West Brom Women are bidding to make a first appearance in the FA WNL Cup Final, but AFC Bournemouth stand in their way.
Having beaten local rivals and – at the time – Northern Premier leaders Wolves in last week’s semi-final, West Brom now have home advantage over the Cherries, who are without defeat in the Southern Premier.
Albion’s Hannah George told wba.co.uk: “When we played Bournemouth in pre-season they were a very organised team. They’re so hard to break down.
“We need the same mentality as the Wolves game, where we’re hard to break down because they’re a team that play in a similar way to how Wolves did on Sunday – so we’ll have to take that into the next week.
“We won the county cup last year, and we’re hungry for more silverware. We’re in a great position of being in two semi-finals at the moment, it’s a chance to go and do something special.”
The deftest of derby day touches from HG. 🥳 pic.twitter.com/7PDrlZARM6
— West Bromwich Albion Women (@WBAWomen) January 26, 2026
Bournemouth head coach Helen Bleazard told afcb.co.uk: “We want to make sure we are giving players minutes and having those opportunities, because the league is so strong and we need to have our squad ready.
“At the same time, it’s a really good cup run to have. If we can get ourselves into a final, why not?”
The other half of the draw sees Plymouth, who are sitting second in the Southern Premier, hosting Burnley, who are back on top of the Northern Premier and have yet to suffer a league defeat.
In the Plate Semi-Finals, Halifax are away to promotion-chasing Cheadle, who have seen four players depart this week, including Jess Lightfoot who returns to Everton.
Similarly, Gwalia United are another Premier side just above the relegation zone and on their travels to Division 1 title hopefuls, as Moneyfields aim for an upset.
Leeds United or Wythenshawe could go top of Division One North’s tight title race, and there’s a relegation ‘six-pointer’ between York City and Doncaster.
Peterborough should pile pressure on Division One Midlands leaders Boldmere when at winless Lincoln, Northampton, and Kidderminster clash in a battle to move away from the bottom two.
Norwich City are a point short of Division One South East leaders Fulham before facing fifth-placed QPR, while Division One South West title favourites Swindon aim to extend their 10-match winning streak away to Maidenhead.
Sunday 1 February (2pm)
FA WNL Cup Semi-Finals
Plymouth Argyle v Burnley (Home Park)
West Bromwich Albion v AFC Bournemouth (Alexander Stadium)
FA WNL Plate Semi-Finals
Cheadle Town Stingers v Halifax (Cheadle Town FC)
Moneyfields v Gwalia United (John Jenkins Stadium)
Northern Premier Division
Rugby Borough v Middlesbrough (Rugby Borough FC)
Sporting Khalsa v Hull City (Sporting Khalsa FC)
Southern Premier Division
Lewes v Exeter City (Lewes FC)
Division One North
Blackburn Rovers v Durham Cestria (Clitheroe FC)
Leeds United v Chester le Street Town (Garforth Town AFC)
Norton & Stockton Ancients v Wythenshawe (Norton Sports Complex)
York City v Doncaster Rovers Belles (University of York Sports Centre)
Division One Midlands
Lincoln United v Peterborough United (Lincoln Utd FC)
Northampton Town v Kidderminster Harriers (Moulton FC)
Sheffield FC v Leafield Athletic (Sheffield FC)
Division One South East
Cambridge United v Chatham Town (St Neots Town FC)
Chesham United v Dulwich Hamlet (Chesham Utd FC)
Luton Town v AFC Sudbury (Barton Rovers FC)
Norwich City v Queens Park Rangers (The Nest)
Division One South West
Ascot United v Marine Academy Plymouth (Ascot Utd FC)
Bristol Rovers v Bridgwater United (Gloucestershire FA)
Maidenhead United v Swindon Town (Maidenhead Utd FC)
