Chelsea v Arsenal: Continental Cup final – live

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Arsenal have one obvious task today: stop Sam Kerr. She has put all kinds of hurt on them in recent times, including two goals in the delayed 2021 FA Cup final and another last week to put them out of this year’s competition.

Here’s Karen Carney on Lauren James, and the value of taking things slowly in an impatient world.

WSL latest

Alessia Russo has belted a hat-trick for the leaders Manchester United, who are 3-1 up at home to Leicester. If it stays like that United will be four points clear of Chelsea and nine ahead of Arsenal, though both have two games in hand.

Manchester City, who have entered the title race by stealth, would be six adrift with one game in hand.

In this afternoon’s other game, Rachel Daly set up Kenza Dali to give Aston Villa a 1-0 half-time lead at Everton.

The set is staged

Preamble

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the confusingly named Continental* Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea at Selhurst Park. Yep, it’s these two again, fighting for a big prize, and it’s likely to be another game of fine margins. And, as both teams know well, fine margins can be defining margins.

Arsenal and Chelsea have been extremely close, often inseparable, since the start of the decade, yet in that time the trophy count reads 7-0 to Chelsea. Their ruthlessness and unkillability has been a recurring theme of their contests with Arsenal, from Beth England’s injury-time winner in the Conti Cup final three years ago to Sam Kerr’s buzzkiller at the Emirates in January. As a result, they start this game as strongish favourites.

Still, the bigger the challenge, the greater the opportunity. If Arsenal are to win their first trophy since 2019, and the first under Jonas Eidevall, who better to do it against?

Kick off 3pm

* As you probably know, but I feel obliged to mention lest you don’t and thus wrongly feel excluded from this celebration of football and automotive expertise, it’s the League Cup sponsored by Continental Tyres