‘It’s always a difficult ground to travel to’ – Chelsea boss Bompastor previews Manchester United test

‘It’s always a difficult ground to travel to’ – Chelsea boss Bompastor previews Manchester United test Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor says that playing Manchester United away from home is never easy. The Blues travel to the Leigh Sports Village to face The Red Devils on Sunday afternoon. Manchester United are going through a transition with new head coach Eva Olid coming in while they were defeated by London City Lionesses on the opening Barclays Women’s Super League matchday. Regardless of this, Chelsea boss Bompastor is still expecting a stern test this weekend. “It’s always a difficult ground to travel to and to play at Man United, with the fans being hostile,” Bompastor said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “They have a really good team. “They lost on the weekend, so I think they will come into this game with the desire to win. They are playing at home so yeah, it will be a difficult game for us again.” Chelsea dropped points themselves last weekend as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa. Bompastor says that the reaction has been good and that The Blues are working hard to improve. She said “I’m pleased with the answer from the players on the pitch. I’m not concerned about how good we are training. I think the intensity, the desire, the mindset is there in terms of working hard, trying hard. We need to reflect and be honest with each other in terms of what we are missing right now, but also not being too hard on ourselves. “We need to find the balance between playing beautiful football and having control in most of the games, but also trying to find a way to put the ball in the net and score some goals.” In terms of team news, forward Melvine Malard will not be available to face her former club, however, Bompastor hinted on a potential return for long-term absentee Nathalie Björn. She said “Unfortunately, she (Malard) won’t be able to return to Man United and play the game. She’s close to returning, but probably next weekend. “Nat Björn is starting to train fully with the team, so she will be travelling with us. We will see if she has minutes or not.” Chelsea’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Manchester United kicks-off at 12pm on Sunday afternoon.