Sunday marks the meeting of the only two sides left in the Women's Super League that remain unbeaten, despite being separated by four places in the table. Sonia Bompastor's perfect Chelsea host Man Utd in a clash of the unconquered, live on Sky Sports.
Bompastor became the first manager in WSL history to win her opening seven league matches last weekend, swatting aside title challengers Manchester City to reaffirm the air of superiority long established in west London.
There had been a school of thought, prior to the weekend, that results thus far were to be expected. Earned, but expected.
Chelsea had picked off weaker teams, and beaten Arsenal at the Emirates at a time where confidence was ominously brittle - Gunners head coach Jonas Eidevall walked two days after that defeat.
And so the City test was designed to be a barometer. The first genuine meeting of title contenders in form, where the result would be decided by who was better on the day, and far less conspicuously.
But Chelsea did as Chelsea do. They have now won 10 consecutive WSL games, their longest winning run in the competition, excelling in almost every metric used to measure performance. They are perfect in Europe, too.
At the top end is where they have been particularly formidable. Per 90 minutes, Chelsea rank first for chances created (13.14), goals scored (3.57), shots (17.86), and shots on target (7.71). Their expected goals differential is through the roof. This is a team that appear more ruthless now than they did under Emma Hayes - the queen of killer mentality.
Chelsea are also the only team with a 100 per cent record of scoring first, so far, never surrendering their lead. Bompastor's bubble is not for bursting.
Presumably, then, it would be logical to dismiss Man Utd's chances from the outset on Sunday...
Or would it?
Man Utd and Chelsea are the only two sides still unbeaten for a reason - their style is not hugely dissimilar. For all Bompastor's talk of football heavily weighted towards possessional dominance, rarely have we seen it. Chelsea rank fifth in the league for touches of the ball (4,915) this season, while Man Utd rank 11th (4,296). Overall possession value can be sacrificed in favour of control in meaningful areas.
"My responsibility is to give every player a clear vision. In the build up phase, the creation phase, small details are really important," said Bompastor midweek.
Neither side rank highly for passes completed, either, with Chelsea fifth and Man Utd ninth in the charts. So where has success been founded? Tactical clarity has been key, giving each team flexibility as well as coherence. There is a unified approach in every phase of the game, which makes teams hard to break down even when conceding a greater share of possession.
Not always sexy, but incredibly efficient.
Marc Skinner's side, to his credit, have the meanest defence in the league having only been breached twice across 630 minutes of football. It's a robustness that has been deliberately worked on across a summer of change at Carrington, rooted in the performance of players new to the club that have immediately excelled.
Among them are goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, winger Celin Bizet and midfielder Grace Clinton. The latter was not a new signing, but only made her senior debut this season having spent last year honing her craft on loan at Tottenham. She has been the difference maker as Man Utd seek to overpower opponents in the middle third of the pitch - winning the ball more times (197) in that area than any other side. Clinton accounts for 58 of those possessional turnovers.
Elsewhere, Bizet's four goal contributions since the start of October can only be bettered by Man City duo Lauren Hemp and Khadija Shaw, while Tullis-Joyce is the best-performing goalkeeper in the league, preventing 5.1 goals. Mary Earps' high-profile departure has barely been felt.
Tullis-Joyce's save rate stands at 91.7 per cent, helped in no small part by the central defensive grounding of Millie Turner and Maya Le Tissier. Turner has blocked eight attempts on Man Utd's goal so far - the third-best ratio of any defender in the WSL.
According to xGA (Expected Goals Against) data, which can be used as a measure of defensive strength, Man Utd should have conceded six times this term - actually conceding just two. The record harks back to two seasons ago, where Man Utd made defensive solidity a hallmark of their title push, eventually finishing narrow runners up to Chelsea.
Their process feels much more refined.
Having different means of winning games is something Skinner prides himself on, akin to Bompastor. And forms part of the reason why rivals Man City - fixed in a fairly immoveable style of fluid football - have been undone by the top teams more recently. Since the beginning of 2022-23, City have averaged 1.29 points against the top four. Chelsea, unafraid to be pragmatic, average 2.07.
Man Utd's average of 0.92 is not so clever either, but if you look at the 2022-23 campaign in isolation (their best ever WSL return), the record spikes: 10 points total, an average of 1.66 per game. Channel more of that steely resolve, and Skinner's side could well be onto a winner.
The real question is this: can the WSL's meanest defence outwit the sharpest attack? It's a subtle science, but it might just work.
Watch Chelsea vs Man Utd live on Sky Sports Football from 11.30am on Sunday; kick off 12pm.
Nicky94
0
i see Chelsea winning this again.