Teams in first and last place meet up this weekend as Chelsea Women head up the M1 to Leicester – a side that has failed to gain a single league point all season.
Buoyed by their 2-0 Champions League victory against Real Madrid, Blues manager Emma Hayes is trying to keep everyone's feet on the ground ahead of the return fixture against the Spaniards next Thursday.
Her immediate focus is ensuring Chelsea take all three points against a Leicester team recently beaten by Reading, Arsenal and West Ham, in a match which is being staged on the club's big pitch as the King Power stadium hosts Saturday afternoon's tie.
On paper it should be routine. In February this year, Chelsea beat the Foxes 7-0 in the FA Cup at Kingsmeadow before travelling to Leicester the following month in the Women's Super League and inflicting a humiliating 9-0 defeat on the home side.
But Hayes is mindful that complacency is the biggest enemy, and will be looking for a comprehensive and professional display to keep Chelsea at the top of the WSL table.
Defeating Real on Wednesday last week at Kingsmeadow, watched by England manager Sarina Wiegman, did give the Blues a huge boost, with the potential to build on that success in Spain next week.
Erin Cuthbert's current form is proving pivotal. She floated over the corner for the first goal, and scored the second on her own with a remarkable (and slightly fortuitous) cross/shot that flew in from a seemingly impossible angle.
Hayes called her Scottish midfielder “outstanding”, and added that she was delighted that the 24-year-old had signed a contract extension which will keep her at Kingsmeadow until June 2025.
Since the departure of experienced South Korean midfielder Ji So-Yun in the summer (after more than 200 appearances in a blue shirt) Cuthbert has been given a more central role in the Chelsea team... and it seems to be suiting her.
"Last December during the season, I got thrown in there, and I didn’t really have a lot of time to work on it," she said. "This pre-season, it’s actually been a blessing the Euros happening for me. I had a lot of one-to-one time during pre-season to solidify and nail down that position, and get to know the ins and outs of it. When we went on the pre-season tour, it was really good.
"I’m finally glad that now the time has come; it was a big reason in my contract renewal. I wanted to be a midfielder. I know that I’m best in midfield. You know as a player where you feel most comfortable, where you feel best and I feel that midfield is my home and I want to prove that to everybody."
She'll have plenty more opportunities to do just that, starting at Leicester this weekend.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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