Chelsea finish WSL season unbeaten after late winner
Chelsea concluded their unbeaten WSL season with a narrow 1-0 win over Liverpool on an action-packed final day. It had been a stalemate at Stamford Bridge until Aggie Beever-Jones stepped up in the 91st minute with a composed strike to win it. As a result, the Blues became the first team to hit the 60-point mark in the WSL and the first to go invincible in a 22-game league season.
“All through the season I said this league is really competitive,” said the Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor. “I was talking to my assistant coaches and told them that we need to enjoy the moment because being able to join a new club, in a new country, is a big achievement. We’ve been unbeaten in the season, that is a really great achievement because every game was tough, even though for some people that is difficult to believe, but even today we found the goal in the last minute to win.”
Over at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal won the battle for second place with a dramatic 4-3 victory over Manchester United. Chloe Kelly was on the scoresheet within the opening two minutes after pouncing on an uncharacteristic error from United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce. Ella Toone then equalised with a header from close range. Three goals in quick succession from Mariona Caldentey, Frida Maanum and Kim Little put the hosts into a commanding lead just after half-time, but they were given quite the scare in the final stages. Elisabeth Terland and Maya Le Tissier got two goals back for United, taking it down to the wire. However, Arsenal were able to hold off late pressure to secure the win.
Manchester City came from behind to defeat already-relegated Crystal Palace 5-2 following an early scare at the Joie Stadium. The visitors took a shock lead after just four minutes through Ashleigh Weerden. Kerolin cancelled out the strike shortly after, but Mille Gejl restored Palace’s advantage on the stroke of half-time. City came out firing after the break and a goal from Jill Roord, along with a Rebecca Knaak brace and another strike from Kerolin, helped claim the win.
Leicester concluded their campaign with an impressive 4-2 win over West Ham at the King Power Stadium. The hosts were 2-0 up by half-time thanks to goals from Janice Cayman and Hannah Cain, but Viviane Asseyi got one back for West Ham in the 57th minute. It didn’t take long for Cain to restore the two-goal cushion with her second. Asseyi fired home just four minutes later to give Leicester another fright, but Sam Tierney helped to calm the nerves by making it four to the hosts. The win was enough to lift Leicester above Tottenham and into 10th.
Aston Villa bounced back from last weekend’s loss to West Ham with a 3-1 win over Brighton at Villa Park. Natalia Arroyo’s side cruised through the match following an early goal from Ebony Salmon. Rachel Daly made it two just before half-time and Maz Pacheco scored the third to mark her final appearance for the club. Nikita Parris was helped in scoring a late consolation by a mistake from Sabrina D’Angelo.
And finally, Spurs’ miserable season came to an end with a 1-1 draw against Everton. Spurs found themselves 1-0 down courtesy of an 11th-minute free kick from Veatriki Sarri, but Drew Spence fired them level on the half-hour mark. The result left Spurs 11th in the table.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 22 | 43 | 60 |
| 2 | Arsenal Women | 22 | 36 | 48 |
| 3 | Man Utd Women | 22 | 25 | 44 |
| 4 | Man City Women | 22 | 21 | 43 |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 22 | -6 | 28 |
| 6 | Aston Villa Women | 22 | -12 | 25 |
| 7 | Liverpool FC Women | 22 | -15 | 25 |
| 8 | Everton Women | 22 | -8 | 24 |
| 9 | West Ham Women | 22 | -5 | 23 |
| 10 | Leicester Women | 22 | -16 | 20 |
| 11 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 22 | -18 | 20 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace Women | 22 | -45 | 10 |
Here’s Suzanne Wrack’s match report from the Emirates Stadium…
A reminder of today’s results…
Arsenal 4-3 Manchester United
Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool
Everton 1-1 Tottenham
Leicester 4-2 West Ham
Manchester City 5-2 Crystal Palace
Aston Villa 3-1 Brighton
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor tells Sky Sports: “It is difficult to realise [what it means]. We had the opportunity to play our final home game here in front of our fans and as you can see the atmosphere was amazing. I think as a manager, players and staff you only live these moments maybe once in your life. It is difficult to believe but you need to enjoy it because it is a great achievement.”
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Chelsea defender Niamh Charles speaking to Sky Sports: “We knew it was coming today and the fans have made the atmosphere incredible. It is as much for them as it is for us. We will enjoy today.
“We wanted to be unbeaten and we had other things that we were playing for. It did feel a bit different today compared to other years but ultimately we still wanted to win again.”
