Brighton & Hove Albion

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Brighton boss Dario Vidosic speaking to Sky Sports: "I am OK. It's been a little bit hard with the passing of my father and adjusting to everything. Normally he would've been with us tonight so it is hard. But I have felt a lot of support from everyone at the club and within the WSL community.

"You come in and then there is a long international break. We have got time to get ready and we are looking ahead to this."

On facing newly crowned League Cup winners Chelsea: "They are always dangerous with the quality they have and how long they have been successful. They know what needs to be done to get the result. It should be another great game between the two clubs."

Chelsea

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Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor is looking forward to facing Brighton who she believes will be "desperate to play football again" having had a four-week break from action.

"They will be coming into the game with fresh legs and desperate to play football again," said Bompastor.

"At the same time I feel we are in a really good run with a lot of momentum, so it’s 50/50."

This will also be the first WSL game that Dario Vidosic will take charge of since 8 February after the Brighton boss' return from Australia following the passing of his father Rado, who was also the Brighton women's and girls' head of coaching.

"Brighton are a team who play really good football," the Chelsea manager said.

"Having their manager back will give them a boost in terms of confidence. They will be really motivated.

"We have six games left and we want to take it game by game.

"We know every game is important and we want to finish as high in table as possible. We are so excited. When you are playing every three days, we know it's a very important part of the season for us."

Ellen White
Former England striker on BBC Women's Football Weekly

Manchester United will feel frustrated not to have capitalised on a few opportunities that came their way in the Women's League Cup final. They also made some big mistakes for both of the Chelsea goals.

Considering how good they've been defensively in recent times, that will be a huge frustration for them.

Marc Skinner said they weren't ruthless in both the boxes in the final which is what they have been recently. To not continue that in a final will be a huge annoyance for him and the group .

They would've felt that they should have pushed Chelsea and it would've been the best time to put their names on that trophy.

Brighton & Hove Albion

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It's been 38 days since Brighton last kicked a ball in the Women's Super League, with their previous encounter taking place way back on 8 February - that extraordinary 3-2 loss at West Ham.

In over a month since they've had just one competitive match up, dumping the Hammers out of the FA Cup to secure a place in the last eight.

Aside from that it's been rather quiet, which isn't exactly ideal preparationto take on a confident Chelsea who are fresh off picking up more silverware.

The Seagulls have wretched record against them, losing ten of their 14 meetings to date, including a 3-0 hammering in the reverse fixture in December.

That said Dario Vidosic's side have form for taking games to the so-called big guns, only losing by a single goal in their meetings against the rest of the top four so far this season.

In the aftermath of Chelsea's latest domestic cup triumph on Sunday midfielder and stand-in captain on the day Erin Cuthbert issued a rallying cry to her team-mates: "This win has to give us belief".

Now the team must take that momentum into the rest of the season, with the FA Cup and Champions League still very much up for grabs.

Jen Beattie
Former Scotland defender on BBC Women's Football Weekly

In modern game, you need to be able to play pretty football. You need to be able to win ugly. You need to be able to play physical football. You need to tick all the boxes. That's where Chelsea have got their success in recent years.

You can't just play the most beautiful game.

Chelsea

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While six-in-a-row champions Chelsea will likely relinquish their crown come May, there is still plenty to play for in what remains of the 2025-26 campaign.

Their chief ambition will be finishing strong in the WSL and securing a place in next season's Champions League. The Blues currently sit third in the table, a point and a place behind Manchester United, with Arsenal hot on their heels just a point back in fourth.

Success in the League Cup final this past weekend will have served as a much-needed reminder to themselves and their rivals of their unmatched ability to win.

Now with the Ashton Gate celebrations fresh in their minds, the task for Chelsea is to channel that winning feeling into the business end of the campaign.

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has made three changes from the Women's League Cup final victory over Manchester United.

Lexi Potter, Wieke Kaptein and Aggie Beever-Jones start as Erin Cuthbert, Kadeisha Buchanan and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd miss out.

Chelsea XI: Hampton, Bronze, Buurman, Baltimore, Nusken, Potter, Walsh, Kaptein, Thompson, Beever-Jones, James.

Subs: Peng, Spencer, Buchanan, Cuthbert, Shooter, Sarwie, Storey.

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Brighton last played a WSL game on February 8 and Dario Vidosic makes four changes to his starting line-up.

