Sonia Bompastor has named her first starting XI of the 2026/27 campaign, with the Blues facing Real Sociedad in the Women’s Champions League third qualifying round first leg at Plough Lane.
Our third-place finish in the Women’s Super League last term means we will play this qualifier against the Spanish side to determine whether or not we enter the league phase of this season’s Women’s Champions League.
The match will be played over two legs, with the second fixture at the Estadio Zubieta in San Sebastian scheduled for 2 September at 6pm.
Blues head coach Sonia Bompastor has named defender Naomi Girma as her skipper for the evening, while summer signing Katie McCabe comes straight into the starting XI.
Fellow arrivals Giulia Dragoni, Nelly Las and Melvine Malard all make the substitutes’ bench, and Manaka Matsukubo misses out through injury as Bompastor confirmed in her pre-match press conference.
Chelsea: Hampton, Carpenter, Girma (c), Buurman, McCabe, Walsh, Nusken, Thompson, James, Baltimore, Beever-Jones
Chelsea substitutes: Peng, Spencer, Bjorn, Bronze, Dragoni, Hamano, Potter, Las, Kaptein, Malard, Sarwie