Barclays WSL Matchweek 20 Preview 

A look at the BWSL Weekend action

The final run-in for this season’s Barclays Women’s Super League campaign begins with this weekend’s fixtures, as five matches take place and all of them have permutations to go alongside them.

This Saturday has the one fixture as Manchester City look to go towards the brink of becoming champions. Whilst elsewhere all eyes will be on Sunday’s matches in regards to the top-three race, and also the battle to avoid finishing in last place and having to play in the end-of-season relegation play-off.

With Arsenal involved in UEFA Women’s Champions League action, the encounter between them and Aston Villa was rescheduled from this weekend’s fixture line-up to Wednesday 9th May.

Brighton and Hove Albion vs Manchester City

Saturday 25 April, Broadfield Stadium, 12pm

This Saturday sees Manchester City look to take another step towards confirming themselves as the Barclays Women’s Super League champions for 2025/2026 when they travel to Broadfield Stadium and take on Brighton and Hove Albion.

Comfortably at the top of the league with a nine-point gap over Chelsea in second place, Manchester City are eyeing up another three points that will make it possible for only Arsenal to be the only team able to catch them in the table. Meanwhile, Brighton and Hove Albion are in the middle of the table in sixth place on 21 points, with a game in hand. Dario Vidosic’s side are aiming for a late surge in trying to end their campaign on a high following a much-needed win last time out in the league.

Brighton were victorious against Leicester City on Matchweek 19 after Kiko Seike’s second half goal got them over the line in a match that was heavily dominated by them. They will also be wanting to continue the high momentum of having reached the Women’s FA Cup semi-finals following a 2-0 win against Arsenal. It was a dominant display as well by Manchester City as they claimed the bragging rights over Manchester United in a win at Old Trafford. Two goals came from Vivianne Miedema, and one as well for Kerstin Casparij to move Manchester City up to 49 points at the top.

In terms of recent head-to-head meetings, Manchester City have been the winners in the last four occasions when the two sides have met, and won nine of the last ten meetings overall. The reverse fixture was all the way back in September when they were 2-1 winners at the Joie Stadium, although they had to come from behind after Fran Kirby gave Brighton the lead, before Khadija Shaw levelled things up, and then Yui Hasegawa scored what proved to be the winner in the 74th minute.

The underlying numbers from Manchester City have been very strong this season given how well they have performed, and heading into the weekend they do lead the WSL for goals scored (55), big chances created (88), average total shots per game (18.7), and set-piece goals (14). Brighton in comparison have been considerably lower with their attacking output having scored 21 goals this season, but they have conceded only 22 as well which is the lowest total when comparing them with teams outside the top four.

Kiko Seike has been their go-to player for goals across this campaign with seven scored by the Japanese international, and the next highest scorers being Fran Kirby, Marisa Olislagers and Rosa Kafaji with two each. Man City’s Khadija Shaw, Vivianne Miedema and Kerolin all have more than seven goals each, and if Shaw was to score more than once this weekend, that will make it a third campaign out of four seasons with Man City that she has reached at least 20 league goals in a single campaign.

The contest between these teams has been an interesting battle for a little while, and with both of them wanting to continue where they left off before the international break with winning momentum, it should make for a great game to watch on Saturday afternoon.

Everton vs Chelsea

Sunday 26 April, Goodison Park, 12pm

Everton and Chelsea will meet at Goodison Park this weekend, and it is a fixture that will have some implications on the battle to finish inside the top-three, with Chelsea currently occupying second place by being two points ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United heading into the weekend. Meanwhile, Everton are in eighth place ahead of this matchup.

Sonia Bompastor’s side are on a run of four wins from their last five Women’s Super League games, with the last league defeat coming against the league leaders in that 5-1 loss at the start of February. In that time, they have scored 11 goals and conceded five, most of which came last time out when they beat Aston Villa in a seven-goal thriller at Kingsmeadow. The result was a significant one for Chelsea to keep their winning momentum going in the league, and they will aim to get one over the only team outside of the current top four to have beaten them this season in the WSL.

Back in December, Everton pulled off a shock 1-0 win against Chelsea that subsequently ended the record 34-game unbeaten streak that they Sonia Bompastor’s team had been on. Despite Chelsea dominating the game with 79% possession and 30 total shots, Honoka Hayashi’s goal in the 12th minute was enough for Everton to hold out for the rest of the previous encounter with a resolute defensive performance.

Things are a bit different with Everton since that last meeting between the two sides. Scott Phelan is the interim head coach of the team after Brian Sørensen’s departure, and since he took charge, Everton have three of their last five Barclays WSL games. The two defeats came back-to-back recently against Manchester United and Liverpool, with the latter being a result that meant them being defeated by their local rivals.

