MATCH INFO:

Reading FC vs. Chelsea

Madejski Stadium, Reading, England

Kickoff: January 10th, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. ET

WHERE TO WATCH: The FA Player

The FA Women’s Super League is back following the holiday break, with a weekend of full action, including a much-anticipated tilt between Reading FC and Chelsea. Teams have already been making moves off the field during the January transfer window, and now two of the league’s top squads face off on Sunday, January 10th, at Madejski Stadium in Reading, England at 9:00 a.m. EST.

Resuming our @BarclaysFAWSL campaign away to Reading! ???? pic.twitter.com/EWV0YLjOTG

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) January 5, 2021

Reading FC certainly has something to prove in Sunday’s match, as they ended the holiday break at sixth place in the table with 13 points and a 3-3-4 record. Only a handful of points separates them from top-tier squads such as Everton and Manchester City, and a win over Chelsea this weekend could provide Reading the opportunity to leap Everton in the standings and move into fifth place.

In their most recent match, Reading defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 behind a brace from Jess Fishlock and a stoppage time goal from Rachel Rowe. Though the win allowed the squad to end on a high note prior to the break, taking a closer look at previous matches against other (and sometimes more challenging) opponents tells a different story. In the last two months, Reading has lost to first place team Manchester United 2-1, tied last place team Bristol City 1-1, and lost to tenth place team West Ham United 3-0. Inconsistency has plagued them throughout the season, and if there is any team that you cannot afford to be inconsistent against, it is Chelsea.

Two goals for @JessFishlock on the final matchday of the year ????@BHAFCWomen ???? @ReadingFCWomen #BarclaysFAWSL highlights ⤵️

— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) December 21, 2020

Though Sunday’s match against Chelsea will certainly be a challenging one for Reading, manager Kelly Chambers has high hopes for her squad moving forward.

“We’ve performed against Chelsea and Arsenal in the past and I don’t see why we can’t do it again,” she said in an interview. “We pose a lot of different threats to the top sides and always have. Last season we beat Chelsea on penalties and only just lost out to Arsenal the month after by a very late winner from them.”

Chelsea, on the other hand, has yet to be defeated this year. Led by standout players such as Fran Kirby, Sam Kerr, Bethany England and Pernille Harder, the squad boasts a 6-0-2 record and currently sits at third place in the table behind Arsenal and Manchester United, despite playing two fewer matches than the squads ahead of them. Just recently, Harder was awarded the honor of Female Football Player of the Year in Denmark for the seventh (yes, the seventh) time.

Pernille Harder is the Female Football Player of the Year in Denmark for the seventh time????

91% of the female football players in Denmark voted for the @ChelseaFCW player????

Congratulations, @PernilleMHarder????#CFCW #CFC #Chelsea pic.twitter.com/moqd5gZM1w

— Spillerforeningen (@Spillerforening) January 6, 2021

Chelsea’s most recent wins come against teams such as West Ham United, Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Tottenham, with Chelsea rendering their opponents scoreless in three of those wins. Should Chelsea defeat Reading and Arsenal lose their next match, the Blues can sneak into second place in the table.

The last meeting between these two teams took place a little more than a year ago, with Chelsea recording a comfortable 3-1 win over Reading behind goals from Bethany England, Guro Reiten and Erin Cuthbert. Fara Williams recorded the lone goal for the Royals. With such a large amount of time having passed since the two sides have clashed, it could be anyone’s game — so set those alarms and clear your Sunday calendar. FAWSL is back.

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

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Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.