London City Lionesses host Manchester City in the pick of six Barclays WSL fixtures, before Chelsea close the weekend at The Valley.
Six Barclays WSL fixtures fill Sunday. At 12pm, Alexia Putellas plays her first league game since being crowned the best player in the world, as London City Lionesses host Manchester City, while Arsenal welcome Aston Villa. Three more games follow at 2pm, before league leaders Chelsea visit Charlton Athletic at 2.30pm.
Many sides have played three games in a week, with Subway Players Cup and Champions League fixtures in midweek, so keep an eye on the team news. Follow every goal on Matchday Live.
London City Lionesses vs Manchester City
Barclays WSL | 12pm, Copperjax Community Stadium
Third host second in the stand-out fixture of the weekend, and both are looking to return to winning ways after draws last time out.
London City conceded a late equaliser against Liverpool, their first dropped league points since losing to West Ham in week two, but responded with a 4-2 win over Crystal Palace in the Subway Players Cup in midweek. Manchester City's 100% start ended with a draw at Manchester United, and on Thursday they drew with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Both sides can score. City have 20 league goals, averaging 2.9 a game, and Khadija Shaw, who finished third at the Ballon d'Or, tops the scoring charts with eight. London City have 19, with Daniëlle van de Donk, Kadidiatou Diani and Putellas on three each and 17 goal involvements between them. Nine different players have scored for Eder Maestre's side, who have conceded eight to City's nine.
London City are still looking for a first win over City, after Andrée Jeglertz's side beat them twice last season. A win for either would be an early statement in the title race.
Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Barclays WSL | 12pm, Emirates Stadium
Both sides come into this off the back of league wins.
Arsenal ended a five-game winless league run by beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the North London derby, coming from behind with goals from Georgia Stanway and Alessia Russo. It was the first time they had turned a deficit into a league win since September 2025, and only the second time this season they have scored more than once in a league game. Russo then hit a hat-trick in a 3-0 Champions League win over Benfica, taking her to 23 goals in the competition, the most by an English player.
Villa held on to win 3-2 at Everton, with Amalie Vangsgaard scoring twice after Noelle Maritz's early opener, and then beat Birmingham City 6-5 on penalties after a midweek Subway Players Cup draw. Under interim head coach Brian Sorensen, they are on their best run of consecutive league wins since the end of 2024-25, and two-thirds of their league goals have come in their last three games. Their xG (5.6) is still the second-lowest in the league, though.
Arsenal won 3-0 when the sides last met and have the better record overall, but Villa will fancy their chances of a first away win against the Gunners since May 2023.
Birmingham City vs Tottenham Hotspur
Barclays WSL | 2pm, St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park
Birmingham are on the up. Wilma Leidhammar's goal against Charlton gave them their first league win of the season, Amy Merricks' side are unbeaten in two league games, and they drew with Aston Villa in the Subway Players Cup in midweek.
Spurs need a lift. Martin Ho's side were unbeaten after four games but have lost three straight league games since, most recently the North London derby, although a 6-1 Subway Players Cup win over Bristol City in midweek will help.
It could be a milestone day for Spurs captain Drew Spence, who will become the Barclays WSL's all-time record appearance maker with 217 games if she plays.
Birmingham's defence will need to be as solid as it was in the draw at Arsenal. They have faced the fourth-most shots in the league (135) and the fourth-highest xG against (15.65), and summer signing Marie Levasseur is in the league's top five for tackles (24). Spurs have won three and drawn two of their Barclays WSL meetings with Birmingham, the last in 2022, and won 3-0 when they last met in a cup tie over a year ago.
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace
Barclays WSL | 2pm, Broadfield Stadium
There are bragging rights, and points, at stake in this rivalry.
Brighton arrive in form after beating West Ham 3-0 last weekend and Wolverhampton Wanderers 6-0 in the Subway Players Cup. Arturo Ruiz's side have two league wins and are showing signs of progress week by week, with Kiko Seike on four goals and Fran Kirby looking to create.
Palace lost to Chelsea last Sunday and to London City Lionesses in midweek. Jo Potter's side beat Everton on the opening weekend but haven't won in the league since. Lexi Lloyd-Smith is their top scorer with two goals, and they'll be without Fuka Tsunoda, who is on loan from Brighton and can't face her parent club.
The sides have met only three times, two of them in Palace's first Barclays WSL season. Brighton won the first 1-0 and the second ended in a draw.
West Ham United vs Liverpool
Barclays WSL | 2pm, Victoria Road Stadium
Both sides are looking to rediscover their winning form, with one win each in their last five league games.
West Ham lost 3-0 at Brighton last weekend, but Rita Guarino's side were boosted by a midweek Subway Players Cup win over Charlton, with Ffion Morgan scoring twice in quick succession. The Wales international has mostly been on the bench this season after an early injury.
Gareth Taylor's Liverpool salvaged a late draw against London City Lionesses thanks to an own goal, but they are four games without a win in all competitions and have slipped a couple of places in the table, with defensive errors proving costly. Fuka Nagano has been a bright spot, with 18 tackles, 45 recoveries and two assists.
This one is usually tight. In their last five Barclays WSL meetings, Liverpool have won two, West Ham one, and two have been drawn, including last season's game in Dagenham.
Charlton Athletic vs Chelsea
Barclays WSL | 2.30pm, The Valley
Bottom meet top to close the weekend.
Charlton are still looking for their first point after seven defeats, the latest a 1-0 loss to Birmingham decided by a 68th-minute goal, and Karen Hills' side also lost 2-1 to West Ham in midweek.
Chelsea are unbeaten in the league and beat Roma 2-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday, so they go for a fifth straight win in all competitions. Melvine Malard scored twice in last weekend's 3-1 win at Crystal Palace, and Ellie Carpenter was on the scoresheet on Wednesday.
The possession numbers show the size of the task. Chelsea average 63.7%, the most in the league, while Charlton average 26.2%, nearly 10 percentage points below anyone else. Charlton will need to defend well and make the most of any counter-attacks, while a Chelsea win would stretch their unbeaten run in away London derbies to 13 games.
Follow every goal on our Matchday Live Blog, from the 12pm kick-offs to the final whistle at The Valley.
