Barclays WSL Final Day Preview 

The Barclays Women’s Super League season for 2025/2026 comes to its conclusion this Saturday with all 12 teams looking to end their respective campaigns on a high.

The final day has often been about the stakes of title races needing to be resolved, and other final positionings being brought into play. However, this year with every major permutation wrapped up before this final day, it will be mainly about playing for pride for all twelve clubs, with some still able to dictate where they finish can this season in the table once Matchweek 22 concludes.

Brighton and Hove Albion vs Tottenham Hotspur

Saturday 16 May, American Express Stadium, 1pm

The pressure is off in this final-day fixture at the Amex Stadium involving Brighton and Tottenham, and it is one that has the makings of being an entertaining one between two sides who have enjoyed strong campaigns respectively.

Brighton are coming into this final day game on a massive high after reaching their first-ever Women’s FA Cup final by beating Liverpool in dramatic fashion after coming from behind to beat them 3-2, with the winner coming in stoppage time to send the Seagulls to Wembley. It was a win as well that maintained an impressive unbeaten run that has now lasted since the middle of March, with Dario Vidosic’s side now having gone seven games in all competitions without losing.

In the Barclays WSL, they have recently navigated a run of games against Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal where they won one and drew the other two. The most recent of those was against Arsenal which ended 1-1 and they had taken the lead through Fuka Tsunoda scoring before half time. Brighton had to weather the pressure from Arsenal for much of the rest of the game, and couldn’t hold on as Frida Maanum scored the equaliser.

Because of the game ending in a draw, it does mean that Brighton’s current position of sixth place isn’t fully guaranteed to be maintained, with it still possible that they can be overtaken by London City Lionesses in the event of them winning this weekend and Brighton losing to Tottenham.

Meanwhile, Tottenham are feeling much safer regarding their current league position as they cannot be overtaken in fifth place, comfortably being seven points ahead of Brighton going into Saturday’s matchup. This is the second time Spurs will have finished in fifth spot since they were promoted in 2019, with the 2021/22 season being the time when they had that other best finish.

In terms of points finishes, Martin Ho’s team managed to eclipse the previous record from that same season last time out when they beat London City Lionesses by two goals to one. Signe Gaupset and Olivia Holdt were on the scoresheet, and the latter will look to be their main creative outlet again having registered 10 goal involvements across this season, earning one of the nominations for the Barclays WSL’s Player of the Season. The work done by head coach Martin Ho has also seen him nominated for Manager of the Season as well alongside Manchester City boss Andrée Jeglertz and Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers.

In terms of past meetings between the teams, they have been evenly matched despite Spurs having managed more victories in the last ten games between them. The last four occasions have seen rather close scorelines as neither team have scored more than once in each of those individual games. The most recent one ended 1-0 to Tottenham with only Cathinka Tandberg’s 26th minute goal separating them from a draw.

Both sides won’t be feeling too much pressure to go and win the game, but should be buoyed by wanting to end the season high on momentum. It could make this game open and a very unpredictable one to watch.

Chelsea vs Manchester United

Saturday 16 May, Stamford Bridge, 1pm

If there is one fixture that has been rather used to happening on the final day of the Barclays WSL season in recent years, it is Chelsea vs Manchester United, although the stakes won’t be as high as they have been on the previous occasions.

Sonia Bompastor will be hoping her team can end the campaign on a high following the loss of their title to Manchester City, plus the fact their final position isn’t solidified with it still possible for them to finish ahead of Arsenal depending on how they do in their fixture heading into kick-off on Saturday. There will be some frustrations to put behind themselves as well after the way they missed out on reaching the Women’s FA Cup final by losing in extra-time to Manchester City, therefore no longer being the holders of that competition as well.

While it was defeat last weekend, back in the Women’s Super League, Chelsea are on a strong unbeaten run with six wins in their last seven league games. The most recent was a 3-1 victory against last-placed Leicester City, where Sam Kerr scored the goal that made her Chelsea’s all-time top scorer in the Barclays WSL, plus Lauren James scored twice and all three of those goals game before the first 33 minutes.

They were in full control of that last league game at the start of this month, whereas there was a contrast in how Manchester United were able to fully be in control in some of their previous games in the Barclays WSL. The overall form for Marc Skinner’s side has also seen their momentum slide towards the back end of this campaign with just one win in their last eight in all competitions.