The celebrations are in full swing at Stamford Bridge!
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It’s the moment every Chelsea fan has been waiting for – the trophy lift!
𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨, 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨, 𝙊𝙡𝙚 𝙊𝙡𝙚 𝙊𝙡𝙚 🎶
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) May 10, 2025
Chelsea lift the WSL trophy for a record sixth consecutive season! 🏆💙 pic.twitter.com/xkAHqIF1M3
Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert tells Sky Sports: “We’ve just worked hard right until the end. Liverpool came with a game plan and defended really well. We just had to keep at it, use the momentum, use the fans and Aggie got that goal at the end.
“I thought the girls run them down and made the job as a substitute really easily in the second half. Credit to everyone in the group.
“It’s just absolutely mental. I’m only about titles but Sonia said she’s after the records so so am I.”
It has been confirmed that both Alessia Russo and Khadija Shaw have won the 2024-25 WSL Golden Boot. Both players ended the season with 12 goals.
Manchester City have just confirmed the departure of Laia Aleixandri. The defender will leave when her contract expires this summer.
We can confirm that Laia Aleixandri will leave the Club on the expiry of her current contract this summer.
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) May 10, 2025
Everyone at Manchester City would like to thank Laia for her efforts during her time at the Club and wish her the very best for the future 🩵 pic.twitter.com/pphfmEgbmE
It’s official… Chelsea are invincible. The Blues have managed to go the entire WSL season without suffering a defeat. They are also the first team to have avoided defeat in a 22-game WSL season and the first to hit the 60-point mark.
Full-time
It’s full-time across the grounds and that marks the end of another WSL season!
Arsenal 4-3 Manchester United
Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool
Everton 1-1 Tottenham
Leicester 4-2 West Ham
Manchester City 5-2 Crystal Palace
Aston Villa 3-1 Brighton
GOAL! Aston Villa 3-1 Brighton (Sabrina D'Angelo OG, 90+4)
Bremer chips the ball over the Villa defence to Parris in the box, who goes for goal from a tight angle. D’Angelo initially makes the save but then tips the ball across the line.
GOAL! Aston Villa 3-0 Brighton (Maz Pacheco, 74)
Pacheco – who will leave Villa after today’s match – makes it three for the hosts!
Apologies, I missed that one earlier amid all the chaos at the Emirates!
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GOAL! Manchester City 5-2 Crystal Palace (Rebecca Knaak, 90+4)
Another corner and another headed goal for Knaak! City lead by three with just a few seconds left on the clock.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool (Aggie Beever-Jones, 90+1)
Beever-Jones wins it at the death for Chelsea!
Lawrence receives the ball in defence on the right and cuts inside before passing forward to Beever-Jones. The striker makes her way into the box and fires her shot into the bottom-right corner.
They always seem to find a way!
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Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool: Hinds goes for goal with an audacious free kick but her effort flies narrowly over the bar.
GOAL! Manchester City 4-2 Crystal Palace (Kerolin, 86)
Fujino moves inside to receive the ball and plays Kerolin through on goal. The forward makes a run into the box before passing her shot into the net.
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Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool: It’s still goalless at Stamford Bridge as we approach the final five minutes of normal time.
GOAL! Arsenal 4-3 Manchester United (Maya Le Tissier, 76)
Le Tissier converts the penalty, striking the ball into the bottom-left corner and sending Zinsberger the wrong way!
We’re in for a very tasty final 15 minutes!
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Arsenal 4-2 Manchester United: Penalty to Manchester United! Bizet goes to ground after colliding with McCabe. It’s been a disastrous few minutes for the full-back.
Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool: Concern for Liverpool as Olivia Smith is forced off with an injury. The forward is unable to walk on her own and limps off slowly with support from two physios.
GOAL! Arsenal 4-2 Manchester United (Elisabeth Terland, 70)
Terland intercepts a terrible pass from McCabe on the edge of the box and fires the ball past Zinsberger with the help of a deflection.
GOAL! Leicester 4-2 West Ham (Sam Tierney, 69)
Leicester’s two-goal advantage is restored once again, this time by Tierney.
GOAL! Manchester City 3-2 Crystal Palace (Rebecca Knaak, 67)
Hemp steps up to take a corner and Knaak is there at the back post to head the ball in! City turn the match on its head!
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GOAL! Manchester City 2-2 Crystal Palace (Jill Roord, 64)
Hemp sends a cross into the box and Kerolin attempts to convert the shot. Yañez does well to keep out the initial effort but Roord pounces on the rebound to equalise.
