Barclays WSL Matchweek 17 Preview
Following the conclusion of the international break, focus turns back on to the Barclays Women’s Super League for many players with four Matchweek 17 games happening this Sunday. There is the factor this weekend of a few clubs being without some players due to their involvements at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, so how they navigate their absences will be interesting to see.
It's also Chelsea vs Manchester United in the Subway Women’s League Cup final this Sunday, which means the fixtures they were set to play against Brighton and West Ham respectively, have been postponed until this upcoming Wednesday.
Teams will be looking to rediscover some momentum with the fixtures taking place all having an effect on the title race at the top end of the table, plus with how close things are in the battle to avoid finishing bottom of the WSL and having to contest in the end-of-season relegation playoff.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
Sunday 15 March, Villa Park, 11:55am
At Villa Park this weekend, Aston Villa welcome the league leaders Manchester City, with both teams currently at opposite ends of the Barclays WSL form table heading into this Sunday lunchtime fixture.
Manchester City are on a run of four wins from their last five matches, and last time out they beat bottom-of-the-table Leicester City 6-0 at the Joie Stadium. Meanwhile, Aston Villa are on the opposite end of the form table, with one win in their last five and four straight defeats having been suffered, one of which was that 7-3 defeat against Tottenham in their last fixture.
When these sides met in their previous meeting back in December, Manchester City convincingly won after a 6-1 victory that saw Khadija Shaw score four goals, with the others converted by Vivianne Miedema and Aoba Fujino. City’s recent record against Aston Villa overall is impressive, having not lost to Villa in the Women’s Super League since September 2022 in a 4-3 defeat also at Villa Park.
Aoba Fujino won’t be involved in this Sunday’s WSL fixture, as well as Yui Hasegawa and Mary Fowler with the three of them playing in the Women’s Asian Cup currently. Aston Villa too will also miss Maya Hijikata who is down under with the Japan squad alongside Fujino and Hasegawa.
Natalia Arroyo’s side are aiming to rediscover some confidence after a few poor results recently have led to this bad patch of form for them. Much of their concerns are in regard to how much they are leaking goals, as they have conceded 17 goals across the last four games that they have lost. It’s also meant that they have conceded the most out of any other team collectively this season.
One other thing to note about this fixture is that it features the current top two goal scorers currently in the WSL charts, with Manchester City’s Khadija “Bunny” Shaw on 15 goals, and Aston Villa’s Kirsty Hanson on nine goals. With goals coming aplenty in many previous encounters between the two sides, both forwards will be key heading into this Sunday’s fixture.
Liverpool vs Leicester City
Sunday 15 March, St Helens Stadium, 11:55am
A key game that is sure to have an impact on the relegation battle at the bottom of the Barclays WSL table is Liverpool taking on Leicester City at the St Helens Stadium, with each of these clubs currently occupying 11th and 12th-place respectively heading into this fixture.
The implications involved with this fixture mean that it is one that both teams will be desperately wanting to win, as one point currently separates them in the table, with Liverpool also having a significant goal difference lead as well. However, Leicester City do have a game in hand over Liverpool which will be played against Arsenal in April.
In the last ten head-to-head meetings in all competitions, Leicester City have won on more occasions with six wins. The last meeting between these two saw the Foxes beat Liverpool at home in a narrow 1-0 win, where Liverpool had dominated a lot of the possession, yet also miss a load of chances in comparison to Leicester, who were more clinical in scoring from one of their only two shots in total during that September encounter.
Defensively, Leicester City also had to be resilient in seeing the game out well after going down to ten players due to Shannon O’Brien’s red card. The solidity of their defending was key for them in the earlier parts of the season, but since they beat Liverpool, Rick Passmoor’s side have only kept two clean sheets in the WSL. Combine that with their issues at scoring goals and it has led to their current bad run of five straight defeats in all comps.
An encouraging improvement with their performances before the international break has Gareth Taylor’s side in a better position than what they had been for a large majority of the season. After no wins in their opening twelve league matches, they have since won twice in their last four to help boost their chances of avoiding finishing in last place.
