Chelsea take to the field without Emma Hayes in the dugout for the first time on Sunday when they travel to Walton Hall Park to face Everton in the WSL.
Hayes announced on Thursday that she would be taking time away from football to recover from an emergency hysterectomy. Assistant boss Denise Reddy and general manager Paul Green will take charge of the team during Hayes’ absence.
Chelsea face an Everton side who, like the Blues, are searching for their third successive WSL victory, following a pair of wins over Liverpool and Leicester before the international break.
When is kick off? Sunday 16 October, 13:00 (BST)
Where is the match being played? Walton Hall Park
TV channel/live stream? FA Player (UK, international)
Referee? Lauren Impey
Everton will be without Aggie Beever-Jones, who is ineligible to play against her parent club. Katja Snoeijs is a doubt, having suffering an ankle injury while on international duty.
Clare Wheeler is in contention to make her Everton debut, having missed the Toffees’ first three matches of the 2022/23 campaign through injury and illness.
Pernille Harder could make her first Chelsea appearance of the season, having missed the opening three games of the campaign after sustaining an injury during the warm up prior to her side’s opener against Liverpool.
Jelena Cankovic is a doubt as she is suffering from a niggle – general manager Paul Green admitted Sunday’s game may come ‘too soon’ for the Serbian international.
Everton: Brosnan; Finnigan, Sevecke, Veje; Graham, Bjorn, Galli, George; Park, Gio, Christiansen.
Chelsea: Berger; Mjelde, Bright, Buchanan, Eriksson; Cuthbert, Fleming, Kirby; James, Kerr, Reiten.
Everton have already begun making steady progress under Brian Sorensen, after the former Fortuna Hjorring boss was brought in to bring stability to the club this season. The Toffees are yet to concede from open play this term, and have sold out Walton Hall Park for a second successive home match.
They face a Chelsea side who will have to adjust to not having the presence of influential boss Hayes on the touchline, but who have a wealth of experienced backroom staff to step up in her absence. The Blues could edge to a narrow victory.
Prediction: Everton 0-2 Chelsea
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