Sonia Bompastor will be aiming to make history on Sunday in front of a sell-out crowd at Wembley Stadium against defending champions Manchester United.  

Chelsea will be looking to complete the domestic treble for the first time since 2021 and claim their sixth Fa Cup crown whilst this will be United’s third consecutive final, becoming the first team outside of London to do so since Liverpool in 1996. 

The 2025 final marks the 10-year anniversary of the event’s move to Wembley Stadium, and Sunday’s final will be played with a silver ball to commemorate the occasion.

This will be third Women’s FA Cup meeting between Chelsea and Manchester United, with the Blues winning 1-0 in the 2023 final before the Red Devils got revenge in last season’s semi-final, winning 2-1.

Team news

Marc Skinner sees the return of Rachel Williams from injury and Aoife Mannion from suspension, but defender Jayde Riviere unfortunately misses out after suffering an ankle injury in the Manchester Derby victory at Old Trafford at the beginning of the month.

“Hopefully we will welcome back Rachel which would be great, Aoife comes back as well. We had no new niggles from the game at Arsenal I don’t think but its likely Jayde Riviere will miss out. We are gutted for her. She has been an incredible part of our season, but she took a knock in the game before last but for us everybody else is fit and ready and up for selection.”

Unlike United Chelsea have a number of long-term absentees meaning they will all be unavailable for Sunday. Sam Kerr, Lauren James, Zecira Musovic, Femke Liefting, Kadeisha Buchanan, Jorja Fox, Sophie Ingle and Brooke Aspin all miss out, but Sonia Bompastor was pleased to confirm Mayra Ramirez is available again after missing out on the last two games of the season. “Almost all the squad is available. LJ won’t be available for this game, but we have Mayra back fit again. Sam Kerr won’t be available for the game, so we won’t see her this season.”

Manager’s thoughts

Marc Skinner

The thoughts of Mark Skinner from Friday’s pre-match press conference. “I am a realist. When we go into this game you’ve got to take every detail as it comes and live with no regrets and if we do that, we have the belief that we can beat any team. We are playing the hardest team in the country because they are 22 games unbeaten in the domestic league, but this isn’t the WSL, it’s the FA Cup, our cup. We have to go into this game with full motivation, with full focus and try and do what no team has been able to achieve domestically this year, and that’s a great challenge for us and something we’re looking forward to. As hard as it will be, if you are ready to walk that wire, then we can get that glorious result again. We want to give absolutely everything, and I think you can tell by my attitude that’s exactly what we want to do.”

The United manager also emphasised a focus on tactical adjustments, player fitness, and the importance of mental and physical readiness. The team aims to maximise set pieces and adapt to different scenarios, highlighting the need for tactical flexibility and the ability to defend outnumbered. The manager highlighted the significance of previous final experience in managing emotions and maintaining focus. The team is also aware of the challenge posed by Chelsea’s resources and aims to overcome it through hard work and strategic planning.

“In the last game, they had just been knocked out of the Champions League, so we understand the context, but the reality was, it was our best performance so we are in a position where we must concentrate, must focus and just enjoy it. I’ve never asked our team to be underdogs or use that underdog mentality, especially for a team like ours. We will be prepared for those decisions that I make tactically. We also need to make that we adapt at the right times. You are going to have to defend one one-on-one. You’re going to have to defend in numbers. If you want to win a final, you’ve got to exhaust the tank tactically and mentally and physically, so we will expect all of those, and then we just have to go and produce it. That’s going to be the drive of our performance to do brilliantly.”

Sonia Bompastor

The Chelsea manager’s pre match interview was more focused on making fans dreams come true planning the perfect end to a historic season but reveals that the club has achieved beyond her expectations since taking over from the legacy of Emma Hayes.

“We started the season with a lot of ambition. From the beginning, we said we wanted to win four trophies and that has always been the aim. If I am honest, when I first came to Chelsea, I was not expecting as much success as we have had. Even though I am very ambitious, the club is ambitious, and we are a good match. This summer’s transition was huge. Emma was the coach for 12 years and I had big shoes to fill; however, it is hard to believe in my first year as manager, we achieved an unbeaten season, something that has only happened once before in the club’s history.”

It will be Bompastor’s and many Chelsea players first experience of Wembley, but the Frenchwomen is confident the experienced players will help in preparation for the occasion.

I am lucky to have many English players in my squad who are used to playing in that stadium. I think they have had some conversations together to help players prepare for the game because being at Wembley can be quite intimidating. We had these conversations together and it will be a huge opportunity for these players to enjoy that moment. It will mean a lot for me to coach at Wembley. It is such a historic stadium and part of English history. I did not have a great result there in my playing career, but I hope it will be different on Sunday.  

Finally, she highlighted the importance of the supporters and the huge role they have played in the teams success this season.

“The fans have been incredible. They have given us support from the beginning. They are always loud when we play at home and ensure we hear them becoming the twelfth player, no matter if we are at Kingsmeadow or Stamford Bridge. It makes you realise how much people love football and how passionate they are about it. We always ensure we go over to them at the end of the game and share the great moment with them because they deserve it.”

Chelsea Match Statistics

• Chelsea have won 13 of their last 15 meetings with Manchester United across all competitions with the Red Devils losing more games to The Blues than any other opponent.
• The Blues will contest their eighth Women’s FA Cup final, winning five of their previous seven. Only Arsenal, Southampton and Doncaster Rovers Belles have won the competition more often.
• Having beat Manchester City 2-1 in this season’s League Cup final back in March, Chelsea will be aiming to be the first team to win both domestic cups in the same campaign since the Blues themselves won the treble in 2020-21
• Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor is aiming to become the first non-British manager to win the Women’s FA Cup since Arsenal’s Spanish manager Pedro Martínez Losa in 2016. The Frenchwoman has won all four of her domestic finals as a manager.

United Match Statistics

• Manchester United won their first ever Women’s FA Cup last season and will be looking to become the first team to win their inaugural trophy in the competition and successfully defend it the very next campaign since Fulham in 2001 and 2002.
• Emma Hayes is the only manager that has reached the Women’s FA Cup final more often in the WSL era than Manchester United’s Marc Skinner. He lost with Birmingham City in 2017 and Manchester United in 2023, before winning the competition in 2024.
• Manchester United’s Celin Bizet Ildhusøy has been involved in the most goals among WSL players in this season’s Women’s FA Cup, scoring four and assisting two in all three of her appearances in the competition, including netting the winning goal in the semi-final against rivals Manchester City.
• Ella Toone scored the opening goal in Manchester United’s 4-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the 2024 Women’s FA Cup final, before Rachel Williams doubled the lead. Toone will be looking to become only the second English player to score in consecutive finals since Georgia Stanway in 2020.

Route to the final

United enjoyed victories over West Brom, Wolves, Sunderland and City only conceding once whilst Chelsea beat Charlton, Everton, Crystal Palace and Liverpool on their route to the final. 

Last meeting

Both fixtures in the WSL this season have gone the way of the London club with two narrow one nil victories the most recent handed The Blues the title on the penultimate game of the season. However united were victorious over their rivals on the way to last season’s trophy defeating their opponents 2-1 in the semi-final.

Where to watch

Fans can watch Sunday’s momentous occasion live on BBC One with coverage starting at 12.50 whilst kick off is scheduled for 13.30