Matildas Abroad Preview: West Ham and Chelesa face off; Danish Women's Cup semi-finals begin

The Danish Women's Cup heads into the semi-finals; while the action continues in England and France. FC Rosengård continue their quest in the Svenska Cupen group stage. 

AUS v NZL CBR Get Tickets Now


Starting in England, West Ham United host Chelsea in midweek action. Sam Kerr's Chelsea will be looking to bounce back from their defeat in the Conti Cup final last weekend and keep in touching distance of ladder leaders Arsenal when they take on Mackenzie Arnold and Tameka Yallop's Hammers. 

The Blues currently have three games in hand on The Gunners, with the side missing FA WSL action last weekend due to domestic cup football. 

Players of Chelsea huddle prior to the Barclays FA Women's Super League match between Chelsea Women and West Ham United Women at Kingsmeadow on January 26, 2022 in Kingston upon Thames, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Players of Chelsea huddle prior to the Barclays FA Women's Super League match between Chelsea Women and West Ham United Women at Kingsmeadow on January 26, 2022 in Kingston upon Thames, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Emma Hayes' side will be without several key players; captain Magdalena Eriksson and Jessie Fleming testing positive for COVID, while Fran Kirby and Erin Cuthbert are still unavailable and midfielder Melanie Leupolz completes the list of players out, announcing throughout the week she is expecting her first baby so will be out the rest of the season. 

The race for the league title continues as Chelsea sit in second place, while West Ham sits in a congested mid-table sitting in eighth place on 20 points.

This game kicks off on Friday morning at 6:45 am AEDT.

Moving over to Tottenham, the Spurs welcome Manchester City who is coming off the back of their Conti Cup final win last weekend. Alanna Kennedy takes on her former side as Spurs look to leapfrog Chelsea and take over second place. 

Steph Houghton and Ellen White of Manchester City lift the FA Women's Continental Tyres League cup trophy following their side's victory in the FA Women's Continental Tyres League cup final match between Chelsea women and Manchester City women at The Cherry Red Records Stadium on March 05, 2022 in Wimbledon, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Steph Houghton and Ellen White of Manchester City lift the FA Women's Continental Tyres League cup trophy following their side's victory in the FA Women's Continental Tyres League cup final match between Chelsea women and Manchester City women at The Cherry Red Records Stadium on March 05, 2022 in Wimbledon, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

After a slow start to the season, City has begun to find form with some of their regular starters returning from injury and are making a late-race to make the top four. 

Gareth Taylor's side comes into the encounter with Spurs off the back of a 3-1 win in the Conti Cup final over defending champions, Chelsea. 

This game kicks off on Sunday night at 11:30 pm AEDT.

Chelsea plays their second game of the week when they host Emily Gielnik's Aston Villa early on Monday morning. Villa comes into the game after a 1-0 defeat against Everton in last week's game. 

The two sides met earlier in the year when Kerr's Blues knocked Gielnik's Villa out of the FA Women's Cup with a 3-1 win, however, both Aussies were still on international duty at the AFC Women's Asian Cup when the game was played.


Carla Ward's Villa side have struggled to score goals this season, only finding the net on 11 occasions. Meanwhile, Hayes' side seems to have no problem scoring, netting 30 goals across nine different goal scorers. 

Chelsea will see this as an opportunity to close the gap between themselves and ladder leaders Arsenal, however, with a number of their key squad missing it could prove difficult.

This game kicks off on Monday morning at 12:00 am AEDT.

In Birmingham, last-placed Birmingham City host West Ham United on Monday morning. After a tough fixture at home to Chelsea on Friday morning, Olli Harder's side will have a quick turnaround for their game against the Blues.

Despite being last on the ladder, City's only win this season came against ladder leaders Arsenal, the only team to defeat the Gunners in WSL action this year.


Arnold will have her work cut out for her in goals, particularly on set pieces with the likes of Louise Quinn dangerous in the air, which the Aussie keeper will remember all too well from Ireland's defeat over the Matildas last year. 

The Hammers have a tough schedule coming up, with four matches in ten days across all competitions in England. 

This game kicks off on Monday morning at 1:00 am AEDT.

The last game of the week in England will see Brighton host ladder leaders Arsenal. 

The Seagulls come into the game off the back of consecutive wins in the WSL, however, they will have their work cut out for them when they welcome the Gunners. 


Jonas Eidevall's side has the best goal-scoring record in the league with 42 goals so far this season, with Caitlin Foord finding her first of the WSL season last weekend in Arsenal's 4-2 win over Birmingham. 

When the two sides met earlier in the season it was Brighton that scored the opener, however, goals to Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead turned the fixture around to a 2-1 win. 

Arsenal has a tough month ahead, playing in the FA Women's Cup on the 19th and then hosting Wolfsburg in the UWCL on the 24th of March. With this tough schedule in mind, Eidevall may look to rotate his squad and give Lydia Williams the start between the sticks. While Steph Catley has become a regular fixture in the starting XI, linking up well with Katie McCabe. 

This game kicks off on Monday morning at 5:45 am AEDT.

Moving over to France, Mary Fowler's Montpellier takes on defending Division 1 Féminine champions Paris Saint-Germain. The two sides met earlier in the month when PSG knocked Montpellier out of the Coupe de France Feminine in a 3-1 win. 

Montpellier sits just 3 points behind Fleury 91 in fourth place, with Fowler's side looking to finish in the top 3 and seal a spot in next season's UWCL. 

This game kicks off on Saturday morning at 7:00 am AEDT. 

Moving over to Ellie Carpenter's Lyon they will be aiming for 16 consecutive wins in the D1 when they take on last-placed Saint-Étienne. 

The last meeting between the two saw Lyon win 6-0, however, the French giants are still without starting keeper Christiane Endler who is out for two months after knee surgery. 


Lyon's opposition Saint-Étienne have only picked up one win in the D1, this coming back in September.

This game kicks off on Sunday morning at 12:30 am AEDT. 

Moving over to Sweden, Teagan Micah and Charli Grant's FC Rosengård continue the Svenska Cupen group stage up against Linköping. 

Both sides are in Group A and have two wins so far, Linköping sits above Rosengård in the standings with a better goal difference however Micah and Grant's side will be hoping a win will see them claim the top spot in the group stage. 


A 3-0 win over Alingsås last weekend and another 3-0 result over Växjö sees Rosengård have two wins out of two without conceding a goal.

This game kicks off on Saturday night at 11:30 pm AEDT. 

Our last stop takes us to Denmark with Fortuna Hjørring beginning their semi-finals run in the Danish Women's Cup after defeating Brøndby 1-0 last weekend. 

Hjørring's first leg of the semi-finals will see them take on Jenna McCormick's AGF, with the second leg set for next weekend. 


The other two teams that battle off in the other game will be Thisted and Farum for a spot in the final. 

This game will kick off on Sunday night at 11:00 pm AEDT.