One other week, one other action-packed schedule of Girls’s Tremendous League motion awaits, with some intriguing fixtures at each ends of the desk.
Manchester Metropolis exacted revenge for his or her Girls’s League Cup closing defeat to Chelsea with a Vivianne Miedema-inspired 2-0 victory over the Blues of their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.
The end result noticed Chelsea’s record-equalling 31-game unbeaten run grind to a halt, whereas additionally inflicting Sonia Bompastor’s first loss since taking up from Emma Hayes.
However how will they reply after they sq. off towards the Residents for the third time in a row on the Etihad Stadium on Sunday?
Arsenal, who had been additionally concerned in midweek motion, shall be seeking to bounce again from their defeat to Actual Madrid and shut the hole to the summit after they face Liverpool.
The battle on the backside can also be starting to warmth up, with Crystal Palace, buoyed by their second win of the season final day trip, now inside touching distance of security and travelling to Merseyside to face Everton subsequent.
Relegation-threatened Aston Villa and Leicester Metropolis face powerful exams towards Manchester United and Brighton respectively, whereas Tottenham Hotspur shall be seeking to finish their poor run of type in a London derby towards West Ham United.
However who does the Opta supercomputer suppose would be the winners and losers on matchday 17?
EVERTON V CRYSTAL PALACE
The weekend’s motion kicks off at Walton Corridor Park on Saturday, the place Everton shall be seeking to bounce again from their 3-1 defeat to Arsenal towards a rejuvenated Palace facet.
Palace picked up simply their second win of the WSL season final day trip towards Aston Villa, and may they earn three factors this weekend, matchday 17 could be the most recent {that a} newly promoted group has recorded back-to-back victories in a single marketing campaign within the competitors (excluding sides who didn’t win two in a row).
However the Eagles’ type on the highway this season has left lots to be desired. They’ve received simply one among their eight WSL away video games this marketing campaign (D2 L5), whereas they’ve conceded three or extra objectives on 5 of these journeys, extra occasions than some other facet this time period.
They usually come up towards an Everton facet who’re unbeaten of their final 9 WSL video games towards newly promoted opposition (W6 D3), since a 3-2 residence defeat to Manchester United in February 2020.
The Toffees have additionally scored in every of their final 5 league matches at residence (9 objectives), final netting in additional consecutive WSL matches on residence turf between October 2019 and November 2020 (9 in a row).
Everton can even be hoping Toni Payne can proceed her high-quality type. After failing to attain or help in every of her first 12 WSL appearances, she has since been instantly concerned in 4 objectives in her final 4 league outings (one objective, three assists).
And although their second win of the season has them inside touching distance of security, Palace are handed only a 19.6% probability of successful on Sunday. Everton, in the meantime, prevailed in 59% of the pre-match simulations, whereas the prospect of a draw is 21.4%.
ARSENAL V LIVERPOOL
The opposite recreation on Saturday will see Arsenal tackle Liverpool, in what’s a repeat of their FA Cup quarter-final earlier this month, a recreation that went in favour of the Reds courtesy of Daphne van Domselaar’s late personal objective.
The Gunners can even be licking their wounds from a 2-0 defeat to Actual Madrid within the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.
Nonetheless, they may fancy their possibilities of returning to successful methods to maintain the stress on leaders Chelsea.
Arsenal have received 18 of their 24 WSL conferences with Liverpool (D2 L4), with the Gunners themselves the one group within the competitors’s historical past to have extra wins over a single opponent (19 vs Everton).
Renee Slegers’ facet have additionally been imperious in north London this season. They’ve received every of their final 5 WSL residence video games whereas scoring 4 or extra objectives in every victory (23 whole objectives), the longest such run ever by a group in a single season within the competitors’s historical past.
However Liverpool have been revived beneath Amber Whiteley since she changed Matt Beard, with the brand new Reds boss successful each of her first two WSL video games in cost. Solely Rehanne Skinner has received her first three matches with a group within the competitors after being appointed mid-season (with Tottenham in 2021-22).
Liverpool received 1-0 on this fixture final season and shall be aiming to win back-to-back away video games within the WSL towards Arsenal for simply the second time, with the Reds additionally unbeaten of their three journeys to the capital this marketing campaign (W2 D1).
Whiteley’s facet should be cautious of Alessia Russo, although. She has now scored 10 objectives for the second WSL marketing campaign in succession (12 in 2023-24, 10 in 2024-25), turning into simply the second Arsenal participant to succeed in double figures for objectives in a number of top-flight campaigns, after Vivianne Miedema (4).
Arsenal are, nonetheless, the supercomputer’s largest favourites for victory this week, with a 75.9% probability of incomes all three factors in comparison with Liverpool’s 9.8%.
WEST HAM V TOTTENHAM
A London derby is within the offing to kick off Sunday’s motion, with West Ham welcoming Spurs to the Chigwell Development Stadium.
West Ham had been in a position to distance themselves from the relegation zone by holding Manchester Metropolis to a 1-1 draw final day trip, whereas Spurs misplaced to Brighton.
Simply two factors and two locations separate the perimeters going into the competition, and the supercomputer struggles to separate the groups, with West Ham given a 36.8% win likelihood to Tottenham’s 37%.
Which means there’s a 26.2% probability of a draw, so count on a tightly contested match.
However it’s Spurs who’ve had the higher of current London derbies with the Hammers. They’ve received every of their final three WSL video games towards them and will win 4 successive top-flight conferences with an opponent for under the second time (additionally v Leicester Metropolis in 2021-2023).
West Ham, in the meantime, have misplaced 9 of their final 11 video games towards groups from the capital within the WSL (W2).