Other than when they last faced in December, Chelsea have been the team that has the upper hand in this fixture with nine wins out of the last ten. In the past, the scorelines would tend to be big ones in Chelsea’s favour as in the past three years alone they have registered 7-0, 3-0 and 5-1 wins over the Toffees. The past two meetings have been closer in terms of the scoreline, however more times than not Chelsea have tended to dominate possession.

Statistically, Chelsea lead the way in terms of highest average possession out of everybody in the Barclays WSL (59.3%), and Everton are the third-lowest ranked team in that stat (45.6%). The control that Chelsea have been able to have in games this season is reflected in possession stats, but they have ranked very far behind Manchester City in terms of big chances (57), xG difference (17.0), and the average amount of goals per game (1.90).

This game will also see two of the league’s top goalkeepers in action with Courtney Brosnan for Everton and Hannah Hampton in goal for Chelsea. Hampton currently leads the WSL with the most clean sheets this season (7), while only Leicester City’s Janina Leitzig has a higher save per 90 average than Courtney Brosnan in this campaign.

Both teams’ attacks and defences are going to be key in what has the potential to be another closely fought encounter. Chelsea have been the formidable side in this fixture over the years, but with Everton’s victory last time out against them, it should add a layer of intrigue as to how it could all play out on Sunday.

London City Lionesses vs Leicester City

Sunday 26 April, Copperjax Community Stadium, 12pm

The only two teams without a win in their last five league games face each other on Sunday as London City Lionesses welcome bottom of the table Leicester City to the Copperjax Community Stadium. With games running out for Leicester City to avoid finishing in last place, the Foxes will be targeting a much-needed victory. Whereas London City will be aiming to try and end their debut campaign in the Barclays WSL on a positive note.

In the previous game they last played before the international break, Leicester City were beaten by a goal to nil against Brighton and Hove Albion at the King Power Stadium, which extended what has been a horrible run of losing form for them in 2026, with every game they have played in all competitions ending in a defeat. Defeat this weekend against London City would extend their losing run to nine games in a row in all comps.

As for London City Lionesses, they most recently have drawn their last two games in the Barclays WSL against West Ham last time out and also Chelsea, although their last victory came against Brighton at the start of February in a narrow 2-1 victory away from home. The result remains to be the only league victory they have registered under Eder Maestre since he took charge of the club at the start of the year.

It has been a tough start to life in the WSL for Eder Maestre with London City Lionesses with six points gained from a possible 24 so far, but given they have been more competitive than Leicester City this season, they will be hopeful of claiming the three points this weekend, which was something that wasn’t achieved under previous head coach Jocelyn Prêcheur.

When they last faced off back in mid-December, Leicester City beat London City 1-0 courtesy of a 59th minute goal by their top-scorer this season Shannon O’Brien. Leicester City have beaten London City Lionesses 1-0 in their previous two meetings, with the other win for Leicester coming last October in the Subway Women’s League Cup group stage.

Rick Passmoor’s side will need someone like O’Brien to come up with a key goal again in this game if they are to get an all-important three points in their aim to avoid the relegation play-off at the end of the season. Their attacking output has been a big weakness of there’s this season as the league’s lowest scorers with nine in total, and they are also struggling from a creativity aspect with the fewest big chances created (17) and the fewest total touches in an opposition’s box this season (242).

London City this season have been able to rely on contributions across the squad in terms of goals and assists, but leading the way on that front has been Freya Godfrey, who has managed eight goal contributions across the campaign and been a player who has managed to be key for them with much of their attacking work. Someone else that has been key in contributing with goals and assists at times this season is Kosovare Asllani. However, London City were dealt a blow in their last fixture when she suffered an injury that brought her season to an end and could see her miss most of next season.

With the current form outlook, it does feel like this is one that both teams will be looking to claim a victory from, and the fact that it also holds implications on what goes on down towards the bottom of the table makes this an intriguing encounter.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United

Sunday 26 April, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 12pm

This Sunday sees Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester United in a meeting two sides currently sat in fourth and fifth place in the league table after 19 games played, with Manchester United looking to go into the top three this weekend if they can beat Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend.

As it stands, Manchester United are in fourth place having won 11 games this season and drawn five with three defeats registered as well. Their 38-point tally is nine more than their opponents Tottenham, as Spurs have managed to win nine games and lose eight, with two draws added to their record this season. Recent results have meant that Tottenham have slipped away from contention for a top-three finish.

Martin Ho’s side return off the international break looking to turn around their recent form after four straight defeats in all competitions. Three league defeats, including back-to-back 5-2 scorelines against them vs Arsenal and Manchester City has seen them come undone from a defensive point of view, and that is an area of their game they will have hoped to have addressed over the international break, while also wanting to still some show strong attacking play.

Manchester United are coming back off the international break firmly focused now on wanting to finish as high as they can in the Barclays WSL table, after they were knocked out of the UEFA Women’s Champions League by Bayern Munich when they last played. In the WSL however, their last match also ended in defeat as they look to recover from losing 3-0 to their rivals Manchester City.

