Arsenal Women vs Chelsea Women prediction: Cup final to be filled with goals

The first domestic women's silverware of the season will go to either Chelsea or Arsenal this Sunday (15:00) when the two London clubs face off at Molineux in the League Cup Final. The Blues are battling on four fronts as they attempt to make Emma Hayes' last campaign in charge as glorious as possible. 

Chelsea beat the Gunners 3-1 to maintain their leadership of the Super League earlier this month, but Jonas Eidevall's team do not have to look back too far for some encouragement. Arsenal thrashed Chelsea 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium in December and celebrated ultimate success in this competition last season after a 3-1 final win over the Blues at Selhurst Park. Here are our Arsenal Women vs Chelsea women predictions.

Team News 

Hayes said Mayra Ramirez had given her a selection headache after the recently-acquired Colombian grabbed Chelsea's goal against Ajax in the Champions League during the week, but realistically she had already picked her cup final team before that game. 

All six of the players she rested, including forwards Lauren James and Sjoeke Nusken, will return to the line-up, as Hannah Hampton re-takes the goalkeeping gloves from Zecira Musovic, although skipper Millie Bright and striker Sam Kerr miss out through injury. 

Stina Blackstenius should return after scoring as a substitute in Arsenal's 3-1 win at Aston Villa last weekend, while defenders Laia Codina and Stephanie Catley could see their chances of inclusion boosted if Eidevall switches to play five at the back. 

Match Odds 

Chelsea Women are the 6/5 favourites to win the final inside 90 minutes and continue their remarkable quest for a quadruple. 

Holders Arsenal Women are 9/5 shots to retain their grip on the trophy, while the draw is available at 12/5. 

It's 8/15 for both teams to score and 11/8 for at least one of the teams to be shut out, while 13/8 is available for over 3.5 goals to be scored in the game. 

No Draw & Both Teams to Score - Yes @ 5/4 

Draws between these clubs are rare with only one of the last seven contests finishing all square. In fact, these two clubs just tend not to draw at all when in domestic action, with both Chelsea and Arsenal having featured in only one league stalemate apiece this season. 

Chelsea's six-point lead over the Gunners in the Super League standings suggests they are worthy favourites, but cup football is something else and Arsenal were the deserved winners in last year's final when Hayes suggested the Blues’ opponents were the hungrier side. 

Her imminent job switch to take over the US national team has probably upped the stakes for her players, however, and this clash could easily go either way. 

Both teams have scored in four of the last six meetings of these two rivals and there is enough firepower around to make sure it happens again on Sunday.  

Star striker James and five other regular starters were held back from Hayes' line-up for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Ajax. 

James did not play a single minute while Nusken, who bagged a double in the Blues’ recent 3-1 win over Arsenal, only appeared for the final 24 minutes of the European clash. 

Both should be fresh enough to give the Gunners' defence the runaround at Molineux and Chelsea certainly don’t appear to be missing Sam Kerr too much at the moment. 

The Blues have scored 39 goals in the 16 games since the Australian suffered an ACL injury during the winter. 

Over 3.5 Goals @ 13/8 

Ten of Chelsea's 16 games since action resumed after Christmas have featured at least three goals and it would be no surprise to see the cup final produce plenty of scoring opportunities. 

Five of Arsenal’s last six games have seen at least four goals scored and three of the last four meetings between the London clubs have gone above the 3.5-goal mark. 

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.