Chelsea and Manchester United will battle to lift the Women’s League Cup trophy on Sunday – but who needs the win more?
Holders Chelsea are attempting to defend the first of three domestic titles this season, while United have never won the cup before.
Only three teams have lifted the trophy since the competition’s introduction in 2011 – Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City.
So can United finally overcome their nemesis Chelsea or will the Blues bounce back from a chaotic few months to enjoy familiar success?
You can watch the game at Ashton Gate live on BBC One from 14:15 GMT.
‘Winning is part of our DNA’
Chelsea swept up every domestic trophy in 2024-25, going unbeaten in the process, during manager Sonia Bompastor’s first season in charge.
They beat United 3-0 in the Women’s FA Cup final as part of that treble success but it has not been a smooth-sailing campaign this time around.
The Blues are nine points behind Women’s Super League leaders Manchester City, threatening the end of their six-year dominance of the division.
Bompastor has come under pressure as a result, while off-field issues – including the departure of head of women’s football Paul Green – have sparked concern.
But if they were to win the League Cup, would it quieten criticism and confirm Chelsea’s status as serial winners?
“I will always expect to have a lot of noise around Chelsea. There will be noise when you are losing, or when something happens, because I think this club is the best in England,” said Bompastor.
“That’s why this happens and I’m totally fine with it. It’s important also when you are in high moments you don’t go too high and in more low moments you don’t go too low.
“We just want to win because that’s part of our DNA. I don’t want to win because people are talking or making noise. That’s not what drives us.”
Chelsea have a formidable record against United, beating them in two of the past three FA Cup finals and unbeaten in 12 WSL matches.
They scored an extra-time winner to knock United out of the FA Cup fifth round in their last game and drew 1-1 draw at Leigh Sports Village in October.
Bompastor says that record boosts confidence and success on Sunday could help build momentum for the rest of the season, with a trophy under their belt.
But she knows United have strengthened and it will not be an easy task to defend the first trophy she won as Chelsea boss.
“Every team is strengthening their squad, being more competitive and bringing us more challenges,” she added.
“When you are Chelsea, if you want to sustain success, and stay at the highest position, you need to work hard and make sure you anticipate the future.
“It’s becoming more and more difficult, the competition is becoming tighter and tighter, and every team now can beat anyone. We know that.
“When you are in a club like Chelsea, and for myself individually, as soon as you win a trophy, your next thinking is ‘what do I need to do to win the next one?'”
‘To win the cup is what we’re here for’
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United’s challenge is a big one but manager Marc Skinner hopes the strides they have made this season will be enough to beat Chelsea.
His side have reached the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals and currently sit second in the WSL table, a point and place above Chelsea.
If they were to finally get over the line against their rivals, it would rubber-stamp their progress and damage Chelsea’s potential trophy haul even further.
It could be their last opportunity for a while with teams qualifying for the Women’s Champions League not competing in the League Cup next season because of format changes.
“That’s the aim. We played Chelsea in our last game so we know how tough they are. We’ve played them in finals before and haven’t come up with a win,” said Skinner.
“We’re not going to the final to be second best. We have to go into it to win the cup. That’s what we’re here for. That’s why you’re at Manchester United.”
Skinner’s squad has changed a lot since he joined in 2021 and he estimates about “30-odd” players have come and gone.
But he believes the squad they have built in recent seasons has the right ingredients to challenge Europe’s best.
United captain Maya Le Tissier says the difference in previous meetings with Chelsea is ruthlessness in both boxes.
“That is probably the main thing that we took away from the last game that we played against them. Defensively, we conceded two set-pieces,” said Le Tissier.
“You can just see how much smaller the gaps get with fine margins. We had a lot of chances in that game as well that we needed to take.
“[The gap is] getting smaller and smaller and we always feel like we’re in the game. Quite a lot of the time we have the ball more than they do.
“In finals, it’s different. We know what to expect and if we can be better in both boxes then that would be good.”
Ben Haines, Ellen White and Jen Beattie are back for another season of the Women’s Football Weekly podcast. New episodes drop every Tuesday on BBC Sounds, plus find interviews and extra content from the Women’s Super League and beyond on the Women’s Football Weekly feed