Looking at the head-to-head record, Manchester United have comfortably had Tottenham’s number on most occasions, with eight wins in the last ten meetings. The other two games in the last ten ended in draws, and one of those was earlier this season in one of the games of the 2025/26 campaign that saw it end 3-3 at the Progress with Unity Stadium. A late fightback from Manchester United saw them turn around a 3-0 deficit to earn a point against Spurs, with Fridolina Rolfö scoring the equaliser in added time.

If we are to see a game filled with lots of attacking intent and goals once again, then both teams will need their attackers to be at their best. Jess Park, Melvine Malard and Elisabeth Terland have been the most influential players for Man Utd across this season in the Barclays WSL, whilst Tottenham have looked to Olivia Holdt, Cathinka Tandberg, and their highest-scorer Bethany England for much of their output. The Tottenham striker has seven goals in this league campaign, which is one more than the United trio mentioned as they have six each.

When both sides are performing well to their standards, it could have the potential to lead an exciting matchup between them. Tottenham will be looking to be clinical in front of goal once again if they are to have less time on the ball and aim utilise their threats on the counter-attack. However, Manchester United have proven on a number of occasions that they can find a breakthrough in the event of facing an opponent that tries to sit and be well-organised. So ultimately, fine margins and correct decision-making could be what decides this encounter.

Liverpool vs West Ham United

Sunday 26 April, St Helens Stadium, 2pm

In the last match that’s happening over this weekend in the Barclays WSL, Liverpool are facing West Ham United at St Helens Stadium, with Gareth Taylor’s side aiming to keep up the positive second half to their 2025/26 campaign against Rita Guarino’s West Ham who are aiming to avoid finishing bottom of the table.

Going into Sunday’s fixture, Liverpool are currently occupying tenth place in the table, while West Ham are below them in 11th-place. It’s four points that are separating them as Liverpool are on 17 points with four wins, five draws and ten defeats, and West Ham have 13 points, with three wins, four draws and 12 defeats across this season after both have played have 19 games in total. Points are crucial for them both as this final run-in plays out, but a Liverpool win would see the Reds confirm their place in the Barclays WSL next season.

2026 could not have gone a lot better for Liverpool so far, with just two defeats registered in all competitions, and they are currently on a five-game unbeaten run which includes their two Women’s FA Cup victories on route to making the semi-finals of that competition. Previously in the league, they beat Everton 3-2 with Ceri Holland scoring two of the three goals, and the Welsh midfielder has been incredibly influential for her team in recent games. Consistently strong performances from her out wide on the left side have even seen her manage to register three goals in her last three Barclays WSL appearances.

West Ham’s form as of late has not been as strong as their opponents’, with no win in their last five in all competitions, but also in the Women’s Super League alone, they have two wins in their last ten games. In their last league game, they were able to draw 1-1 against London City Lionesses following a stunning volleyed equaliser from Finnish midfielder Oona Siren, which subsequently won her March’s Barclays Goal of the Month award.

Their head-to-head record against each other makes for an interesting read as more often than not, the fixture has tended to end in either a win for Liverpool or a draw. Since 2018 in the WSL, five games have ended in victory for the Reds, while five have also ended with the scores level, and just the one occasion has ended in a West Ham victory, which was all back in February 2020 when they won 4-2. Interestingly, one of West Ham’s scorers in that game now plays for Liverpool with Martha Thomas scoring twice in that game.

Thomas has two goals in the WSL this season, with only one being for Liverpool as they have had to rely more so on goals from Beata Olsson from an attacking standpoint this season as she has registered six in the league across her debut campaign for Gareth Taylor’s team. New signings have been the key to Liverpool’s resurgence after spending most of the season near the bottom, and one of those who has been at the forefront in terms of her impact has been loanee goalkeeper Jennifer Falk.

Liverpool were conceding goals at an alarming rate and since she joined in January, the Swedish keeper has become an anchor for them in between the sticks, with 19 saves made, which equates to an average of 2.38 per 90 minutes. Plus she has also managed six clean sheets in all competitions for Liverpool in 2026.

West Ham have also shown some improvements in the second half of the season on the defensive side of things in comparison to how it was also going earlier in the campaign for them when Rehanne Skinner was in charge. A couple of defensive signings had bolstered their backline such as Tuva Hansen and Estelle Cascarino, with both being key in recent games where they have picked up some vital points. As long as they don’t have a defensive showing like they did against Arsenal, they can boost their chances of survival for this season.

This game will offer an interesting look into how the two teams have differed from when they last played in the league this season after that 2-2 draw in December. West Ham will be sure to try and be solid on the defensive side of things and try not to lose the game given its importance. Then Liverpool will be aiming to control and momentum for the most part, plus create lots of chances where they will need to be clinical if they want to win the game and claim another three points.