POSTPONED: London City Lionesses vs. Chelsea FCW, Continental Cup

UPDATE:

Following three positive COVID-19 tests at London City (two players, one staff), and the apparent inability to thus stage this game at Princes Park, this match has been postponed. It’s unclear when or if it will be held.

PREVIOUSLY:

After beating London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham in the first two group stage matches of the Conti Cup, Chelsea FCW will look to complete our citywide domination against London City (once Millwall) Lionesses on Wednesday evening.

Date / Time: Wednesday, November 18, 2020, 7:30pm BST; 2:30pm EDT; 1:00am IST
Venue: Princes Park, Dartford, England
Referee: Lisa Benn
Forecast: Mild, Showers

On TV: none
Streaming: Chelsea’s “The 5th Stand” app and the Chelsea Official Website — (After all the grumbling last month, it looks like someone finally realized they should stream all these league cup matches)

London City Lionesses team news: Last weekend’s scheduled league match against Charlton Athletic Women was called off due to an overly soggy pitch, so it will have been two weeks since London City last played a match, losing 4-0 to Arsenal. That was the second 4-0 Conti Cup group stage defeat for The Pride, having also been beaten by Tottenham. Given the time off, The Pride will expect to be well rested, if not a bit rusty.

Head coach Melissa Philips, who, like Emma Hayes, got her start in coaching in the USA, expects a massive challenge and some opportunities to learn, but has also indicated she expects her side to put up a real fight. Given that they have already been eliminated from the competition, London City are under no pressure and have nothing to lose.

Chelsea FCW team news: Coming off an intense matchup against a bitter rival, and heading into another international break, we can expect significant rotation from Hayes, if not wholesale changes. The only players unavailable for selection remain Fran Kirby, Drew Spence, and Hannah Blundell.

It’s a fairly safe bet that we’ll see starts for Carly Telford, Niamh Charles, Maria Thorisdottir, and Jessie Fleming as well. Guro Reiten will likely be part of the starting XI, assuming the arm injury she suffered against Arsenal isn’t serious. Millie Bright already deserved a break prior to picking up a knock in the same game, and surely now she’ll be given the day off.

This match should serve nicely for building confidence in a few players. I’d love to see Sam Kerr hit the back of the net and exorcise her goal-scoring demons. Charles has shown some real bright moments in her limited opportunities and it would be nice to see her get a full match as well. Regardless of what conglomeration of players are stitched into a lineup, this should be a fun one.

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London City Lionesses were formed in March 2019 and played in the second tier of the WSL last season, so this will be the first official meeting between the sides. Chelsea had played their Millwallian incarnation five times, winning all five by a combined 20-2 scoreline.