A reminder that Chelsea have won their last 16 home games.

Will that record continue after this evening's match?

Sam Kerr thinks she might have put Chelsea ahead but the offside flag is up.

She tapped into an open goal after a Sophie Ingle shot deflected into her path, but she was clearly behind the West Ham defence.

Claire Rafferty
Ex-England international on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Chelsea's midfield are a bit slow. Technically great, but they have two of the same players in the middle. They don't need two players in there to break the game up.

Now it's Chelsea who come close.

The ball is launched towards Lauren James whose curling cross finds Sam Kerr at the back post.

Kerr heads into the woodwork, but the offside flag is up anyway.

West Ham are making the most of Chelsea's mistakes at the back.

Lisa Evans tries to curl an effort towards goal. It deflects into the path of Emma Harries but she can't do any better.

Oooh!

That was a big chance for West Ham. They work the ball up from the back and Anouk Denton sends a low cross towards Emma Harries.

The Hammers forward can't direct it towards goal from six yards.

Chelsea are beginning to build into this as West Ham sit back.

Melanie Leupolz sends a speculative effort towards Mackenzie Arnold's goal but the Australian doesn't struggle to get down to her tame shot.

West Ham go up the other end with Lisa Evans charging through the middle but Fran Kirby races back to dispossess Viviane Asseyi.

Chelsea have a corner after Hawa Cissoko sends the ball behind, but Millie Bright can't get the ball under control at the back post.

No quick start to this one for either side.

Ashley Lawrence tries to play a ball through the West Ham defence for Lauren James but Hawa Cissoko guides it behind.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at Kingsmeadow

A perfectly-observed minute's silence as the Kingsmeadow crowd pays tribute to all the innocent victims of the events in Israel and Gaza this week.

Image source, Getty Images

Here we go!

West Ham get the game started.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at Kingsmeadow

Emma Hayes wanted her team's return to Kingsmeadow to be in front of a full house and she has her wish.

Unlike yesterday for the men's England match across London at Wembley that was played in torrential rain, it's a clear albeit chilly evening in south west London.

Chelsea, for a day at least, will go top of the WSL with a win.

The teams are out at Kingsmeadow, the coin has been tossed.

Who do you think will come out on top this evening?

Hit the thumb's up for Chelsea, or the thumb's down for West Ham.

Emma Hayes' side are back at home after a draw on the road last weekend.

Their record on home soil is formidable.

Image source, Getty Images

Claire Rafferty
Ex-England international on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Chelsea are the favourites but given the current form of West Ham, they are going to give it a real go.

I almost want a different team to win the WSL this season.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at Kingsmeadow

Image source, Michael Emons

Huge cheers from the Chelsea fans when the names of Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr were announced in the starting line-up.

England forward Kirby has not started since the Continental Cup semi-final on 9 February when she scored in Chelsea’s away 7-0 win over today’s opponents West Ham before she limped off just before half-time.

Her knee injury proved to be a persistent problem and needed surgery, which ruled her out of the FA Cup final at Wembley, the conclusion to last season’s title race and the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

She has played only the last half hour of both Chelsea’s league matches this season and her next WSL goal will be her first since scoring in the 3-2 win at Kingsmeadow over Reading on 11 December, 2022.

Meanwhile, Kerr has been plagued with a calf injury that she sustained just before the World Cup in her home country, which saw her miss the opening two matches, although she did start and score in Australia’s semi-final loss to England.

Boss Emma Hayes says she has to ensure both players aren't pushed too hard in their recoveries. She said: “People need to realise Sam has not trained since the early part of July. Yes, she played games at the World Cup but didn’t train that entire period, then had the same injury. She has only had one week of training and we have to be mindful of that.

“She has had her first full training week and is available for selection but we have to make decisions that are right for Sam in the long-term and not just make decisions because the crowd wants to see certain partnerships.

“Fran had a pre-season but missed a large chunk of last season. We’re building Fran into the season and she has not been given more than 45 minutes but has had another good training week.”

Image source, Michael Emons

Image source, Michael Emons

Rehanne Skinner hopes to make a difference at West Ham as the first woman to manage the Women's Super League side.

The 43-year-old took over in August following Paul Konchesky's departure at the end of last season, joining a club led by female directors Baroness Karren Brady, Nicola Keye and Tara Warren.

In a wide-ranging interview, the former Tottenham boss tells BBC Sport why the Hammers' female leadership was important to her, what her vision is for the club, and how she dealt with four months away from the game.

"We've all come through a world where women's football has not necessarily been accepted particularly well," said Skinner.

"The most important thing for me is that people don't have to experience some of the things I have experienced trying to become a coach at the highest level. Players shouldn't need to go through that.

"It's why I'm so passionate about growing the game. I want players to be able to turn up, do their jobs really well, play the game they love, inspire other people - and that's that really.

Click here to read her interview, external

Image source, The FA

West Ham United

West Ham collected their first win under new boss Rehanne Skinner last weekend, a 2-0 triumph over Brighton.

Skinner was pleased with the manner of her side's performance - but the Hammers will need to make playing at that level a regular occurrence.

The performance was the best part, she said in her pre-match press conference. "Within the group what we've got now is a group of players who are starting to believe in what they're capable of doing then going on the pitch and delivering that.

"We were no-nonsense really, doing a lot of the things we've worked really hard on in pre-season. When it comes together you know you can pull off those sorts of performances.

"I think the biggest thing for us is that we take all the positives and we also know we then have to take the consistency from that and make sure we're doing that week in, week out.

"Wednesday night's performance was also a positive because we've done that two games on the bounce now. That's a really good place to be in moving forward in the season."

BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Want to listen to this one? We've got you covered.

Press the play icon at the top of the page to tune in to live BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra commentary.