Treble-chasing Chelsea may not be ideal opponents to break a losing streak against - but Stacie Donnelly believes Watford can spring a surprise in their FA WSL Continental Tyres Cup clash.
The Hornets are without a win since the mid-season break, having fallen to back-to-back defeats by Arsenal and Millwall Lionesses in their Conti Cup campaign.
Yet a promising second-half performance against Arsenal, where they kept their FA WSL 1 opponents goalless, gives Donnelly confidence her side can cause Chelsea problems on Wednesday night.
Watford v Chelsea
FA WSL Continental Tyres Cup
Group One
7.45pm, Wednesday 19 August
Berkhamsted FC
The return of captain Megan Wynne and Josie Green from long-term injuries will also provide a Hornets side that have resembled a casualty ward this season with a welcome boost.
And with a vocal home support at Berkhamsted ready to create an imposing atmosphere for the visitors, Donnelly is hoping her team can continue to make strides forward.
She said: “It will be a great experience to turn out against a quality team like Chelsea and our aim will be to get out as much as we can from the game.
“It’s exciting and a great test of our abilities and we are hoping to take some positives from the game.
“There are a few things we’ve been working on in training which would be good to put into practice and get ready for the rest of our league campaign."
Donnelly continued: “Chelsea will probably be quite surprised by the level of support we’ll have – the crowd is a great motivating factor for us throughout the game.
“We did quite well the last time we played WSL 1 opposition in Arsenal, especially in the second half where we impressed but just couldn’t finish our chances.
“We’ll learn from that performance and hopefully we’ll be able to nick a goal and cause Chelsea some problems.”
SSE Women's FA Cup winners and current FA Women’s Super League with BT Sport 1 leaders Chelsea are hoping to remain on course for three trophies this season and bounce back from a 2-0 defeat by Arsenal last time out in the Continental Tyres Cup.
Chelsea boss Emma Hayes celebrates their SSE Women's FA Cup win
Alongside a serious bid for the trophy, Blues manager Emma Hayes is also hoping to use the competition to bring through the next generation of talent and complement their spending in the transfer market.
Hayes said: “We want to develop players at Chelsea through the Continental Tyres Cup so development players will be utilised throughout the competition.
“We didn’t so much in the first game out of respect to Reading because they’re a top team but I think in the rest of the games there will be more development players playing.
“Against Watford I’d expect to see a large development team out there – it’s a chance for them to play. We want to develop our own players at Chelsea.”
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