Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor has revealed that Lucy Bronze and Niamh Charles will return to the squad for their upcoming Women’s Super League match with Tottenham.
The Blues go into the clash against their London rivals on the back of two successive draws.
Chelsea have been held to 1-1 draws with Manchester United and FC Twente in their Champions League opener.
The draw with Twente led to former England international Lianne Sanderson suggesting that ‘questions will be asked’ of Bompastor after their failure to beat the Dutch side as expected.
Failure to beat Tottenham on Sunday will only increase criticism towards Bompastor, despite Chelsea sitting top of the standings.
Chelsea team news: Lucy Bronze and Niamh Charles to return against Tottenham
Bompastor, during her press conference, revealed that Bronze and Charles will be in the matchday squad to face Tottenham.
Bronze has not played yet this campaign having made her last appearance in the Women’s Euro 2025 final.
After the final, she revealed that she had played through the tournament with a fractured leg.
Charles has played for Chelsea this season, but has been absent since being replaced at half-time during their victory over Aston Villa last month.
There will be a longer wait for Chelsea fans to see Lauren James and Naomi Girma.
James, like Bronze, has not played since the Women’s Euro 2025 final. US international Girma, who joined the club in January, was last in action for her country against Canada on July 3rd.
Will Bronze play ahead of Ellie Carpenter?
Lucy Bronze will face fierce competition on the right side of defence from summer signing Ellie Carpenter.
The Australian has impressed at Chelsea since joining the club in the summer from French side Lyon.
When Bronze is fit enough to start, there will be questions over whether Carpenter can keep her place in the squad.
Chelsea head coach Bompastor though believes that the two can play alongside each other.
She said: “I will have to pick a starting XI, but in my mind, I always think about what is the best team or the best starting 11 going into every game.
“And if both Ellie and Lucy are performing at the same time, at a high level, they will both play. I think both of them can play in those two positions, the right full-back or the right wing-back. We can expect to see them both on the pitch at the same time.”
Bompastor also said she is ‘very proud’ of Carpenter which shows she could look for a way to play them both in certain games.
