How to watch and follow the Women's FA Cup final
Manchester United Women will make club history this weekend by playing in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup final for the very first time.
For the Blues, it is a chance to retain the trophy they won by beating Manchester City almost exactly a year ago. For the Reds, it's an opportunity to win our first women's silverware since winning the Championship at the end of the inaugural 2018/19 campaign.
Ahead of Sunday's sold-out showpiece at the national stadium, here are the key things to know…
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HOW TO WATCH AND FOLLOW THE GAME
The Women's FA Cup final kicks off at 14:30 BST this Sunday, 14 May, and will be aired live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website for fans in the UK and Ireland. Meanwhile, overseas supporters can watch The FA Player's live stream.
In the United App, we'll have exclusive build-up from the capital, including our Match Day Live show with a very special guest in Maria Thorisdottir. Sadly unable to play in the final due to injury, the Reds defender will be providing expert insight and analysis for us at Wembley.
As well as the live programme, which is on air from 13:25 BST, our app and live blog on ManUtd.com will provide live radio commentary on the game plus regular updates and images throughout the afternoon. Fans can also follow the final through our dedicated Twitter account, @ManUtdWomen.
WHAT’S THE TEAM NEWS?
Katie Zelem is set to return to the squad after missing our last league encounter, a 3-0 victory at home to Spurs, due to a one-match suspension following her accumulation of five yellow cards this season. Maria Thorisdottir will be cheering on from the sidelines, after being ruled out for the remainder of the campaign, but her fellow Norwegian, Lisa Naalsund, could be in contention to make an impact after she returned to the matchday squad last Sunday.
For Sunday’s opponents, long-term absentees Millie Bright and Kadeisha Buchanan look set to miss the final, with neither returning to action in Chelsea’s last few league games. Sam Kerr, who was withdrawn from last weekend's 7-0 thrashing of Everton as a precaution, is said to be ‘fine’ for Wembley.
FORM GUIDE
Both United and Chelsea are in a rich vein of form of late, boasting unbeaten runs of different lengths in the WSL.
Skinner’s side have picked up seven wins in all competitions since our last defeat, away to Chelsea in March. The Reds' most recent outing was against relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur at Leigh Sports Village; Leah Galton opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark, Alessia Russo’s thumping volley doubled our tally minutes later and Nikita Parris showed composure in the second half to make it 3-0. Maya Le Tissier’s sublime block, along with Mary Earps’s double save, secured our 13th clean sheet of the league campaign.
Chelsea come into Sunday’s clash having scored a cool 13 goals in their last two WSL fixtures. The first was the aforementioned 7-0 rout of Everton, before following that up with a 6-0 victory over 11th-placed Leicester City. While much of the talk will be around Kerr, team-mate Pernille Harder is arguably the one to watch coming into the final, having hit the ground running upon her return from injury with back-to-back braces.
In nine attempts, we are yet to beat Emma Hayes’s side, drawing just one, and losing eight. Our most recent encounter with the Blues was settled by Kerr’s solitary strike in our narrow 1-0 defeat at Kingsmeadow.
Prior to that, in the reverse fixture at Leigh, Chelsea ran out 3-1 winners. Despite Russo halving the deficit after a quick double from Kerr and former Reds forward Lauren James, Erin Cuthbert’s stoppage-time goal sealed a victory for the London club.
If ever there was a time to register our first-ever win over Chelsea, Sunday would be it.