GOAL! Leicester 3-2 West Ham (Viviane Asseyi, 63)
Asseyi gives hope to the Hammers once again! Game on!
GOAL! Arsenal 4-1 Manchester United (Kim Little, 61)
Kelly pokes the ball through to Little in the box, who slides her shot into the bottom-left corner.
GOAL! Leicester 3-1 West Ham (Hannah Cain, 59)
Cain restores Leicester’s two-goal cushion.
GOAL! Leicester 2-1 West Ham (Viviane Asseyi, 57)
A cross is sent deep into the Leicester box from the left and Asseyi is there to head it home. Despite a huge effort from Leitzig to save it on the line, she cannot keep it out.
GOAL! Arsenal 3-1 Manchester United (Frida Maanum, 55)
Maanum has the ball on the left and plays a pass back to McCabe. The full-back splits the United defence with a fantastic ball back to her team-mate, who runs inside before placing her shot into the bottom-right corner.
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Manchester City 1-2 Crystal Palace: Keating makes two fantastic saves to stop Crystal Palace from scoring a third.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 Manchester United (Mariona Caldentey, 50)
Caldentey converts the penalty, sending Tullis-Joyce the wrong way!
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Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United: Penalty to Arsenal! Foord is brought down in the box by Clinton. This is a huge moment for the hosts.
Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United: Marc Skinner has made a half-time substitution, with Elisabeth Terland replacing Sandberg. It looks like United could be making a slight formation change as well.
Manchester City 1-2 Crystal Palace: Hemp puts the ball in the net for Manchester City – but she is flagged offside. That would’ve been the perfect start to the second half!
If you’re loving our women’s football coverage then be sure to subscribe to our Moving the Goalposts newsletter before the second half starts. You’ll receive weekly features and updates – all for free!
Meanwhile, Charles says:
“It’s hugely important that Arsenal stay second and avoid the potential humiliation of non-qualification for the Women’s Champions League – a step which brought grief a couple of years ago. Automatic qualification will guarantee the kind of money that might entice Chloe Kelly to stay, so her goal is in everybody’s interests…”
Curt has emailed in with his pick for signing of the season:
“My signing of the season has to be Elisabeth Terland. With 14 goal contributions she has more than Alessia Russo ever managed in a season during her time at United. And Terland’s dual role as provider and goalscorer has her matching Russo’s output at Arsenal this season.”
Half-time
We’ve had goals in every game so far – except the one involving the league champions.
Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United
Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool
Everton 1-1 Tottenham
Leicester 2-0 West Ham
Manchester City 1-2 Crystal Palace
Aston Villa 2-0 Brighton
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-0 Brighton (Rachel Daly, 45)
Robinson plays the ball down to Grant on the right, who makes a run deep into the box before setting a pass back to Daly. The striker is then free to slot her shot under D’Angelo to double Villa’s lead.
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Manchester City 1-2 Crystal Palace (Mille Gejl, 40)
Gejl makes it two for Palace!
Potter plays a long ball forward to Larkin, who does well to bring it down with her chest before making her way into the box. Manchester City stars are far too slow to track back and the winger passes inside to Gejl, who fires her first-time shot into the top-right corner.
Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United: Malard goes for a tricky volley in the box following a cross from Le Tissier but blasts her shot narrowly over the crossbar.
GOAL! Leicester 2-0 West Ham (Hannah Cain, 35)
Tierney splits Zadorsky and Hanshaw with a stunning pass through to Cain, who makes her way into the box before shooting. Her first effort is saved by Szemik, but she makes no mistake in converting the second.
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GOAL! Everton 1-1 Tottenham (Drew Spence, 30)
Morris does well to find Holdt with a brilliant pass down the right. The winger squares the ball across goal and Brosnan comes off her line in an attempt to parry it away, but it falls straight to Spence who drills her shot into the bottom-right corner.
Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United: As things stand, Arsenal will finish second. United need a win here to overtake them.
Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool: We’re still yet to see any goals at Stamford Bridge this afternoon. Both teams have had their chances.
Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United: Kelly goes for an audacious looping shot from the edge of the box, but her effort flies narrowly over the crossbar.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-1 Crystal Palace (Kerolin, 17)
A Palace throw is intercepted by Knaak, who heads the ball forward. The visitors fail to deal with it and it eventually falls to Kerolin in the box, who brings the ball down before firing her shot home.
GOAL! Everton 1-0 Tottenham (Veatriki Sarri, 11)
Brilliant from Sarri! The forward tees up a free kick just outside the box and manages to loop her effort over the Tottenham wall and into the net!
