Barclays WSL Matchweek 18 Preview
This is a look ahead to all matches happening in Matchweek 18, and it is a full set of fixtures happening in the Barclays Women’s Super League across this upcoming weekend. Five games remain for a couple of sides in the league, except for Brighton and Leicester City who have six left, while Arsenal have seven matches still to play.
The title race still remains in play as Manchester City are seven points clear heading into their match this Saturday, while Chelsea and Manchester United look to keep within a decent distance of them whilst also trying to maintain their places in the top three, with Arsenal putting pressure on them as they sit in fourth heading into this weekend.
Elsewhere, eyes will be on an interesting match-up near the lower end of the Barclays WSL table as points become increasingly crucial to achieve as we reach the business end of the season.
Arsenal vs West Ham United
Saturday 21 March, Emirates Stadium, 12:00pm
In one of two clashes between two London-based sides, Arsenal face West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium this Saturday lunchtime. Both teams will be aiming for three points this weekend, with Arsenal looking to keep up the pressure on those ahead of them in the top three. Whilst West Ham United will look to try and go clear of Leicester City near the bottom-of-the-table.
Previous meetings between Arsenal and West Ham have tended to be won by the Gunners as they have been on the winning end eight times in the last ten matches against the Hammers. The others were one draw back in 2023, and then a West Ham win in 2024 after they came from behind to win 2-1.
When the two sides met earlier this season, Arsenal ran out as comfortable winners in the end, despite going behind very early on after an own goal by Daphne van Domselaar. Arsenal went on to win 5-1 after goals from Frida Maanum, Stina Blackstenius, Caitlin Foord, and a double in added time from Alessia Russo.
Arsenal have been on a great run so far in 2026, with only one defeat in all competitions since the turn of the year. League-wise though their results have been exactly what they would have wanted them to be. After beating London City Lionesses by two goals to nil last Sunday, their current unbeaten run in the Barclays WSL was extended into double figures as they now haven’t lost a league match in any of their last ten.
West Ham head coach Rita Guarino has taken charge of eight games in all competition so far since she was appointed during the winter break. Two of those games have ended in victories, both of which were against Leicester City and Brighton. A huge point earned against Manchester United in the midweek was also a sign of things moving in a solid direction for them despite still being in 11th-place. They might look to play with a similar high intensity that they managed against Man Utd, and will be hoping for at least a similar result against another top four side.
London City Lionesses vs Chelsea
Saturday 21 March, The Den, 12:00pm
The second all-London match-up this weekend is London City Lionesses against Chelsea from an alternative ground to the Copperjax Community Stadium, as Millwall FC’s The Den plays host to this fixture on Saturday.
There have only ever been two competitive meetings between these two sides, and on both occasions, it was Chelsea who were the victors, with both scorelines ending 5-0 and 2-0 respectively. The latter was how the match that took place most recently ended in November, with Ellie Carpenter and Sam Kerr getting on the scoresheet for Chelsea.
The Australian duo won’t be playing any part in the fixture this weekend as they will be aiming to win the AFC Women’s Asian Cup final with their country on Saturday. From the London City side of things, they too will be without players as Saki Kumagai and Alanna Kennedy will also feature in that final. Kennedy is in position to win the Golden Boot at the tournament along with West Ham’s Riko Ueki as they are both on five goals going into that last match.
London City Lionesses head coach Eder Maestre has not had the best of starts to his tenure at the club, with just two victories to his name in the eight games he has been in charge for in all competitions. In the Barclays WSL, London City Lionesses have won once under him, and before that 2-1 win against Brighton, they had not won since beating Aston Villa 3-1 in November. A defeat this weekend against Chelsea would make it five straight losses in all competitions.
Chelsea meanwhile will be looking to make it a sixth-straight win in all competitions, and more specifically four-in-a-row in the Women’s Super League. Things have also improved considerably on the defensive side of things in their last three league matches, as they have only conceded one goal across them. It shows that they haven’t let the defensive injuries they have affect them, with Millie Bright, Naomi Girma and Nathalie Björn all missing recently.
Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday 21 March, Joie Stadium, 12:00pm
With five games remaining, Manchester City will be looking to go a step closer to securing their first Women’s Super League title since 2016 when they take on Martin Ho’s Tottenham Hotspur this weekend at the Joie Stadium.
They are set to be without a number of players such as Yui Hasegawa, Aoba Fujino, Ayaka Yamashita, and Mary Fowler, due to all four being a part of Australia and Japan’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup squad ahead of Saturday’s final. Tottenham will also have several absentees for the same reason, with centre-back pairing Tōko Koga and Clare Hunt currently in Australia, as is forward Maika Hamano.
This past weekend saw both of these sides fail to record a victory, with Man City held by Aston Villa to a scoreless draw. Whereas Tottenham were beaten 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against in-form Everton.
The WSL leaders have dropped points in two of their last three games, after they had previously won their last 13 in the WSL. Recent form for Spurs has seen them gather a bit of inconsistency with their results. In their last six league games, they have split their record between three wins and three defeats, and as a result, they have slipped behind in the battle to finish in the top three.
If previous meetings are anything to go by, it is Manchester City who have the edge quite heavily, as they have won nine of the last ten meetings against Tottenham. City were 5-1 winners when they beat Spurs earlier in the season in a match where Andrée Jeglertz’s side went 3-0 up before half time.
