aggressive and ready to take our moments when they come."

Last September, Emma Hayes' side inflicted United's biggest league defeat by beating the Reds 6-1 after going 3-0 up by half-time.

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