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GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United (Ella Toone, 13)
A Manchester United corner is sent into the box and Arsenal fail twice to make the clearance. It eventually drops to Toone, who is able to head past Zinsberger to equalise.
GOAL! Leicester 1-0 West Ham (Janice Cayman, 9)
What a strike! A shot from Cain is blocked but falls back out to Cayman, who rifles her shot into the top-right corner!
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GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 Brighton (Ebony Salmon, 5)
Salmon picks up the ball in midfield before carrying it all the way to the edge of the Brighton box and placing it nicely into the bottom-right corner.
GOAL! Manchester City 0-1 Crystal Palace (Ashleigh Weerden, 5)
Gejl capitalises on a poor pass from Aleixandri in midfield before making her way into the box and squaring the ball across to Weerden, who slots home.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Manchester United (Chloe Kelly, 2)
Kelly breaks the deadlock!
A cross is sent into the United box and Tullis-Joyce makes an uncharacteristic error by spilling the ball. It falls straight to Kelly, who does well to place the ball into the bottom-right corner with the help of a small deflection.
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Kick-off
Here we go! We’re under way on the final day!
All the teams are now out! Kick-off is just a few moments away!
The WSL Golden Boot is still up for grabs this afternoon. Alessia Russo currently leads the race with 12 goals and two assists. Khadija Shaw is behind in second with the same number, although she will not feature for Manchester City this afternoon due to injury.
Alessia Russo – 12
Khadija Shaw – 12
Shekiera Martinez – 10
Elisabeth Terland – 9
Mariona Caldentey – 8
Bethany England – 8
Aggie Beever-Jones – 8
Guro Reiten – 8
Grace Clinton – 8
And here’s some analysis from Tom Garry on how Chelsea managed to achieve what has been a seamless transition from the Emma Hayes era to the new Sonia Bompastor reign…
Our very own Sophie Downey took some time to rate every Chelsea player based on their performances this season. Take a look here…
Chelsea will look to complete the WSL season undefeated this afternoon. The Blues have drawn just three games this campaign, winning the other 18 in the league. Should they achieve the feat, they will become the first team to go invincible in a 22-game WSL season.
It would be the fourth time a team has gone a full WSL term undefeated after Arsenal in 2012, Manchester City in 2016 and Chelsea themselves in 2018.
I want to hear from you today! As we’ve reached the end of the season I want to know your picks for player of the season, goal of the season, match of the season, and who you think was the best signing of the campaign.
Don’t hesitate to message me!
Aston Villa v Brighton team news
Aston Villa starting XI: D’Angelo, Maritz, Patten, Turner, Grant, Pacheco, Kearns, Baijings, Daly, Robinson, Salmon.
Your season finale Villans 💜 pic.twitter.com/LcBGxZqmhm
— Aston Villa Women (@AVWFCOfficial) May 10, 2025
Brighton starting XI: Baggaley, Bergsvand, Parris, Cankovic, Seike, Hayes, Symonds, Olislagers, Bruna, Auee, Agyemang.
TEAM NEWS! 🚨 Your final starting XI of the season to take on @AVWFCOfficial this afternoon. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/7Rt1IVrfFy
— Brighton & Hove Albion Women (@BHAFCWomen) May 10, 2025
Manchester City v Crystal Palace team news
Manchester City starting XI: Keating, Casparij, Prior, Knaak, Greenwood, Hasegawa, Aleixandri, Coombs, Park, Hemp, Kerolin.
Your City side to face Crystal Palace 🩵
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) May 10, 2025
XI | Keating, Casparij, Prior, Knaak, Greenwood (C), Hasegawa, Aleixandri, Coombs, Park, Hemp, Kerolin Nicoli
SUBS | Annets, Layzell, Roord, Wienroither, Blindkilde Brown, Fujino, Oyama, Thomas, Murphy#ManCity | @etihad pic.twitter.com/YPUIYggv3C
Crystal Palace starting XI: Yañez, Sharpe, Weerden, Nolan, Öling, Potter, Gejl, Woodham, Larkin, Stengel, Swaby.
Our final XI of the season 🦅#CPFC // @BarclaysWSL
— Crystal Palace F.C. Women (@cpfc_w) May 10, 2025
Leicester v West Ham team news
Leicester starting XI: Leitzig, Tierney, Howard, Cayman, Ale, Thibaud, Goodwin, Cain, Chossenotte, Momiki, Swaby.
