Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says that this afternoon’s opponents Liverpool will provide her side with a stern test.
The Blues take on the Merseyside club at Stamford Bridge in front of an expected five-figure crowd.
Liverpool have already stunned another London club in the form of Arsenal this season. Matt Beard’s side won 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium in front of a Barclays Women’s Super League record crowd on the opening day of the campaign.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Chelsea boss Hayes said that Liverpool are the most improved team in the league this year and she is expecting her side to be tested.
“I love the competition in the league this year, everyone has gone up a level,” Hayes said. “I think Liverpool in my opinion are the most improved team in the league along with Tottenham.
“Matt’s been there, seen it and done it, he’s a winner. He’s got titles to his name and he deserves respect for those accolades. He’s improved the squad and they’ve got so many more goal threats. They put six bodies high against your backline and that’s difficult because they’re very good in the transitions, they’re a dominant team physically and really good from set-pieces. You can see that they have belief in the way that they play, they’re confident and they won’t be intimidated at Stamford Bridge.
“The players know what to expect but they have to deliver the performance.”
Chelsea’s fixture against Liverpool is one of three games to be staged at Stamford Bridge before Christmas. Hayes says that growing the profile of the team at the main stadium is a work-in-progress but solid foundations are being put in place.
She said “We have a new commercial manager for the women’s team and Carly Telford is part of that team. We recognise that we might not meet every goal in the first half of the season in terms of the volume of tickets we want to sell.
“We now have good processes in place for our future. I suspect our crowd will be similar to that of the last time we played there, so consolidating that is our first step.
“I think that playing back-to-back games there will be helpful. It is sometimes challenging when you want it to become your home. We realise that won’t all come at once, but it’s become more familiar than ever, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Chelsea’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Liverpool is scheduled to kick-off at 1.30pm. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.
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