‘These are the games that you want to play’ – Chelsea boss Bompastor previews League Cup final | OneFootball

Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor says that her side are excited to have the opportunity to win the first piece of silverware of the season this weekend.

The Blues will contest the 2025/2026 Subway Women’s League Cup final with Manchester United at Ashton Gate in Bristol.

It has been a tough season for Chelsea with the club having lost their grip on the Barclays Women’s Super League title but head coach Bompastor says that Sunday’s Subway Women’s League Cup tie presents a great opportunity for the club to add some silverware.

“It’s really exciting,” Bompastor said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “When you are at Chelsea, these are the games that you want to play. You want to compete as far as you can in every competition, get to finals and lift silverware.

“It’s the first opportunity for us on Sunday and we are really looking forward to that.”

Chelsea recorded a narrow 2-1 victory over Manchester United in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup fifth round just three weeks’ ago. Bompastor expects another tight encounter but knows that her side have the quality to succeed.

She said “We always expect to have a tough and tight game against Manchester United because they have a lot of quality as well. They had a really good dynamic before the break and had really good results. 

“They strengthened the squad in the January transfer window and brought in some really good players with a lot of quality. They have more depth in the squad as well, so we expect a tough game.

“I’m confident that we also have a lot of quality in our side to make sure we perform and win the game.”

A three-week international break before a cup final is far from ideal but Bompastor says that it hasn’t changed the way that her side have prepared for the tie.

She said “It hasn’t really changed the way that we approach things for the game on Sunday. It’s always about finding the right balance between focusing on the opposition and your team.

“I was watching most of the games during the international break and I could see my players and also, some of the players that play for Manchester United. 

“Going into the game, it’ll be a different competition, different context and the neutral stadium will also make it different to when we played them a few weeks ago. If you reflect on that, a lot of the things will be different.

“Even if it’s different, we haven’t really changed our preparation going into the game. We have stayed with our routines and we will find the right balance between focusing on ourselves and on them.”

The 2025/2026 Subway Women’s League Cup final kicks-off at 2.15pm on Sunday afternoon. Limited tickets remain available and can be purchased by clicking here.