Spurs are in want of a win, having misplaced every of their final 4 WSL video games. Solely between November 2022 and March 2023 have they misplaced extra consecutive matches within the competitors (9 in a row).
Certainly, because the starting of February, Spurs have received the joint-fewest factors (0), scored the joint-fewest objectives (one) and conceded the joint-most objectives (9) within the WSL.
MANCHESTER CITY V CHELSEA
The standout fixture of the weekend sees Man Metropolis do battle with Chelsea for the third time in a row, with the Residents’ interim head coach Nick Cushing incomes his first victory since returning to the membership within the Champions League in midweek.
Metropolis’s 2-0 victory not solely put them in an amazing place in relation to reaching the final 4 in Europe, but in addition snapped Chelsea’s record-equalling 31-match unbeaten run in all competitors.
This would be the third of 4 conferences between the 2 groups in all competitions in March alone, the primary time two top-flight golf equipment have met that many occasions in a single month within the WSL period.
However it’s Chelsea who’ve had the higher of this current fixture within the prime flight, successful six of their final 11 WSL conferences with Metropolis (D3 L2). No facet has handed extra defeats to the Residents because the 2019-20 season (six – degree with Arsenal).
The Blues stay undefeated within the league and could have their sights set on quick revenge forward of the second leg of their Champions League tie.
Chelsea are the one unbeaten group in England’s prime two tiers this season (P16 W14 D2). The final group to keep away from defeat of their opening 17 video games of a WSL marketing campaign? Metropolis, beneath Cushing, again in 2018-19 (first 19).
Bompastor nonetheless boasts the perfect win fee of any supervisor in WSL historical past because it stands, rising victorious in 14 of her 16 video games within the dugout within the competitors (D2 – 88%).
In the meantime, no supervisor has extra wins within the WSL towards the Blues than Cushing (5 – degree with David Parker).
And contemporary from her super-sub heroics in midweek, Miedema shall be licking her lips on the prospect of dealing with Chelsea as soon as once more.
She has been instantly concerned in 9 objectives in 10 WSL appearances towards Chelsea (5 objectives, 4 assists) and might be the fourth participant to be concerned in 10 or extra objectives towards the Blues within the competitors after Toni Duggan (13), Beth Mead (12) and Kim Little (11).
Regardless of their midweek victory, Metropolis have been handed a win likelihood of 31.2% to Chelsea’s 43.6%. A draw was the result in 25.2% of Opta’s data-led simulations.
LEICESTER CITY V BRIGHTON
Leicester will now be wanting nervously over their shoulders following Palace’s victory final week, and are available up towards a Brighton facet seeking to win back-to-back WSL video games for under the second time this season.
Brighton are additionally out to document consecutive WSL wins over the Foxes for the primary time. Having misplaced three of their first 4 fixtures towards them within the competitors, the Seagulls have received two of the final three (D1).
However Leicester have been robust at residence in current weeks, rising victorious on the King Energy Stadium of their final two WSL video games, with their residence benefit having them barely favoured to gather all three factors by the supercomputer.
Amandine Miquel’s facet received 40.4% of the simulations to Brighton’s 33%, whereas a draw is given a 26.6% chance.
And the primary objective within the encounter might be essential. No group has taken the lead in fewer WSL video games this season than Leicester (4), although the Foxes are unbeaten within the league this time period when going forward (W3 D1).
Although Brighton are usually not favoured by the pre-match simulations, their place within the desk isn’t any fluke. Solely Spurs (94% – 16/17) have received a higher proportion of their whole factors within the WSL this season towards the present bottom-half groups than Brighton (91% – 20/22).
And that has been helped by the expertise of Fran Kirby.
Solely Beth England’s objective and assists have been value extra factors to her group (10) than Kirby’s need to Brighton this season (seven factors – 4 objectives, two assists).
Kirby additionally netted her twentieth successful objective within the WSL final day trip, with solely Miedema (26) and Sam Kerr (21) scoring extra winners within the competitors’s historical past.
ASTON VILLA V MANCHESTER UNITED
The weekend’s motion concludes at Villa Park, the place Aston Villa are determined for a win, however face a United facet with aspirations of ending within the European locations.
Villa have misplaced every of their final 5 WSL video games, their joint-longest run of defeats within the competitors and the present longest streak of any facet.
Certainly, Villa supervisor Natalia Arroyo has misplaced every of her 4 WSL video games accountable for the Villans and might be the sixth coach to lose every of their first 5 within the competitors, and the primary since Leicester’s Jonathan Morgan in October 2021.
Villa have additionally been on the shedding facet in seven of their 9 top-flight conferences with the Crimson Devils (D2), whereas United have by no means misplaced to the Villans within the WSL in 9 earlier video games (W7 D2), solely dealing with Spurs (12) and Everton (11) extra typically within the competitors with out struggling a defeat.
However Marc Skinner’s facet noticed their seven-game successful run within the WSL come to an finish final day trip towards Liverpool; they haven’t misplaced back-to-back top-flight matches since their closing two fixtures of the 2023-24 marketing campaign (vs Liverpool and Chelsea).
United are additionally unbeaten in 10 earlier away matches within the Midlands within the WSL, successful on 9 of these journeys (D1), and their current dominance on this fixture has them favoured by the supercomputer.
The Crimson Devils triumphed in 64.4% of the pre-match simulations. Villa, in the meantime, are given a 16.5% probability of snatching a win, with the draw a extra probably end result at 19.1%.
United should be cautious of Villa ahead Rachel Daly, although. She has netted all 4 of Villa’s objectives towards United within the WSL.