Team news is in! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/mz0cbryNdc
— LCFC Women (@LCFC_Women) May 10, 2025
West Ham starting XI: Szemik, Ueki, Pavi, Nyström, Zadorsky, Denton, Martinez, Asseyi, Gorry, Hanshaw, Puibel.
Final line-up of 2024/25 ⚒️
— West Ham United Women (@westhamwomen) May 10, 2025
🪄 Ueki in the pocket
🕸️ Paví poised on the flank
🛡️ Nyström anchors the defence pic.twitter.com/erobov1SjG
Everton v Tottenham team news
Everton starting XI: Brosnan, Fernández, Hayashi, Wheeler, Vanhaevermaet, T.Payne, Sarri, Snoeijs, Stenevik, K.Holmgaard, Gago.
1️⃣1️⃣ The final starting XI of the season...#COYB pic.twitter.com/MWcQLkxP1G
— Everton Women (@EvertonWomen) May 10, 2025
Tottenham starting XI: Kop, Morris, Bartrip, Hunt, Nildén, Spence, Summanen, Oroz, Holdt, Naz, England.
Your starting XI against Everton! 🙌
— Tottenham Hotspur Women (@SpursWomen) May 10, 2025
🔢 @krakenfx pic.twitter.com/IU2gXQsztI
Chelsea v Liverpool team news
Chelsea starting XI: Hampton, Bronze, Bright, Girma, Bjorn, Charles, Kaptein, Walsh, Nusken, Baltimore, Beever-Jones.
How your champions are lining up! 📋#CFCW pic.twitter.com/o8gw3hjzdq
— (C)helsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) May 10, 2025
Liverpool starting XI: Laws, Fisk, Bonner, Evans, Hinds, Kerr, Nagano, Höbinger, Holland, Roman Haug, Smith.
For the final time this season...team news is IN 📋🔴#CHELIV
— Liverpool FC Women (@LiverpoolFCW) May 10, 2025
Arsenal v Manchester United team news
Arsenal starting XI: Zinsberger, Fox, Williamson, Catley, Caldentey, Little, McCabe, Maanum, Kelly, Foord, Russo.
🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) May 10, 2025
💪 McCabe and Fox start
🤩 Maanum makes 150th appearance
⚡ Foord and Kelly down the wing
Let’s sign off strong in N5 - COYG! 👊
Manchester United starting XI: Tullis-Joyce, Sandberg, Le Tissier, Toone, Clinton, Malard, Galton, Bizet, Janssen, Miyazawa, Turner.
Let’s do this, United! 👊Ⓜ️#MUWomen || #WSL
— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) May 10, 2025
As things stand…
Arsenal sit second in the league standings with Manchester United third. Those positions could be swapped come the end of play.
At the bottom of the table, Crystal Palace are already relegated in 12th, with Leicester 11th and Tottenham down in 10th.
You can access the full WSL table here.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 21 | 42 | 57 |
| 2 | Arsenal Women | 21 | 35 | 45 |
| 3 | Man Utd Women | 21 | 26 | 44 |
| 4 | Man City Women | 21 | 18 | 40 |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 21 | -4 | 28 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC Women | 21 | -14 | 25 |
| 7 | West Ham Women | 21 | -3 | 23 |
| 8 | Everton Women | 21 | -8 | 23 |
| 9 | Aston Villa Women | 21 | -14 | 22 |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 21 | -18 | 19 |
| 11 | Leicester Women | 21 | -18 | 17 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace Women | 21 | -42 | 10 |
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Today’s games:
Arsenal v Manchester United
Chelsea v Liverpool
Everton v Tottenham
Leicester v West Ham
Manchester City v Crystal Palace
Aston Villa v Brighton
Preamble
Here we are. The final day of the WSL season is upon us – and to be quite honest, it feels like it has come around ridiculously quickly. There is not quite as much riding on this one compared to last season’s conclusion, when Manchester City and Chelsea were competing for the title. Instead, everything has already been decided with the Blues confirmed as champions once again and Crystal Palace relegated. Arsenal and Manchester United – two clubs facing each other today – have also secured the two remaining Champions League spots, although second place will be up for grabs at the Emirates Stadium.
Elsewhere, Chelsea host Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, where they will lift the WSL trophy later on this afternoon. Tottenham face Everton with the hope of securing their first league win since January, Manchester City face Crystal Palace, Aston Villa take on Brighton and West Ham meet Leicester City.
Every match kicks off at 12:30pm BST – join me!
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