Given these two teams will meet at Ashton Gate next month for the Women’s League Cup final, this clash between Chelsea Women and Manchester United at Kingsmeadow is pretty much a preview of things to come when they meet at a big(ger) stage.
United are coming in hot from several wins in a row while the Blues are in the processing of regaining momentum. Beating them in a cup tie won’t be easy. But if we do it, it’ll be a further step into shutting down criticism of Sonia Bompastor’s work with Chelsea
this season.
Date / Time: Sunday, February 22, 2026, 13.30 GMT; 8:30am EST
Venue: Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames, UK
Referee: Phoebe Cross
Forecast: Rain showers and some breeze
On TV: TNT Sports (UK); none (USA); elsewhere
Streaming: discovery+ (UK); none (USA)
Chelsea team news: Little by little the Blues return to their beaten path of winning. Neither matches against Tottenham and Liverpool were easy but we still edged both with a 2-0 scoreline in our favour.
To continue doing so against United head coach Sonia Bompastor still won’t be able to call captain Millie Bright into action, as the defender recovers from a knock suffered during our Spurs game two weeks ago. However there’s very good news in the return of fellow centre-back Kadeisha Buchanan from an ACL injury that left her off the pitch since November 2024.
Manchester United team news: The Red Devils haven’t lost a single match since December, when they were beaten 3-0 by OL Lyonnes in the Women’s Champions League. Ever since then they’ve been on a 12-match unbeaten streak which includes beating Arsenal to a Women’s League Cup final spot to face us next month.
United manager Marc Skinner took a small squad to Spain to complete the 5-0 aggregate win over Atlético Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 for his team. They will be missing left-back Anna Sandberg and attackers Ella Toone and Leah Galton for this upcoming match.
Previously: Chelsea complete a domestic treble in Sonia Bompastor’s debut season with a 3-0 win over United at Wembley.
