Barclays WSL Matchday 15 Preview
Matchday 15 is here, and it is getting ever more crucial for teams to pick up points where they can with eight games remaining for many of the teams across both leagues. The title race took centre stage last weekend as Manchester City increased their gap at the top and now face another big test against Arsenal.
While the battles around the mid-table and lower half of the league continue to serve up some intriguing battles. There will be eyes as well on a few debutants following some deadline day deals before the January transfer window closed this past Tuesday. Here is everything for you to look ahead to in the Barclays WSL this upcoming weekend.
Leicester City vs Manchester United
Saturday 7 February, King Power Stadium, 12:00pm
Manchester United will be aiming to continue their impressive start to 2026 when they travel to the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester City. With seven goals scored across their last two WSL fixtures, Manchester United have found their efficiency once again in front of goal. While for Leicester City, goals have been hard to come by as they are the BWSL’s lowest scorers with eight in total.
The confidence is high amongst Manchester United’s players, and with them climbing up the table to second place following last weekend’s 3-1 win over Liverpool, Marc Skinner will be keen to see his team stamp their mark once again and keep up their strong form to boost their top three hopes. They have been boosted by the early impacts of their January signings Ellen Wangerheim, Lea Schüller and Hanna Lundkvist, with the new-added depth proving key in the later stages of games recently for Manchester United.
Leicester City were not in action last weekend due to Arsenal’s FIFA Women’s Champions Cup involvement, so they will be well-rested for this game on Saturday. They go into the weekend with two points separating themselves and Liverpool at the bottom. It has been a difficult run of results lately for the Foxes, with just one win registered in their last five league games.
Their five new signings all will be settling in at the club, and all five; Ashleigh Neville, Emma Jansson, Rachel Williams, loanee Sarah Mayling and Alisha Lehmann, have featured since they joined. Rick Passmoor’s side will be hoping they can help them navigate back up the table and get back to being a well-organised and disciplined unit when they face a tough task on Saturday versus Manchester United.
Arsenal vs Manchester City
Sunday 8 February, Emirates Stadium, 12:00pm
Fresh from winning the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, Arsenal are back in BWSL action with a big encounter at the Emirates Stadium against the current league leaders Manchester City awaiting them this Sunday lunchtime. Arsenal’s last WSL game was their impressive 2-0 win two weeks ago against Chelsea. Manchester City also played Chelsea in their most recent league game which ended in that surprising 5-1 scoreline. Deadline day signing Barbora Votíková is likely to figure into the squad due to the injuries with most of their goalkeeping options. Arsenal’s only other January signing Smilla Holmberg has already shown early glimpses of the type of quality she can offer them and is likely to feature again.
Manchester City are flying high at the top of league, with their 13-game winning streak in the Barclays WSL proving vital in their incredible season so far. Their attackers have also been hugely important with Khadija “Bunny” Shaw as their top scorer with 14 goals. The recent form of their Brazilian winger Kerolin has also been very impressive, as she has scored five goals in her last three league starts for City. Could this weekend see more minutes for their only January signing Sam Coffey? With the American midfielder having only made two appearances off the bench so far since joining for a club-record fee from the Portland Thorns.
These two sides are two of the most in-form teams heading into the fixture, and previous meetings between Arsenal and Manchester City quite often prove to deliver a highly entertaining matchup, with their last three league meetings all having at least four goals scored in them. Earlier this season when they faced off, it was Andrée Jeglertz’s side who won it 3-2 via an 88th minute winner from substitute Iman Beney.
London City Lionesses vs Everton
Sunday 8 February, Copperjax Community Stadium, 12:00pm
London City Lionesses and Everton face each other this weekend and both squads should be feeling in a positive headspace after they did manage to both get victories in Matchday 14 last time out. Eder Maestre’s side managed a 2-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion through a Moeka Minami own goal, and a strike from in-form Freya Godfrey to secure them the first three points under their Spanish head coach.
Both squads have been bolstered by new signings, and both were active on deadline day, with London City Lionesses potentially handing a debut to Danish midfielder Malou Marcetto and they also await a first appearance for Delphine Cascarino since she joined from San Diego Wave. Meanwhile, Everton could have Zara Kramžar available after the 20-year-old joined on loan from Roma.
This upcoming game will have some narrative behind it for Everton following the news on Wednesday morning that they parted ways with head coach Brian Sorensen. The timing comes after they did record their first home victory of the season at Goodison Park in a 2-1 win over Aston Villa. Scott Phelan will be in charge of Everton as Interim Head Coach for the remainder of the season as he looks to steer the Toffees away from the lower end of the table.
