Preview: Chelsea Women vs. Everton Ladies - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors will be looking to provide the reigning champions with a tough test after losing just one of their last five matches.

Match preview

After losing to Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final, Chelsea looked set to experience more frustration in Wednesday's home league meeting with Liverpool.

Niamh Charles managed to restore parity after Liverpool took the lead in the second minute, but finding a winner was proving to be a tricky task.

Chelsea's relentless pressure eventually told as Sam Kerr netted an 86th-minute winner to claim three crucial points.

The Blues may be sitting in third position, but they have two games in hand over league leaders Man United, who are four points better off than Emma Hayes's side.

The West London club know that if they win their final five league games then they will be crowned champions for a third consecutive season, and after winning their last 12 home league games, Chelsea will be confident of claiming another victory on Sunday.

After losing 3-2 to Brighton & Hove Albion, Everton came out the right side of a five-goal thriller in their most recent outing against Reading.

The Toffees were left with a mountain to climb when Reading's Justine Vanhaevermaet scored a brace in the opening 17 minutes, but Everton fought their way back thanks to a Hanna Bennison strike and a Katja Snoeijs penalty, before Nicoline Sorensen completed the remarkable turnaround with an 83rd-minute winner.

Sixth-placed Everton are sitting in a comfortable midtable position, but Brian Sorensen will be challenging his side to close the three-point gap to Aston Villa, who are in fifth position and have played a game more.

However, with the Toffees set to face three of their traditional top-four sides in the WSL run-in, they will have to be at their very best if they are to consistently pick up points between now and the end of the season.

Ahead of Sunday's trip to the capital, Everton can draw inspiration from the fact that they have avoided defeat in four of their previous five away matches.

Chelsea Women Women's Super League form:

W

W

W

L

W

W

Chelsea Women form (all competitions):

W

W

W

L

D

W

Everton Ladies Women's Super League form:

L

D

D

W

L

W

Team News

Fran Kirby has not played since February due to a knee injury, and she recently revealed that she will undergo surgery to resolve the issue, which will keep her sidelined for the rest of the season and the World Cup.

The Blues are also expected to be without the services of Millie Bright, Kadiesha Buchanan and Katerina Svitkova for Sunday's contest.

Pernille Harder has returned from a lengthy layoff to feature as a substitute in Chelsea's last two games, and she is likely to be utilised off the bench against Everton.

As for the visitors, Sorensen has confirmed that Gabby George will miss the remainder of the season due to a hamstring injury.

Rikke Sevecke dropped to the bench last weekend, but after coming on as a half-time substitute against Reading, the defender is expected to return to the starting lineup.

Snoeijs has scored three goals in Everton's last two matches, and she will attempt to find the net in a third consecutive game when she features up front on Sunday.

Chelsea Women possible starting lineup:

Berger; Perisset, Carter, Eriksson; Charles, Cuthbert, Leupolz, Reiten; James, Fleming, Kerr

Everton Ladies possible starting lineup:

Brosnan; Hope, Finnigan, Bjorn, Sevecke; K. Holmgaard, Wheeler, Bennison; Sorensen, Park, Snoeijs

We say: Chelsea Women 2-0 Everton Ladies

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