Manchester United vs Everton
Saturday 21 March, Progress with Unity Stadium, 12:00pm
The last of Saturday’s matches to look ahead to is Manchester United vs Everton, which is taking place from the Progress with Unity Stadium at 12pm, and this is one of those matches that has the makings of being a rather intriguing fixture.
This is largely down to the form of both of these two teams as of late, with Manchester United facing an Everton that are filled with confidence right now after four straight wins. The Toffees will be looking to make a bit of history this weekend, because a fifth consecutive WSL win would be a first for the club, and would put their current run amongst a previous best unbeaten run all the way back in 2012.
If Everton are to achieve that impressive feat, they will have to also produce another first in beating Manchester United for the first time ever in the Women’s Super League. The previous ten head-to-head meetings have seen Manchester United come out on top nine times, and the only draw registered was in February 2023.
Manchester United did get the better of Everton with a 4-1 scoreline last time out, but they had to put in a clinical second half performance to get the three points. Honoka Hayashi had put Everton in front after 16 minutes. However, Melvine Malard levelled things in the 62nd minute, before an own goal by Hikaru Kitagawa and two goals from midfielder Jess Park helped turn things around for Marc Skinner’s side.
Skinner will be hopeful that his side can produce a response after what would have been seen by him as points dropped by his side in their 0-0 draw in the midweek with West Ham United. Any sort of title challenge is still quite far away, but they are still firmly battling to finish in the top three positions, with United heading into this weekend in third place.
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Liverpool
Sunday 22 March, Broadfield Stadium, 12:00pm
The first of this Sunday’s Women’s Super League matches is Brighton and Hove Albion taking on Liverpool at Broadfield Stadium, with Liverpool aiming to make it three straight wins in all competitions. As for Brighton, they will be looking to recover from midweek action against Chelsea where they were beaten by two goals to one.
It has been Liverpool who have come out as the winners in this fixture on more occasions than not in the last ten meetings between the pair. They have six wins compared to two for Brighton, and interestingly, two of the last three matches between them have ended in a 2-1 scoreline. Liverpool were the winners in both of those 2-1 wins, and the last time that Brighton did beat Liverpool was all the way back in January 2020.
The meeting at St Helens Stadium in early November last year was a closely-fought match between these two sides, with possession and total shots close to being equal, and Liverpool led 1-0 for a large portion through a Beata Olsson goal before some late drama that saw Rosa Kafaji level the game up at 1-1 in added time.
Despite getting wins in the Women’s FA Cup to progress to the quarter-finals stage, Brighton have had a slump of results when it comes to their league form. With just one win in their last six matches registered, they have slipped down the table in the last few matchweeks due to other teams catching up with them. They could even drop down to ninth if they don’t win against Liverpool and Aston Villa end up gaining a point against Leicester City.
A win for Liverpool would continue their upward trajectory in trying to escape the battle to avoid the relegation playoff spot, and it would take them a point off of their opponents this Sunday. One player who has been a massive part of their good form as of late is Welsh midfielder Ceri Holland, and she had scored last time out from the penalty spot, while bringing a lot of energy and creativity to Gareth Taylor’s side.
The Seagulls will continue to be without defender Moeka Minami and their top scorer Kiko Seike, who remains with the Japan squad at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. But they should be hopeful of their summer signing Carla Camacho having an impact again after she got off and running with her first WSL goal against Chelsea on Wednesday evening. Liverpool are also without two Japanese players, as Fuka Nagano and Risa Shimizu also are with Seike in Australia.
Leicester City vs Aston Villa
Sunday 22 March, King Power Stadium, 14:25pm
The final game for Matchweek 18’s action comes from the King Power Stadium, as Leicester City take on Aston Villa in a match-up between two sides who have been on the lower end of the form table in 2026.
In terms of team news, both sides will have at least one player still unavailable due to playing in Saturday’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup final. Leicester’s Emily van Egmond made her record 170th appearance for Australia in Tuesday’s semi-final. Aston Villa’s Maya Hijikata has been a part of Japan’s squad and grabbed a goal and an assist in their group game against India.
Leicester City are winless so far this year, having not recorded a league victory since beating London City Lionesses 1-0 just before the winter break. Meanwhile, Aston Villa do at least have one victory this year, with the last three points they claimed coming against Brighton and Hove Albion when the two teams met at the end of January. What both teams do share is that they are the only two sides to have not won a Barclays WSL match in any of their last matches.
When Leicester and Villa last faced each other, it ended all-square at 0-0 in a match at Villa Park that was dominated by the home side, who were left to rue a lot of missed opportunities to score and earn three points. This match also a standout performance from Leicester City goalkeeper Janina Leitzig, who made eight saves in total during the encounter last October.
Leitzig made her return from injury for Leicester City last time out in their 2-0 defeat against Liverpool. It had been over two months since she featured for the Foxes, and she has often been crucial for them with her shot-stopping ability in goal. She currently leads the WSL for the most saves, with an average of 4.3 per game. Despite that stat, Janina Leitzig does only have three clean sheets this season in all competitions.
Last weekend was a boost of confidence for Natalia Arroyo’s Aston Villa after they drew with the league leaders Manchester City, and in the process halted a losing run where they leaked in a lot of goals. They will feel good going into this one given that they have won half of the last meetings against Leicester City, with four ties ending in draws, and just the one time where Leicester City won.