Pic: Chelsea FC

Chelsea Women meet Leicester City for the first time in any competition on Sunday lunchtime, with the Blues having won 16 of their last 17 FA Women’s Super League matches against newly promoted clubs.

It follows the drama of midweek when Pernille Harder scored a stoppage-time leveller to earn the Blues a 3-3 draw in a real thriller at Kingsmeadow in the Champions League.

That match saw Sam Kerr (pictured) open the scoring for Chelsea after what appeared to be a very comfortable first 15 minutes, only for Wolfsburg’s strength and grit to come back to haunt the Blues.

Manager Emma Hayes, elevated to football’s hall of fame this week, thought she had put the German side behind her after her team seemed to have gained the edge over opponents who had been a thorn in Chelsea’s side in the past.

But defensive errors – both rare and multiple – showed her just how far Chelsea still have to progress to keep up with the likes of Barcelona and, yes, Wolfsburg.

The WSL game against Leicester is the chance to put all those concerns behind her and rebuild the confidence that is so easy to let slip.

Since losing their first FA WSL game of the season at Arsenal, Chelsea have won their last three games, scoring 13 times and conceding just twice. Leicester City have lost all four of their FA WSL matches this season – the only team to lose their first five WSL matches being Yeovil Town in 2017.

Sam Kerr has scored in each of her last five home FA WSL appearances for Chelsea, netting nine goals. The last player to score in six consecutive home appearances was Beth England in September 2020, also for the Blues.