This afternoon sees the first clash between two of last season’s ‘big three’ in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League as Manchester City travel to champions Chelsea.
Both sides boast some of the best players not only in the league but in world football, so how could a combined starting XI consisting of players from these two sides look?
Here is my Chelsea v Manchester City combined XI.
GOALKEEPER
Ellie Roebuck
Last season, the young England goalkeeper racked up the fewest number of goals conceded, highest number of clean sheets and the highest save percentage in the division. Therefore, despite Ann-Katrin Berger having more experience and performing well over several years and with more than one club, Roebuck takes the spot in between the sticks.
DEFENCE
Lucy Bronze
Regarded by many as the best right-back, maybe even the best player, in the world. Right-back is a position that City probably haven’t had that much strength in over the years other than Bronze, so the only real competition for her in my combined XI is Chelsea’s Maren Mjelde. However, the England Lioness takes the position in the right of defence on this occasion.
Gemma Bonner
Often overlooked but more consistent than her City centre-back partner Steph Houghton. Bonner’s pass completion rate from last season is 91%, beaten only by Jen Beattie of Arsenal, so she will be vital in ensuring the smooth progression of build-up play when playing out from the back.
Millie Bright
A hard tackler and great distributor of the ball, Bright came second in the percentage of aerial duels won category last season, only behind only Maeva Clemaron of Everton so she will be crucial at the heart of the Chelsea defence.
Jonna Andersson
Andersson has the greatest number of forward passes for the previous two seasons of any player in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League which makes her an asset offensively from the left-back position. When combined with her defensive work-rate she has a better balance when compared to the likes of Demi Stokes and Alex Greenwood. A favourite of Blues boss Emma Hayes.
MIDFIELD
Keira Walsh
The regista role could’ve gone either way between Walsh and Sophie Ingle, however, Walsh pips Ingle due to her 115 passes into the attacking third, which nearly doubles Ingle’s 69, and with the attacking talent involved, that could prove crucial.
Sam Mewis
Big things were expected of Mewis when she arrived at City and for good reason. She has gradually eased her way into the Manchester City side and the FIFA Women’s World Cup winner is showing her ability and presence to dominate play in the middle of the park. She is a real asset to any team.
Pernille Harder
You could have an entire XI made up of just the attacking talent that these two teams boast, however, it would be almost impossible to omit the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year. The Dane has only played a total of 47 minutes in the league so far, yet in that time, she has still managed to bag herself an assist and a goal, the latter of which was a beautiful back-heel against Bristol City.
ATTACK
Sam Kerr
Kerr was the top scorer in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) for the previous three seasons and although she hasn’t been able to quite replicate that kind of goalscoring form at Chelsea, she does already have two goals in 182 minutes. This equates to 0.99 goals every 90 minutes for the Australian, more than any City player in the league so far, barring Georgia Stanway who has averaged 1.0.
Beth England
England was last season’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League Player of the Season and the second top scorer in the league, beaten only by Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema. Her England teammate Ellen White recorded six goals in the 2019/2020 campaign and so England has proven to be the better out-and-out number nine from the two sides.
Chloe Kelly
City’s summer signing scored nine goals last season for Everton in the league last year with four goals already in all competitions for her new club. A regular goal threat, Kelly offers a new dimension when cutting in from the right where she’s able to score goals from any distance.
Statistics: FBREF
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