The last meeting when these teams played each other back in September saw London City claim their first ever win in the Barclays Women’s Super League, and it was their forward Isobel Goodwin’s two goals that proved important for them. Goodwin has been one of their best performers, with only Freya Godfrey having scored more goals for London City this season.
Liverpool vs Aston Villa
Sunday 8 February, St Helens Stadium, 12:00pm
The St Helens Stadium plays host to Liverpool vs Aston Villa on Sunday lunchtime, with both teams looking to bounce back from recent defeats and find some momentum again, which will help respectively boost the confidence levels in each squad.
Liverpool had the breakthrough victory two weeks ago and now will be aiming to get their second win of the season so that they can look to climb off their current position heading into this fixture. The defeat they had against Manchester United was their first one in the WSL since they last played Aston Villa in December, when they were beaten 3-0 at Villa Park. Since then, things have looked more promising with two draws and a win following before last weekend’s defeat, so they will want to get back to the upward turn of form they showed previously.
Gareth Taylor’s side were one of the most active teams in the entirety of the transfer window, and a few of their January signings such as Alice Bergström and Denise O’Sullivan have looked like great additions to their squad based upon their early impacts. Aston Villa added Jenna Nighswonger on loan from Arsenal and made a club-record move to bring in Oriane Jean-François from Chelsea. The latter made her first start last time out against Everton, while Nighswonger has only appeared from off the bench for minimal minutes so far.
Things have not gone so well in the last two fixtures for Natalia Arroyo and Villa. Back-to-back defeats now adds to the run of inconsistency they find themselves on, with no WSL win since they came from behind to beat Brighton last month. Kirsty Hanson has been having a good spell this season as Villa’s top-scorer, and they’ll be hoping Ebony Salmon can go on a good run of form now that she broke her drought against Everton after scoring for the first time since September against Chelsea.
West Ham United vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Sunday 8 February, Chigwell Construction Stadium, 12:00pm
West Ham and Brighton also were beaten last weekend in their respective fixtures, so they will be aiming to get back to winning ways as well when they meet at the Chigwell Construction Stadium this Sunday. Points are crucial for West Ham right now as they find themselves in that close battle down near the bottom end of the table.
Rita Guarino’s side have endured a mixed spell so far since the Italian took charge of the team at the start of 2026. A 2-1 win away from home against Leicester City came in-between two defeats against Chelsea and Tottenham. The defeat last weekend was more of a blow as they had led for a good portion of the game but ultimately weren’t able to hold out defensively. A potential first start on Sunday for January signing Tuva Hansen could boost them in that sense if she was to play in defence for them.
Brighton & Hove Albion will be looking to get some confidence back after it was a case of not being able to make the most of their opportunities last time out against London City Lionesses. The transfer window was largely quiet for the Seagulls with Olaug Tvedten joining from Vålerenga and only making her debut in the last game when she came off the bench. They also signed American forward Olivia Garcia, but she will spend the rest of the season with AIK on loan.
Expect Kiko Seike to be key for them again as has been one of their standout players for goals this season after getting her fifth in the last game. Seike is often at the heart of their attacking quality, so they will be hoping she can deliver for them again this weekend.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea
Sunday 8 February, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 14:25pm
Lastly is a very anticipated London derby is happening on Sunday as Tottenham take on Chelsea, with the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hosting what should be a very interesting game given the context of how both teams look heading into the encounter. Tottenham are going into the fixture off the back of a resilient win against West Ham, while Chelsea will be eager to find themselves again after suffering back-to-back defeats and dropping down to third in the league.
Sonia Bompastor’s side have been firmly dragged into that race to finish in the top three spots with their title hopes taking a massive hit in recent weeks. The fine margins have not gone their way this time around, and if they were to lose again this weekend, it would surely add to the growing pressure around them and whether they face a battle to qualify for a spot in Europe next season. If they can find some defensive solidity again after conceding seven goals in their last two games, then it may just help them get back to form.
Tottenham Hotspur’s form has been okay with only one league defeat in their last five overall. Three victories have come in that timeframe and the win last weekend helped restore some momentum in their hunt as well to finish in the top three. The head-to-head stats don’t make the best of reading for Spurs, as they have never beaten Chelsea before. Ten meetings have happened between them in total and Chelsea have won all ten games.
In terms of the January transfer window, the two clubs were quite apart in how much business they did. Tottenham did most of their deals early and brought in five players, all of which have made at least one appearance already since joining. As for Chelsea, it was a quiet window in which they were the only club not to sign anybody. They had reportedly attempted a late deal for PSG’s Jennifer Echegini which didn’t go through.