Emma Hayes’ side have to win their game against the Gunners to have a realistic chance of overhauling the leaders
If
Chelsea lose at
Arsenal on Sunday, their bid for a third Women’s Super League title will take a heavy hit. Things are tight at the top and defeat would mean Emma Hayes’s third-placed team would slip seven points behind the reigning champions, albeit with a game in hand. “I know the opponent well and I know the manager, I suspect he will throw a few surprises at me,” says Hayes of Joe Montemurro and his team. “So how do you prepare for a surprise? I don’t know, but I’m sure I’ll be ready.”
In a 12-team table it is harder to bridge such a gap. The problem for Chelsea is that should they fail to reclaim the crown Arsenal took from them, it will not have been lost in the head-to-head meetings with their title rivals. Instead, they will look back at the four dropped points to Brighton and
Liverpool, who have 10 points between them after 12 and 11 games respectively, as the moments when the title slipped from their grasp.