A point against Brighton was salvaged in stoppage time via Lea Schüller’s first league goal for the club, but the lack of wins lately have had an effect on their ambitions to finish in the top three, with it confirmed last week following Arsenal’s 3-0 against Aston Villa that United cannot finish in the European places this season. The points gap does mean they can’t finish below fourth place, so this weekend is about playing with pride and wanting to end strongly for Manchester United.

Both these sides do have players who will look to be influential in this one on Saturday, starting at the back with the two goalkeepers as Hannah Hampton and Phallon Tullis-Joyce both are currently on seven clean sheets each, along with Manchester City goalie Ayaka Yamashita. Hampton and Tullis-Joyce could share that stat for the most clean sheets across a single campaign once again just like last season when tied for the most clean sheets in the event of a 0-0 draw this weekend.

However, this fixture is not one that tends to end in such a scoreline, in fact since Man Utd came into the league in 2019, the scoreline between them has never ended 0-0 in any competition. If you aren’t aware, it has been Chelsea that have also been the benefiters of wins in this fixture in the last couple of meetings, with six wins in the last seven coming for Chelsea against United, including the most recent one back in March that saw Sonia Bompastor’s side win the Subway Women’s League Cup final 2-0 against Marc Skinner’s team.

Two players that are also featuring in this game are Alyssa Thompson for Chelsea, and Jess Park on the opposite side for Man Utd. Both are nominated for the Player of the Season award after having good campaigns at their respective clubs in which both joined in the last summer transfer window before the start of the season. Thompson has scored seven goals this season compared to Park’s six, but Park has registered more assists with five to her name.

The target of wanting to end the season on a positive note should spur these two teams on this Saturday, with some extra motivation for both of them in different ways as well to go along with that, and it should be an intriguing game.

Everton vs Leicester City

Saturday 16 May, Goodison Park, 1pm

It’s going to be about ending with a win for both Everton and Leicester City at Goodison Park this Saturday, although Leicester will have an eye on using this game as preparation for their end-of-season relegation play-off against Charlton on the 23rd of this month. Both sides have had challenging campaigns and will now aim to grab three points for one last bit of positivity they will be hoping to obtain.

The Toffees are in eighth place heading into this fixture, and aren’t guaranteed to stay there depending on how the weekend plays out. There is a scenario in which they can technically still finish as low as 11th, however a win will strengthen their chances of staying in their current position to end this season, plus any other favourable results elsewhere can help them out with that.

Scott Phelan’s time as interim head coach of Everton could come to an end after Saturday’s game in the event he isn’t kept on for next season. He has overseen eight games in charge of the team since having to take over from Brian Sørensen back in February. Three of those have ended in wins, but the last four games have ended in defeats up against Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.

The Foxes run of form has not been great at all with every single game they have played in 2026 ending in defeat, plus in six of those fixtures in the Barclays WSL, they had not scored a single goal. In the event of not scoring more than once on Saturday, it will mean they have gone the entire league season without scoring at least two goals in a single game.

Previously when these two teams met, it ended in a 1-1 draw which was back in October. Ornella Vignola had opened the scoring for Everton in the 51st minute before Noémie Mouchon came off the bench and made an instant impact half an hour later to level the game. That last encounter showcased some attacking struggles for both sides and across this season that has been a source of their issues that have really affected them being able to gain more victories.

Two stats where both teams are ranked closely with one another are clearances and saves per game. It is Rick Passmor’s side who lead the way with the most clearances per game (32.1) ahead of Everton (30.0), and the same goes for saves with Leicester goalkeepers registering an average of 4.6 compared to Everton’s 3.7. The clearance stats in terms of individual players does see Everton’s Ruby Mace ranked fourth highest in the Barclays WSL with an average of 6.3 per game. She is also the player with the most defensive actions registered this season (238), and as a result, the England international has been credited for her displays this season with a nomination for Player of the Season as well.

Equally it could end up being a balanced game on Saturday, with also that added freedom for both teams to want to finish the league campaign on a strong footing. More importantly, for Leicester though, it will about gaining whatever positive momentum they gain obtain ahead of May 23rd’s play-off.

