The all-important clash of Arsenal and Chelsea women is on the way, but Blues boss Emma Hayes is uncertain about the fitness of her players
Chelsea Women’s boss Emma Hayes is not sure her international stars are fit to face Arsenal on Sunday’s FA Cup clash.
Chelsea will face Arsenal in the fifth round of the Vitality FA Cup. While Arsenal manager Eidvall has an idea of what his team will look like, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes is a lot more uncertain.
Hayes cautious about Chelsea’s lineup
Chelsea are currently on a 20-game unbeaten run. They last lost a match back in September against Liverpool. Arsenal Women have an opportunity to upset the Blues, but Eidvall is without key starters Vivienne Miedema and Beth Mead as well as Sabrina D’Angelo and Lina Hurtig.
In regards to the players he has available, Eidvall said: “We have Lina, that couldn’t play for Sweden – also an injury we have to investigate a little bit, so those two are two question marks, but apart from that, no more.
“Beth Mead is doing fine; the reports I’m getting from our medical team is that it’s progressing like we’d hope it would be.”
While Arsenal have some internationals of their own, Chelsea have 15 players who are on international duty. Having so many players fly in so close to the match will be a headache for Emma Hayes.
“You have to give them the maximum amount of time to recover.“
“They should be back by now, but it just shows you the challenges [of the international break],’ said Hayes of the 15 Chelsea stars who were on international duty (as per the Daily Mail).
“They are all flying in from everywhere, and I see them as human beings. [After] long haul flights they are not going to be at their best immediately and then they have to perform two days later. You have to give them the maximum amount of time to recover.
“That’s why you prepare squads which are going to be ready for the whole season. There’s going to be moments like this where you have to make decisions based on those factors and that’s why I’m always advocating a squad.”
