For the first time in nearly three months, Chelsea FC Women are back. Tell your friends. The five-time defending Women’s Super League champions begin their USA preseason tour in the Garden State against NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women’s Soccer League. It’s quite a challenge for Sonia Bompastor, the newly appointed head coach, who is still trying to integrate her style of play while getting to know the players and their new surroundings.

Gotham FC, the reigning NWSL champions, are managed by former Tottenham Hotspur coach Juan Carlos Amorós. We get the chance to see three former Blues players: Jess Carter, Crystal Dunn and Ann-Katrin Berger, who will undoubtedly be part of the East Coast team’s starting eleven.

This is the second NWSL club Chelsea have played in the last three years, the other being Portland Thorns FC in the 2022 Women’s International Champions Cup.

The Bats, as they are known by NWSL fans, have played 16 games in their 26-game 2024 regular season. With 31 points, Gotham is in fourth place on the NWSL standings, three points behind the Washington Spirit, who are in third place.

Defensive solidity has been the team’s hallmark this season, with Berger between the posts and the USWNT’s center-back duo of Emily Sonnett and Tierna Davidson. Now Carter is added to the mix. To call it foolproof doesn’t even do it justice. Even before Carter’s arrival, GFC had conceded 13 goals in 1,440 minutes – the second-best record in the NWSL behind league leaders Orlando Pride. It’s basically a superteam.

This can now be said with even greater conviction after Portuguese striker Jéssica Silva was signed by SL Benfica Women on a free transfer until 2024 on August 16.

Gotham’s attack is led by the NWSL’s all-time leading scorer Lynn Williams, former Duke Blue Devil Ella Stevens, USWNT midfielder Rose Lavelle and former Liverpool striker Katie Stengel. Remember her? I think we all do. She was the one who scored two penalties against Chelsea in the 2022-23 season opener at Prenton Park, helping the Reds shock the soccer world.

“I can’t wait to get to the first game,” Bompastor said. “It’s Gotham’s season right now, so it’s going to be tough for us because we’re just starting our preseason.”

Most recently, the 2023 NWSL champions secured their ticket to the first-ever NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup final in October with a win over Angel City FC on August 6.

No concrete conclusions can be drawn in the preseason. We will observe which experiments work and which connections lead to the greatest success before any meaningful action is taken. It will be interesting to see what role not only the new arrivals will play, but also the players returning from a loan, such as Wieke Kaptein.

“It’s about bringing good team spirit into the game, giving the players playing time and trying to recognise our game model.”

Goalkeeper: Zecira Musovic
Defender: Millie Bright (C), Nathalie Björn, Niamh Charles, Lucy Bronze
Midfielder: Wieke Kaptein, Erin Cuthbert, Lauren James
Forward: Maika Hamano, Aggie Beever-Jones, Mayra Ramirez

Date: Monday, August 19
Time/Place: 7:00pm EST, 12:00am BST / Red Bull Arena
Here’s how you can watch: DAZN, CFC website/app (UK, Ireland)