Liverpool vs Arsenal

Saturday 16 May, Anfield, 1pm

Final positions in the table are still be decided for both Liverpool and Arsenal as they meet at Anfield on the final day. Liverpool are looking to climb back up the table with the team currently in 11th place heading into the game, with other results being a determining factor as well in the case of a victory. Arsenal, meanwhile, they will arrive at Liverpool in second place following a midweek win over Everton.

A late winner from Stina Blackstenius brought her into double figures for goals this season, with ten now scored across the Barclays WSL campaign for the Swedish international. The win meant that Arsenal extended their impressive unbeaten streak in the league to 16 Barclays WSL games without having lost. The last defeat Renee Slegers’ side had in the league came all the way back in October against the champions Manchester City.

Before the game on Wednesday, Arsenal confirmed a couple of players will be leaving the club in the summer upon the expiry of their contracts. Naomi Williams, Manuela Zinsberger, Laia Codina, Victoria Pelova and Beth Mead were given a proper goodbye after their final home game, and the latter three will likely feature in the squad on Saturday. Beth Mead is the most notable exit having spent nine years at the club and won multiple trophies with them.

Liverpool by contrast have been on the end of a couple of defeats as of late with three losses in a row in all competitions, two of which have come in the Barclays WSL. Last time out in the league, they were beaten late on through Rebecca Knaak’s header to give Manchester City the three points against them. Gareth Taylor’s side had many chances of their own as well and had shown a strong resilience until being unable to hold on for at least a point two weeks ago.

These two teams previously met in the reverse fixture back in December when it was the Gunners who won the game 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium, where former Liverpool player Olivia Smith opened the scoring in the 16th minute, before Beata Olsson equalised also in the first half. Stina Blackstenius would score the winner in the 87th minute to give Arsenal the three points and it resulted in extending Liverpool’s run of winless games that they were under at the time.

Things as we know did improve with Liverpool in the second half of their campaign, and as a result they have kept their place in the league for next season. The impact of their January transfer signings has been key to their turnaround, and in terms of overall contributions to the team, Welsh midfielder Ceri Holland became a standout performer, and massively influenced her team with her six goal contributions and importance in terms of creating big chances and playing with directness have made her a massively influential player to this Liverpool side.

Arsenal this season have been highly ranked amongst goals scored with 50 in total, and 11 of those have come from their Barclays WSL Player of the Season nominee Alessia Russo. It’s also on the defensive front where they have impressed across this season in being the team the lowest number of goals conceded (13). They have also kept the most clean sheets with 11 in total from their 21 games.

There is still the implication of finishing in second place for Arsenal to compete for this weekend as a win will keep them in that position and mean they won’t have to go through the qualifying phases of next season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League. For Liverpool, it will be about wanting to end their campaign on a high in front of their home crowd at Anfield.

London City Lionesses vs Aston Villa

Saturday 16 May, Copperjax Community Stadium, 1pm

No major implications are on the line in the game between London City Lionesses and Aston Villa, although both will be eyeing up the chances that are still open for them to finish higher up the table than where they currently find themselves heading into this Saturday’s final day fixture.

Eder Maestre’s London City are currently sat in seventh place, which will be the lowest position they can possibly finish the season in. However, they can still finish as high as sixth in the event of a win against Aston Villa and Brighton losing to Tottenham. Aston Villa on the other hand, they can only finish as high as eighth at the end of this weekend as long as they win at the Copperjax Community Stadium and Everton don’t win at home to Leicester City. It is also possible they can finish in 11th if they lose and teams below them in the table were to pick up a final win this weekend.

Both teams will have the ambition to end their campaigns successfully after they were on the end of disappointing defeats in their penultimate fixtures recently. London City were beaten away from in a 2-1 loss to Tottenham, while Aston Villa lost their final home game of the campaign 3-0 to Arsenal.

The form table does make better reading for London City by a small margin in comparison to Aston Villa. Eder Maestre’s side have one win in their last five Barclays WSL games, but have drawn two of those, whereas Aston Villa have lost their last three games in a row, and previously managed just one win and a draw along with them across the last five.

The reverse fixture back in November at Villa Park was a successful one for London City Lionesses after they came away 3-1 winners, with Saki Kumagai grabbing a brace, and Freya Godfrey being the goal scorer for them in that one. Villa had good spells of possession that they weren’t able to capitalise on, whilst London City had made the most out of set-piece scenarios in which two of their three goals had come from corners. It was one of the fixtures that highlighted a problem Aston Villa have struggled with all season, which is defending in set-piece situations.

