Emma Hayes praised Erin Cuthbert's leadership in the ongoing absence of Chelsea captain Millie Bright.

The 25-year-old Scotland international was instrumental in last weekend's FA Cup win over West Ham, scoring the goal in extra-time that put her side in front for the first time en route to a 3-1 victory.

Bright, who assumed the captaincy from Magdalena Eriksson at the beginning of the season following the Swede's move to Bayern Munich, has not played since injuring her knee in November, meaning Hayes has had to rely upon other senior players to rally her side.

With the skipper unlikely to be available again until February, the manager talked up Cuthbert's potential influence on maintaining the team's lead in the Women's Super League, beginning with Sunday's game at home to Manchester United.

Hayes said: "The realities are that sometimes the senior leadership, a lot falls on them.

"When you lose vocal leaders, organisers, someone else has to step into that.

"It doesn't mean they have to be the same. For someone like Erin, she leads by example. The performance she put in on Sunday, for me that's what leadership looks like for her.

"For someone like Erin, she's capable of the next step. She's ready to be able to take responsibility and produce the performances."

United boss Marc Skinner said his team, who sit seven points behind the champions in fourth in the WSL table, face a must-win game at Stamford Bridge.

He said: "It feels like that in every way. The reality is we can't forget what it takes to beat Chelsea at their home ground, we know we need to do that but we've also got to perform that.

"All the things we can manage are our attitude, the way we play and the commitment to winning the game."