Rachel McLauchlan, Caitlin Hayes, Carla Camacho and Francesca Kirby come in for Moeka Minami, Kiko Seike, Charlize Rule, and Rusul Rosa Kafaji.

Brighton XI: Nnadozie, Vanegas, Symonds, Cankovic, Kirby, Noordam, Hayes, Olislagers, Haley, Camacho, McLauchlan.

Subs: Poulter, Mpome, Kafaji, Rayner, Tvedten, Auee, Tsunoda, Baggaley, Warren.

Image source, BBC Sport

West Ham United

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West Ham are no strangers to a relegation battle, indeed they seem to find themselves in this situation year on year, before finding form at just the right time to escape.

This season appears no different. They won just one of their first 11 leaue games, leading to boss Rehanne Skinner being replaced by Italian Rita Guarino.

Across the next five WSL fixtures they've lost three and won two. One of those victories crucially came against relegation rivals Leicester, while the other was an impressive 3-2 comeback against Brighton.

With fellow strugglers Liverpool leapfrogging them with a 2-0 win over rock-bottom Leicester on Sunday, crunch time has arrived for West Ham. Can they kick start their late surge for survival tonight?

Manchester United

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All was looking rosy for Manchester United before last weekend.

Second in the league table, into the last eight of the Champions League, and preparing for their first-ever League Cup final.

Fast forward several days and the mood is vastly different after a limp 2-0 loss to Chelsea at Ashton Gate, a third straight major final defeat at the hands of the Blues.

Now Marc Skinner's side must come out fighting, with Sonia Bompastor's contigent and Arsenal lying in wait to overtake them in the race for Champions League qualification. Cue a tricky looking trip to relegation battling West Ham...

Former Manchester United captain Katie Zelem starts for West Ham this evening.

There are two changes for the Irons who were beaten by Brighton in the FA Cup before the international break, with Ines Belloumou and Shekiera Martinez replacing Seraina Piubel and Riko Ueki, who is currently playing for Japan at the Asian Cup.

West Ham XI: Szemik, Hansen, Nystrom, Cascarino, Belloumou, Tennebo, Siren, Zelem, Morgan, Asseyi, Martinez.

Subs: Walsh, Endo, Zadorsky, Brasero, Wandeler, Hanshaw, Houssein, Cemal, Piubel.

Marc Skinner makes three changes to the Manchester United side who lost the League Cup final to Chelsea at the weekend.

Fridolina Rolfo, Lea Schuller and Millie Turner come in.

Melvine Malard and Ellen Wangerheim drop to the bench, while Jayde Riviere is absent.

Manchester United XI: Tullis-Joyce, Le Tissier, Lundkvist, Park, Terland, Rolfo, Naalsund, Janssen, Zigiotti, Turner, Schuller.

Subs: Middleton-Patel, Rendell, George, Anderson, Awujo, Drury, Malard, Wangerheim.

Let's take a look at the team news...

If you're wondering why we have two WSL fixtures on a random Wednesday night in March, then wonder no more.

As a result of Chelsea and Manchester United contesting the League Cup final on Sunday, which the Blues won 2-0 at Ashton Gate, their respective games against Brighton and West Ham were pushed back to this evening.

As always we want to hear from you this evening.

Can Chelsea keep the good vibes going after their League Cup win on Sunday? Or will Brighton bring them back down with a bump?

And what about Sunday's runners-up Manchester United? Can they kick back into gear with a place in next season's Champions League up for grabs?

Or will a resurgent West Ham get another vital result in their own fight to avoid the drop?

Get in touch with all your opinions and takes (the hotter the better) on the form at the top of this page.

There's plenty on the line at both ends of the table tonight.

Manchester United lead the way in the race for Champions league qualification, but Chelsea and Arsenal are in hot pursuit.

Anything but a win for Marc Skinner's side would open the door to the Blues snatching away second place.

At the other end a point or three could be vital for West Ham as they look to pull further clear of relegation.

They currently sit outside the play-off zone by just two points.

Image source, BBC Sport

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The 2025/26 season rumbles on as we're back to bring you two more fixtures from the Women's Super League on this fine Wednesday evening.

Newly-crowned League Cup winners Chelsea host a beleaguered Brighton, while Manchester United will be looking to get back on track at relegation-threatened West Ham.