Preview: Chelsea Women vs. Brighton & Hove Albion Women - prediction, team news, lineups

Chelsea Women will look to maintain their perfect record under Sonia Bompastor when they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion Women to Kingsmeadow on Sunday.

The Blues are leading the way in the WSL, while the Seagulls are currently sitting eight points adrift in third position.

Match preview

Chelsea have experienced a seamless transition from Emma Hayes to the Bompastor era, having won all 12 of their competitive matches this season.

The Blues have collected eight of those victories in the WSL, including crucial home wins against the two Manchester sides in their most recent league outings.

Mayra Ramirez and Guro Reiten grabbed a goal apiece in a 2-0 victory over Manchester City, before the latter scored the decisive penalty in a narrow 1-0 win against Manchester United, extending their lead at the top of the table to five points.

Meanwhile, in Europe, Chelsea got the better of Real Madrid and Twente, before they recorded back-to-back wins over Celtic to seal their place in the last eight with two group games to spare.

The Blues will return from the international break with a potentially tricky league fixture against Brighton, although they will fancy their chances of claiming all three points after winning 29 of their last 30 home WSL matches (L1).

They will also take confidence from the fact that they have won five of their last six meetings with Brighton, including a commanding 3-0 away victory when the two sides last faced off in January.

After finishing in ninth place last season, Brighton have made a considerable improvement under the tutelage of former Melbourne City Women manager Dario Vidosic.

The Australian has overseen five wins, one draw and two defeats in eight league matches, leaving Brighton in third position and one point ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United.

The European hopefuls bounced back from a 5-0 defeat against Arsenal to claim a 3-2 home win over West Ham United in their final league outing before the international break.

Rachel McLauchlan, Kiko Seike and Fran Kirby all got on the scoresheet as Brighton maintained their unbeaten home league record this season (W4, D1).

However, the Seagulls have been unable to enjoy the same sort of success on the road, having lost two of their three WSL away games in 2024-25 (W1).

If they are to claim all three points on Sunday, they will have to beat Chelsea for the first time since they recorded a 1-0 at Kingsmeadow in February 2021.

Chelsea Women Women's Super League form:

Chelsea Women form (all competitions):

Brighton & Hove Albion Women Women's Super League form:

Brighton & Hove Albion Women form (all competitions):

Team News

Chelsea are unable to call upon the services of Sophie Ingle, Kadeisha Buchanan, Aniek Nouwen and Mia Fishel.

Lauren James is unlikely to play again in 2024 due to a calf problem, while Sam Kerr is still at least two months away from returning from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

In positive news, Niamh Charles is set to feature in a matchday squad for the first time this season after recovering from a shoulder injury.

As for the visitors, they are expected to be without defender Maria Thorisdottir and forward Aisha Masaka due to injury.

Ex-Chelsea attacker Kirby is unlikely to feature against her former club after she picked up a calf problem while on international duty.

However, former Blues midfielder Jelena Cankovic could have a role to play from the bench after returning from injury to feature as a substitute in the last two matches.

Chelsea Women possible starting lineup: Hampton; Bronze, Bjorn, Bright, Baltimore; Cuthbert, Nusken; Rytting Kaneryd, Hamano, Reiten; Ramirez

Brighton & Hove Albion Women possible starting lineup: Baggaley; Symonds, Bergsvand, McLauchlan, Haley, Losada, Olislagers, Pattinson; Seike, Vilamala; Parris

We say: Chelsea Women 3-1 Brighton & Hove Albion Women

Chelsea have seen off all challengers so far this season, and while Brighton could provide them with a stern test, we expect the Blues to showcase their extra quality to maintain their 100% record in all competitions.

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