Olivia Smith motors down the right wing before cutting inside and laying off for Taylor Hinds to cross.

The full-back's delivery is met by a thumping downwards header from Frida Maanum that forces Phallon Tullis-Joyce into a smart left-handed save.

What a start from the hosts.

Women's Football Weekly podcast

On who they think will reach the final of the League Cup:

Jen Beattie: "Chelsea and Arsenal."

Ellen White: "Manchester derby."

We're underway in both semi-finals!

Image source, PA Media

A small reminder that there will be 30 minutes of extra time and then the dreaded penalties if either match is level after 90 minutes.

Chelsea

Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor, speaking to the BBC: "It's a huge game between two top teams who are in good form. I think City have shown how good they can be as a team. We know we will face a really good team but we are also excited for this game because it's an opportunity to make a step closer to our objectives this season."

Manchester United

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United boss Marc Skinner, speaking on BBC iPlayer about his team selection: "In all reality, just managing the week. We played Burnley at the weekend, which was great to get people minutes and then to come into this with the freshest team, but also to be ready to attack Arsenal.

"We need to make sure we are aggressive with the ball. Tonight it'll be the ones who manage the conditions best."

Arsenal

Arsenal boss Renee Slegers speaking to the BBC: "We play a lot of games and we always said with those short turnarounds we need fresh players. Tonight we are playing in a semi-final so we need that freshness, fresh ideas because it is going to be a battle. Looking at the conditions we need those fresh legs. We have so much quality in the squad."

The prize on offer for tonight's victors is a ticket for the first showpiece event of the season, the League Cup final, at Bristol City's Ashton Gate stadium.

Kick off is set for 2.15pm on Sunday 15 March and the game will be shown live on BBC One.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City winger Lauren Hemp has been directly involved in nine goals across her last eight Women’s League Cup starts (five goals and four assists).

However, she has failed to record any in her last four appearances against Chelsea in all competitions, since scoring and assisting in the WSL in March 2023.

Which Hemp will we see this evening?

BBC iPlayer

Coverage of both games has started over on BBC iPlayer.

Just hit the 'watch & listen' tab above and choose the game you want.

Kick off is about five minutes away!

Manchester City have lost six of their last seven meetings with Chelsea in all competitions, including five of the six since the start of last season.

The Citizens' only win in that run came in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie last season, with Vivianne Miedema scoring twice in a 2-0 victory at the Joie Stadium.

Image source, Getty Images

Throughout her Arsenal career forward Stina Blackstenius has forged a priceless habit of scoring important goals.

Of course the Swede is best known for netting the winner in last season's Champions League final against Barcelona in Lisbon, but she's also been the go-to player in the League Cup.

In her last 11 appearances in the competition Blackstenius has scored 12 goals, including a hat-trick in the 2023-24 semi-finals against Aston Villa. She also scored the winner in the 2024 final against Chelsea at Molineux.

She starts on the bench tonight - will she be called upon to produce more heroics?

Manchester United

Manchester United are winless in each of their last six meetings with Arsenal across all competitions, losing twice and drawing four times, since a 1-0 win in the WSL in April 2023.

Image source, Getty Images

It's fair to say Manchester City and Chelsea got to know each other pretty well last season.

The two WSL giants faced off on five occasions in 2024-25, with four of those meetings coming in the space of 12 days in March.

Of the give clashes, Chelsea won four and City one.

• 16 November 2024 - WSL - Chelsea 2-0 City
• 15 March 2025 - League Cup final - Chelsea 2-1 City
• 19 March 2025 - Champions League quarter-final first leg - City 2-0 Chelsea
• 23 March 2025 - WSL - City 1-2 Chelsea
• 27 March 2025 - Champions League quarter-final second leg - Chelsea 3-0 City

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at Joie Stadium

These two teams always meet in games of the highest quality and there is a lot at stake this time around.

The first trophy Chelsea will seek to defend domestically is the Women's League Cup and City would love nothing more than to stop that.

The two teams are sitting in first and second place in the WSL table too with City opening up a six-point gap.

Chelsea will want to get one over them pyschologically before their big league showdown in two weeks' time as well.

The transfer window remains open still with both clubs capable of bringing in top stars - City have already done so with Sam Coffey.

Chelsea

During her media conference earlier this week, Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor gave injury updates on several first team stars.

She said that Keira Walsh "is not far from returning with the squad – probably on the weekend.”

On striker Catarina Macario and defender Niamh Charles, she said: "They are both progressing in their rehab plans and won’t be involved on Wednesday or Saturday. Niamh is in a good place to join the squad in the next few days. Macario is unlikely to return in this block."

As always we want to hear your thoughts on tonight's League Cup semi-final ties.

Will United book their first-ever final appearance, or will serial League Cup winners Arsenal serve up more semi-final heartbreak?

And which shade of blue will win out in the latest instalment of Man City v Chelsea?

Head to the 'Get involved' button on this page to have your say.

Manchester City

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City lost 2-1 to Chelsea on the opening day of the Women's Super League season, in what was manager Andree Jeglertz's first match in charge.

Since then his side have won 11 league games in a row and hold a six-point lead over Chelsea at the top of the table.

When asked how his side has changed since then, Jeglertz said: "First of all the confidence that we know what we’re supposed to do, we’re clear with our relationships and the game model, we’ve been winning a lot of games, we have a great squad and know what we can expect.

"That was the first game, but we’re in a different place. There’s definitely been a big change since then."