WSL giants learn quarter-final & semi-final paths for Women's League Cup as big guns avoid each other in last eight

The draw for the last eight of the competition is as follows: Liverpool vs Chelsea, Crystal Palace vs Arsenal, Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United vs Manchester City.

Third-placed Man Utd vs fifth-placed Spurs stands out as a fixture to watch out for in the draw, while relegation strugglers Liverpool and West Ham will be underdogs alongside WSL2 side Crystal Palace, who were relegated from the top flight last season.

The draw for the final four has also been made, with the winners of Crystal Palace vs Arsenal set to host the victors of United vs Spurs in the semi-finals, whilst the winners of West Ham vs Man City will host the winners of Liverpool vs Chelsea.

Six of the eight teams who made last year’s quarter-finals of the competition have reached the same stage once again, but last year’s quarter-final Manchester Derby meant that United missed out on a place in the last four. This time around, the four regular title challengers have all avoided each other at this stage.

Defending champions Chelsea won the League Cup in 2024-25, beating Man City 2-1 in the final at Derby’s Pride Park Stadium, in what was the first year since the competition was rebranded from being the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup (often known as the Conti Cup) to its new official name of the Subway Women’s League Cup. It is now more commonly referred to as the League Cup alone.

The four quarter-final clashes will make intriguing viewing as the WSL’s top sides aim to avoid an upset on their way to challenging for the first major trophy up for grabs this campaign.

Though Chelsea would go on to win the domestic treble last season and were unbeaten in the process, the 2024-25 League Cup final in March became Sonia Bompastor’s first trophy in charge of the Blues since taking over from the legendary Emma Hayes.

Bompastor said of the victory over Man City in the final: "We are really happy for sure. You know when you're in a final, it's always the main thing is to win. The game was not easy, but I'm really happy with the win.

"The first trophy in the season, it's always important. I just told my players it's really important that today, we are about to turn the words into actions.

"We worked so hard every day from the beginning of the season and today was huge positivity from the players to perform and win a title.

"I'm really happy with that. I think it's really deserved for all of the work we have been doing.

"City had a good performance, it was a difficult game for us, we knew that. It was important again that we found a way to win. That's what I'm most of proud of."

Chelsea remain the only unbeaten team in the WSL once again so far this season, but three draws have meant that Man City lead the way at the top of the table after nine matches played.

The League Cup represents the first opportunity for any of the eight sides remaining in the competition to get their hands on silverware for the first time in 2025-26.

With the top four all avoiding each other in the quarter-finals, we could be set for a blockbuster pair of semi-final clashes on January 21 and 22, if any major upsets can be avoided.