With just three matchweeks to go in the Women's Super League, it really is all to play for. (More Football News)
Manchester City lead the pack, three꧃ points ahead of rivals Chelsea. The Blues have a game in hand so can even things up, but are also behind the Citizens on both goal difference and goals scored.
Bristol City are all but down and will drop to the Championship if they lose at home to Man City and West Ham can get a win at Aston Villa, with both of those꧟ matches taking place on Sunday.
Arsenal, meanwhile, travel to Everton for the early kick-off. The Gunners have won each of their last 16 WSL games against Everton, the joint-longest winning run by a teaꦕm against a single opponent in the competition's history (Manchester City also man﷽aged 16 against Everton).
Jonas Eidevall's side will be buoyant after securing Champions League qualification for next season, but they 💦have not given up on chasin🅘g down the leaders, as they start the weekend six points off the pace.
Arsenal's form on the road has been the chink in their armour this sওeason. Three of Arsenal’s WSL defeats this term have come away from home (versus Tottenham, West Ham and Chelsea), though the Gunners haven’t lost outside of London in the competition since April 2023, in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United, going eight unbeaten since then (seven wins, one draw).
The Toffees, however, are also in good spirits after beating Brighton 2-1 last time out. Everton will be looking to win successive WSL games for just the second time t𓂃his season. Four of their five wins th꧙is campaign have now come away from home, however. ;
One to watch in this encounter will be Beth Mead, who is finding the form that she was dis🥂playing before suffering the anterior cruciate ligament injury which kept her out for almost 12 months🃏.
Mead has scored four goals in her lasꦗt two WSL appearances, netting braces against both Bristol City and Leicester City. This is only the second time the England star has done so in back-to-back outings in the competition, also doing so for Sunderland in July 201♊5 (versus Chelsea and Bristol City)
Elsewhere, Tottenham host Brighton in a mid-table clash. Tottenham are unbeaten in four previous home games against Brighton in WSL𝔍 play (three wins, one draw), drawing this fixture 2-2 last season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
They will be looking to build momentum ♍ahead of next month's FA Cup final against Manchester United, but the Seagulls could provideཧ them with a stern test.
Brighton are unbeaten in their🅰 last three away WSL games (two wins, one draw), their longest-ever streak on the road in the competition; the Seagulls have scored 10 goals in four away games under Mikey Harris.
Aston Villa welcome West Ham to Villa Park, having struggled to hit the heights they reached last s🌠eason. Winless in their last three WSL games (one draw, two de🐼feats), Villa are on their longest run without victory since losing their opening five league matches of the season.
The Hammers are teetering on the brink of the relegation zone, but a win against Villa would secur🌠e their WSL status for another season.
No side in the WSL this season has scored fewer goals than West Ham (17), whilst they are one of only two sides in the competition – alongside Arsenal - to be underperforming their expected goals (xG𝄹) figures, scoring their 17 goals from chances with an xG total of 20.7 (-3.7).
Another reason why they find ꧃themselves in such a precarious position is they have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last eight away WSL games (one win, one draw, six defeats), the second-longest ongo﷽ing streak in the competition, behind only Bristol City (21).
🤡Despite securing a place in the FA Cup final, Mark Skinner's Manchester United team have found this campaign a challenge after being so prominent in last season's title race.
The Red Devils began the season with doubts over the future of their star shot-stopper Mary Earps, with United rejecting a world-record offer from Arsenal fo🔥r her servicꦫes.
Earps is United's leading-appearance maker in the Women's Super League and could play her 100th game in the competition for the Red Devils this weekend; since her debut for the club in September 2019, the England international has rec🔥orded more clean sheets in the top flight than any other goalke🅷eper (45).
Leicester, United's opponents on Sunday, are looking to change their fortunes but have lost their last two games and could lose three inꦦ a row for the first time since December 2022 (a run of five).
Manchester City will look to go six points clear of Chelsea in the final game of the weekend. Chelsea are not in action until mi🐲dweek due to their involvement in the Champions League semi-finals, with the Blues taking a 1-0 first-leg lead over Barcelona int𓆏o Saturday's second leg at Stamford Bridge.
The Ci😼tizens know they need to keep their foot on the thrott🧜le as they pursue their first WSL title since 2016, a drought Gareth's Taylor's team are keen to end.
Their striker Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw leads the WSL scoring charts this seasဣon with 21 goals to her name. However, she limped off last time out and it is thought she may now miss the rest of the campaign through injury. Since the start of last season, she has recorded 51 WSL goal contributions – the most of any player (41 goals, 10 assists).
City will also be keen to further boost their goal tally as the title race could come down to goals scored, should ✱Chelsea win their games in hand and both sides match each other's results 🍃for the rest of the season.
City have scored in each of their last 18 away꧑ WSL games (38 goals), 🍸the longest such streak they've ever managed in the competition's history.
Taylor's side have been ruthless this campaign, scoring 54 goals, with the likes of Lauren Hemp, Mary Fowler, Chloe Kelly and Jess Park all contributing. Only Shaw (24) has recorded more combined goals and assists than Hꦆemp (15) in 2023-24.
Bristol City are the team tasked with stopping Taylor's juggernaut, and th🌳e Robins have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last 29 WSL games, the longest such run any side has ever endured in the competition's history.
With the title race as close as ever 🌞and bottom clubs still fighting for survival, it promises to be anot🦋her exciting weekend in the WSL
