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 remaining 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 outcome noticed Chelsea’s record-equalling 31-game unbeaten run grind to a halt, whereas additionally inflicting Sonia Bompastor’s first loss since taking on from Emma Hayes.
However how will they reply once 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, can be trying to bounce again from their defeat to Actual Madrid and shut the hole to the summit once 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 robust assessments towards Manchester United and Brighton respectively, whereas Tottenham Hotspur can be trying to finish their poor run of kind in a London derby towards West Ham United.
However who does the Opta supercomputer assume 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 can be trying 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 can be the newest {that a} newly promoted staff 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’ kind on the highway this season has left loads to be desired. They’ve gained simply one in all their eight WSL away video games this marketing campaign (D2 L5), whereas they’ve conceded three or extra targets on 5 of these journeys, extra instances than every other facet this time period.
And so they 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 dwelling defeat to Manchester United in February 2020.
The Toffees have additionally scored in every of their final 5 league matches at dwelling (9 targets), final netting in additional consecutive WSL matches on dwelling turf between October 2019 and November 2020 (9 in a row).
Everton can even be hoping Toni Payne can proceed her advantageous kind. After failing to attain or help in every of her first 12 WSL appearances, she has since been instantly concerned in 4 targets in her final 4 league outings (one purpose, 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 possibility 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 purpose.
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’ll fancy their probabilities of returning to successful methods to maintain the strain on leaders Chelsea.
Arsenal have gained 18 of their 24 WSL conferences with Liverpool (D2 L4), with the Gunners themselves the one staff 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 gained every of their final 5 WSL dwelling video games whereas scoring 4 or extra targets in every victory (23 complete targets), the longest such run ever by a staff in a single season within the competitors’s historical past.
However Liverpool have been revived underneath 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 gained her first three matches with a staff within the competitors after being appointed mid-season (with Tottenham in 2021-22).
Liverpool gained 1-0 on this fixture final season and can 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 must be cautious of Alessia Russo, although. She has now scored 10 targets for the second WSL marketing campaign in succession (12 in 2023-24, 10 in 2024-25), turning into simply the second Arsenal participant to achieve double figures for targets in a number of top-flight campaigns, after Vivianne Miedema (4).
Arsenal are, nevertheless, the supercomputer’s greatest 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 capable of 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%.
Meaning there’s a 26.2% probability of a draw, so anticipate a tightly contested match.
However it’s Spurs who’ve had the higher of latest London derbies with the Hammers. They’ve gained every of their final three WSL video games towards them and will win 4 successive top-flight conferences with an opponent for less than 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 gained the joint-fewest factors (0), scored the joint-fewest targets (one) and conceded the joint-most targets (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 important place with regards to reaching the final 4 in Europe, but additionally 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 instances in a single month within the WSL period.
However it’s Chelsea who’ve had the higher of this latest fixture within the high 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 – stage with Arsenal).
The Blues stay undefeated within the league and may have their sights set on speedy revenge forward of the second leg of their Champions League tie.
Chelsea are the one unbeaten staff in England’s high two tiers this season (P16 W14 D2). The final staff to keep away from defeat of their opening 17 video games of a WSL marketing campaign? Metropolis, underneath Cushing, again in 2018-19 (first 19).
Bompastor nonetheless boasts the very best win price 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 – stage with David Parker).
And contemporary from her super-sub heroics in midweek, Miedema can be licking her lips on the prospect of dealing with Chelsea as soon as once more.
She has been instantly concerned in 9 targets in 10 WSL appearances towards Chelsea (5 targets, 4 assists) and could possibly be the fourth participant to be concerned in 10 or extra targets 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 end result in 25.2% of Opta’s data-led simulations.
LEICESTER CITY V BRIGHTON
Leicester will now be trying nervously over their shoulders following Palace’s victory final week, and are available up towards a Brighton facet trying to win back-to-back WSL video games for less than 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 gained two of the final three (D1).
However Leicester have been robust at dwelling in latest weeks, rising victorious on the King Energy Stadium of their final two WSL video games, with their dwelling benefit having them barely favoured to gather all three factors by the supercomputer.
Amandine Miquel’s facet gained 40.4% of the simulations to Brighton’s 33%, whereas a draw is given a 26.6% probability.
And the primary purpose within the encounter could possibly be essential. No staff 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 is not any fluke. Solely Spurs (94% – 16/17) have gained a larger proportion of their complete 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 purpose and assists have been price extra factors to her staff (10) than Kirby’s must Brighton this season (seven factors – 4 targets, two assists).
Kirby additionally netted her twentieth successful purpose 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 answerable for the Villans and could possibly 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 dropping 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 remaining 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 latest 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 doubtless final result at 19.1%.
United have to be cautious of Villa ahead Rachel Daly, although. She has netted all 4 of Villa’s targets towards United within the WSL.