Out of the two sides as well, Liverpool will be missing their two Japanese players, Risa Shimizu and Fuka Nagano, whilst Leicester City are without Australian midfielder Emily van Egmond.
London City Lionesses vs Arsenal
Sunday 15 March, Copperjax Community Stadium, 11:55am
For the first time since the opening weekend of the season, London City Lionesses take on Arsenal, with the away team being the victors in that last encounter back in September when they came from behind and won 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium courtesy of goals by Olivia Smith, Chloe Kelly, Stina Blackstenius, and Frida Maanum.
These two teams have faced each other on four occasions previously in their history in all competitions, and it is Arsenal that have been the winners in all four matches. The penalty scored by Kosovare Asllani in the previous match between them was the only time that London City have ever scored against Arsenal.
Arsenal will be considered the favourites heading into Sunday’s encounter as the team with the better form of the two, having impressively not been beaten in the Women’s Super League since October 4th against Manchester City. A key factor of their form has been how well they have managed to prevent oppositions from producing a lot of threatening attacking scenarios. Interestingly, they are ranked at the bottom for many defensive stats such as blocks, clearances, total interceptions, and tackles, largely because of how well they have done in preventing the opportunities for other teams to get at them.
Taking into account those defensive stats, London City Lionesses find themselves ranked highly with the average interceptions and tackles per match in particular. They have been an aggressive team this season when it comes down to wanting to try and win the ball back as quickly as possible. But there has been a caveat in that they have also been one of the most ill-disciplined teams in the WSL this season, with the third highest average fouls per match, and the fact they rank second for most yellow cards.
The game on Sunday could come down to the impact from both of the defences in this match and how they withstand their opponent’s attack. It does mean that there could be an opportunity for London City Lionesses to show how much they have evolved ever since that opening weekend defeat. Whilst results have been mixed, they have proven that they can compete against tough opposition as of late.
London City Lionesses will be without Saki Kumagai and Alanna Kennedy because of playing in the Asian Cup. Kennedy has enjoyed a really good tournament so far with the Matildas, having scored four goals so far in three starts for her country, making her the joint-top scorer so far. Arsenal are also without their three Australian contingent as Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord are involved with their nation at their home tournament.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton
Sunday 15 March, Brisbane Road, 11:55am
Brisbane Road hosts Tottenham Hotspur against Everton, both of these sides are aiming to continue where they left off before the break when they were both winners in their previous WSL fixtures. Spurs were involved the ten-goal thriller at Villa Park after winning 7-3 against Aston Villa, while it was a less dramatic matchup between Everton and West Ham as the Toffees won via a single eighth-minute goal by Honoka Hayashi.
In terms of overall form in the league as of late, both Tottenham and Everton have won three of their last five fixtures. Although it is Everton who have been the more consistent recently as they have won their last three league games, having beaten Aston Villa, London City Lionesses and West Ham United. Meanwhile, Tottenham have not won back-to-back WSL matches since beating Leicester City and Brighton on Matchweek’s four and five.
When these two met previously all the way back in September, Tottenham won 2-0 at Goodison Park in what was Everton’s first game at the stadium since it became their permanent home. Olga Ahtinen and Cathinka Tandberg were the goal-scorers in that last match, and it was the game that Tandberg scored her first goal for Spurs from that impressive goal-of-the-season contender from just in front of the halfway line.
Out of the last ten head-to-head meetings in all competitions, most encounters have ended in draws (4), with the two sides also split with three wins each. Neither team has won by more than a two-goal margin in this fixture since December 2022 as well when Everton won 3-0 against Spurs.
For the most part, things had been going poorly for Everton, but in having turned things around, they now go into this fixture in a better place sitting in eighth position in the WSL table with an eight-point gap to twelfth spot. Tottenham on the other hand are still focusing on a potential top-three finish, and they can close the gap on Chelsea in third to just one point if they win at home this Sunday.
Both sides will be without players due to Asian Cup participation, with Maika Hamano, Tōko Koga, Hikaru Kitagawa, Honoka Hayashi, and Rion Ishikawa playing for Japan, and Clare Hunt, Clare Wheeler a part of Australia’s squad.