They have conceded the most goals from set-pieces this season with 10, but interestingly have had success on the other side of set-piece situations with the join-second highest total goals scored from them as well. Something else from that game to highlight was Barclays WSL Player of the Season nominee Kirsty Hanson scoring her third goal of this season at that time as well. Since then, she has excelled for Aston Villa on the goalscoring front, with 12 goals in total putting her second in the scoring charts behind Khadija Shaw.

For London City, Freya Godfrey and Isobel Goodwin have been key with their five goals scored each across this campaign. As a team however, they have been around the middle of the pack in several metrics including expected goals (27.2), average number of goals per game (1.2), and also average possession (49.8%). Where they have led the way this season though has been interceptions per game as they have ranked the highest out of everyone else in the league. Plus, goalkeeper Elene Lete is one of three players heading into this weekend tied for having played the most minutes (1890 alongside Maya Le Tissier and Lize Kop), with the Spanish goalkeeper having started every Barclays WSL game in her first campaign with the club.

Stylistically there is a chance this will be an entertaining game with both teams looking to try and win. Also, with both teams having proven to be strong when they get counter-attacking opportunities, it could come down to who is the more clinical side on the day, which should make it a competitive matchup for them to end the season on.

West Ham United vs Manchester City

Saturday 16 May, Chigwell Construction Stadium, 1pm

Manchester City get to end their league campaign without the stress of having crucial stakes over them after they were already confirmed as the Barclays Women’s Super League champions for 2025/26 on May 6th, following Arsenal’s draw with Brighton. But for West Ham, an opportunity still remains to finish their season in a higher position than they currently occupy in the table.

Rita Guarino’s side sit in 10th going into Saturday’s fixture against the champions, and lately, they have been seeking to end their campaign in a positive manner, with just one defeat in their last five Barclays WSL games. Two of those five ended in draws and two were victories, both of which have come in back-to-back weeks recently over Liverpool and West Ham. They kept a clean sheet on both occasions as well and were clinical with their finishing having registered only 11 shots combined across the two results.

While the celebrations are deserved for Andrée Jeglertz’s Manchester City side, there season isn’t all done yet, after they were victorious against Chelsea in the Women’s FA Cup last weekend in a crazy turnaround which led to a late equaliser form Khadija Shaw sending the tie to extra time, in which the Jamaican forward would go on and grab the winner within that extra 30 minutes. In the league, City have won three of their last five games, scoring 11 goals in that time frame and conceding four.

Historically, Manchester City have largely had the better of West Ham whenever the two have faced off. The last meeting came in the Women’s League cup quarter-finals with Man City running out 5-1 winners, but in the league, it was much closer, with Aoba Fujino scoring the only goal as Man City beat West Ham at the Joie Stadium.

That game in November was one heavily dominated in possession by Manchester City with 68% in their favour. The outlook from previous games, plus the underlying numbers to go along with them have shown that Man City have enforced most of the control of the ball in this particular fixture, and with these two teams being at the higher and lower end of the average possession stats this season, The game could likely play out in similar fashion.

Manchester City have ranked the highest in terms of key attacking metrics such as goals scored (58), big chances created (97), and expected goals (54.4). They have the league’s top scorer Khadija Shaw, who will be hoping to make it 20 goals this season if she does get on the scoresheet against West Ham. Kerstin Casparij also joint-leads the league for assists along with Aston Villa’s Lynn Wilms with seven. Both Casparij and Shaw are nominated for the Player of the Season for their standout display across this campaign.

In comparison, West Ham are ranked as the second-lowest team in many of these stats from across this campaign. However, where they have managed to make up for that is through some of their defensive improvements in the second half of this season. No team has registered more tackles per game (22.8), and they are second in terms of interceptions per game (10.5).

The stats and also how these two teams play tactically do point towards this being a game where Manchester City will have most of the ball, but that won’t stop West Ham making things difficult for their opponents in looking to be well-organised with their defensive setup. Although the Hammers don’t have anything to lose going into this one, so they could operate with some freedom being they are also at home.

Word credit: Bradley Morris