The 2023 Vitality Women's FA Cup Final will take place at a sold-out Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon, when Chelsea defend their title against a Manchester United team in their first appearance at this stage of the competition.
Ahead of the game, we take a look at some of the key facts and stats, courtesy of Opta.
● This will be the first meeting between Manchester United and Chelsea in a Women’s FA Cup Final – indeed, it's United’s first ever Final, while it’s the seventh time Chelsea have appeared in the showpiece event.
● Chelsea have won their last six matches against Manchester United in all competitions, beating them twice already this season in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
● Chelsea have won the Women’s FA Cup in each of the last two seasons, beating Arsenal in 2021 and Manchester City in 2022. Only two teams have won the competition in three consecutive years – Southampton (1971 – 1973) and Arsenal (2006 – 2009, four in a row).
● Manchester United are the first debut Women’s FA Cup Finalist since West Ham United in 2019, who lost 3-0 to Manchester City. The last team to win in their first Women’s FA Cup Final was Manchester City in 2017 against Birmingham City.
Get ready for the #WomensFACup final by watching every @ChelseaFCW goal of the competition! 🤩⚽️ pic.twitter.com/XZcypUhSHP
— Vitality Women's FA Cup (@VitalityWFACup) May 9, 2023
● Chelsea have won their last 14 matches in the Women’s FA Cup, scoring 47 goals and conceding just six in these games. The last side to beat the Blues in the competition was Everton back in September 2020, with Chelsea losing 2-1 in the 2019-20 quarter-final.
● Chelsea have won the Women’s FA Cup on four occasions (2015, 2018, 2021, 2022) – only Arsenal (14), Southampton (8) and Doncaster Rovers Belles (6) have won the competition more often.
● The team scoring first has won the last ten Women’s FA Cup Finals, with Chelsea the last side to fail to win after netting first back in 2012 against Birmingham, losing on penalties after a draw. The last team to score first but then lose the match in the final was Charlton Athletic back in 2007 against Arsenal, losing 4-1.
● Only two of the previous 52 Women’s FA Cup finals have gone to penalties – Charlton Athletic won 3-2 on pens against Liverpool after a 1-1 draw in 1996, while Birmingham won 3-2 on spot-kicks versus Chelsea following a 2-2 draw in 2012.
● Sam Kerr has scored 12 goals in just nine appearances in the Women’s FA Cup, also assisting two goals in the competition. She is averaging a goal or assist every 53 minutes in the FA Cup and scored twice in last season’s Final victory over Manchester City and twice in the 2021 Final against Arsenal also.On fire in the #BarclaysWSL!
— Vitality Women's FA Cup (@VitalityWFACup) May 7, 2023
Will @alessiarusso7 shine in the #WomensFACup final?@ManUtdWomen pic.twitter.com/xWy0tpDrNh
● Kerr has scored twice in each of the last two Women’s FA Cup finals – only four players have scored in three consecutive finals: Pat Davies (1974, 1975, 1976), Karen Walker (1986, 1987, 1988), Kelly Smith (2006, 2007, 2008) and Kim Little (2009, 2010, 2011).
