Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says that comparisons cannot be drawn with her side’s Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final victory against Manchester City two weeks’ ago when the pair renew their rivalry at The Academy Stadium on Sunday.
The Blues were 3-0 winners in that Vitality Women’s FA Cup tie as they secured their place in December’s final at Wembley. Manchester City were injury-hit for that match and the situation is very much the same for The Cityzens ahead of this weekend’s meeting.
When speaking in her pre-match press conference, Hayes said that the situation leading up to this weekend’s game is quite different therefore comparisons cannot be made with what happened two weeks’ ago.
“Those games straight after the international break are exhausting for players as they’ve been travelling, you have got to pull yourselves through them,” Hayes said when speaking about her side’s recent visit to The Academy Stadium.
“This one, they’ve had a week to prepare and I think that they will be at a better level because of that reason, they have had a week to prepare.
“They will also have some players returning so I think it will be a completely different game.”
Chelsea go into the game in second position in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table. The title looks likely to be won either by The Blues or London rivals Arsenal, however, Hayes is drawing no conclusions on the title race at this stage.
She said “I think it is too early (to make predictions), ask me the question again at Christmas. I remember this time last year, Manchester United were top of the league, went into Christmas top of the league yet they finished fourth.
“I think it is too early to ask the question, I think you have to play everybody once and then you see roughly which teams are competing in which areas. It only takes a couple of results to turn in different directions and it is a very different race.
“What I think is different this year is the middle grouping is more consistent and for that reason, I think it is more open than previous seasons.”
The Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture between Manchester City and Chelsea is scheduled to kick-off at 3pm on Sunday afternoon. Tickets for the match can be purchased by clicking here.
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