Na serious match we dey talk about for Kingsmeadow dis Sunday afternoon as Chelsea Women dey face Aston Villa for Women's Super League. Chelsea, wey be di defending champion, don find demself for tight corner as dem dey nine points behind Manchester City for di top of di table. Di Blues no fit afford to lose any more points if dem wan qualify for Champions League next season.
Di match wey go hold on Sunday, March 29, 2026, go kick off by 12pm BST for Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames. Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor don pick strong starting lineup wey include goalkeeper Hampton, defenders Carpenter, Girma, Bronze, and Buurman, midfielders Walsh (captain) and Nüsken, and attackers Thompson, Kaptein, James, and Kerr. Di bench get players like Peng, Spencer, Buchanan, Baltimore, Charles, Potter, Cuthbert, Shooter, and Sarwie.
For Aston Villa side, coach Natalia Arroyo don select Roebuck as goalkeeper, with defenders Wilms, Patten (captain), Deslandes, Nighswonger, and midfielders Jean-François, Taylor, Grant, Maritz, Kendall, and Hanson. Di substitutes na D’Angelo, Maltby, Scott, Seymour, Lea, Hijikata, and Salmon.
Di referee for di match na Callum Jones, and di game go dey live for Sky Sports for UK and ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes for USA. Dem fit also watch am through streaming services like Sky GO and ESPN+.
Aston Villa coach Natalia Arroyo talk say she expect to face “angry Chelsea” afta dem lose 3-1 to Arsenal for di first leg of UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final for Emirates Stadium. Arroyo say: “I expect an angry Chelsea. We are aware that they will have Champions League in their heads but if you go into the game with the mindset that they’ll be beaten or only thinking of Europe, you will fail.”
Arroyo add say Chelsea get di mentality to play every three games and dem get ability wey her team need to learn from. She talk say: “They need a comeback against Arsenal and a good performance to progress in Europe and usually, these teams need the best preparation in the game before. I think Chelsea will be aggressive, angry, super-strong from the start to show that they are capable of doing what they have to do against Arsenal.”
For Aston Villa side, dem don collect points from all top teams except Chelsea dis season. Arroyo explain wetin her team need to do well for Kingsmeadow: “We’ve got to bring parts of the game that were good against them in the last two games. We need to stay as consistent as we were for 80 minutes at Villa Park last season and create as many chances as we were able to create.”
Di statistics no dey favour Aston Villa for dis fixture. Chelsea don win all 11 of dia WSL encounters with Aston Villa, score 28 goals and concede just two. Dis one show say Chelsea don dey dominate di rivalry over di years.
For di bigger picture of WSL title race, Manchester City don get one hand for di trophy afta dem trash Manchester United yesterday. Di only team wey fit mathematically pass dem for points na Arsenal with two games at hand – and dat one only go happen if City no win any of dia remaining three games against Brighton, Manchester City, and West Ham.
If Chelsea win against Aston Villa today, dem fit move level on points by di end of di season. But dat one only go happen if di league leaders lose every match from now wey, realistically, no go happen. Di only real battle now na for di remaining two places for top three, with Chelsea, United and Arsenal dey compete for di spots.
With dia games at hand, people dey expect Arsenal to stay up dia. Given Chelsea history, you go also expect dem to get Champions League football, but dia form don take dip for recent months. Di reigning champions go face United for di last day of di season – dat one certainly go be di game to watch.
For international news wey dey relate to di match, England head coach Thomas Tuchel dey eager to give John Stones every chance to make his final 26-man squad for di World Cup despite di Manchester City defender fitness record. Wayne Rooney also talk say Harry Kane form go be central to England hopes for di World Cup.
For Mexico, fans return to Mexico City Azteca Stadium for its long-awaited reopening on Saturday for friendly against Portugal, despite tight security, protests across di capital and fatal accident inside di venue. Di stadium go host World Cup opening match between Mexico and South Africa on June 11.
Do you have a news tip for NNN? Please email us at editor @ nnn.ng
