The fourth round of Barclays Women’s Super League 2 fixtures take place this weekend with the teams now settled into the league. The gameweek begins with Bristol City travelling to Turf Moor to face Burnley on Saturday at 12pm.
Five other games take place on Sunday at 2pm, after the Players Cup returns for the midweek ties. This gameweek sees a variety of games, with many teams facing those at a similar level.
Burnley vs Bristol City
Saturday 26 12:00pm Turf Moor
Bristol City will be feeling confident as they travel to Burnley for Saturday’s early fixture after securing their first points of the season with a 5-1 victory over Watford on the weekend. The sides have not faced each other in recent years.
In a tense fixture which saw two Watford players sent off, Bristol City had 12 shots on target and netted five with a hat trick from Rio Hardy, who is certainly one to watch for this fixture.
Charlotte Healy’s side would have been pleased with their performance, after finishing last season as the BWSL2 top goalscorers but failing to land any points in the first two gameweeks of this season.
Newly promoted Burnley are still yet to get a win, with a 0-0 draw against Watford, a 2-1 defeat to Sunderland and a 3-0 defeat against Wolves on the weekend. Burnley have struggled with shots, producing only one goal so far.
During the match against Wolves, they almost matched their opposition on possession and presence in the opposition box but were only able to produce two shots on target.
Newcastle United vs Leicester City
Sunday 27 2:00pm Gateshead International Stadium
This weekend sees two promotion hopefuls face each other for the first time as Leicester City travel to Newcastle United on Sunday.
The Magpies are top of the table as the only team yet to drop any points following their 4-1 victory over Sheffield United. Throughout the match Newcastle dominated play and were clinical on the attack, with five shots on target against the Blades converted into four goals.
Leicester have started well on their return to the BWSL2 following relegation with two wins and a 1-0 defeat to Ipswich on the weekend seeing them sit in the top five. In their first defeat of the season they dominated possession but were unable to find the ball in Ipswich’s box and struggled to take chances.
New signing Paulina Nystrom was unable to break through on the attack against Ipswich, but is certainly one to watch for this fixture. From Newcastle eyes should be on midfielder Beth Lumsden and defender Kaitlyn Torpey who have been their strongest outfield players so far.
Tanya Oxtoby’s side’s home advantage could have a big effect on this match, which is set to be an intense and high pressure fixture. Newcastle’s defence will be hard for Leicester to break down with two clean sheets already picked up for the season.
Ipswich vs Wolverhampton
Sunday 27 2:00pm JobServe Community Stadium
Both Ipswich and Wolverhampton were victorious this weekend and enter gameweek 4 on incredible form.
Ipswich are unbeaten in 6 BWSL2 games, drawing their first two of the season before their 1-0 victory over Leicester. Against the Foxes Ipswich were strong and clinical on the counter attack fielding 19 shots from just 39% of possession.
Newly promoted Wolves have made a great start to their BWSL2 campaign, losing their first match but then securing huge results with their 3-0 victory over Burnley and 3-1 win over Sheffield United. They currently sit third in the table.
Wolves have won 12 of their last 14 matches, and while the BWSL2 is a huge step up, their attack still seems to be on a bounce. Amber Hughes has been in great form for Wolves, and is certainly one to watch throughout the season.
With Ipswich keeping back-to-back clean sheets, and Wolves having scored 6 goals already, this match could be an intense and highly entertaining clash.
Southampton vs Nottingham Forest
Sunday 27 2:00pm St Mary’s Stadium
Gameweek four brings another even competitive match for Southampton as they host Nottingham Forest. Both teams are unbeaten in the BWSL2 so far this season, sitting on 5 points with Southampton above on goal difference.
The meetings of the pair last season saw away victories for both with Southampton winning 3-0 on May 3 and Nottingham Forest bringing home three points with a 3-2 victory on November 2 2025. Southampton finished just five points above Forest last season.
After two 0-0 draws for Simon Parker’s side they will be hoping their attacking play finally clicks, as they haven’t scored since the start of the season. In the 3-0 victory over Forest earlier in the year Ellie Brazil and Megan Collett linked up for a goal, and both players could be involved in converting the chances to find Southampton the winning goal.
This fixture could be hopeful for Southampton as Forest are yet to keep a clean sheet, however the Reds have been stronger on the attack. Alana Murphy has been dominating the midfield for Forest, scoring in their first two fixtures and could be one to keep an eye on in this game.
Sheffield United vs Durham
Sunday 27 2:00pm Bramall Lane
This may be the biggest and most evenly matched fixture of the week, with both teams sitting in the relegation places having picked up no points in their first three games. With all to play for in this fixture, both teams will be battling hard to pick up points in a game that could be thrilling to watch.
The fixture is the only game from the weekend where the competitors have regularly faced each other over the last few years, showing how much a shakeup the promotion changes have had to the league.
Across the last 10 head-to-head matches the Blades have won 4, Durham have won 5 and they drew once. Last season Sheffield United won 1-0 and Durham won 2-1, most recently.
Interestingly Durham have scored the most amount of set piece goals (2), while also conceding 3 goals from set piece positions so far this season. Durham led for 10 minutes against Forest before falling behind to an unbeaten Forest side.
So far this season Sheffield United have only scored twice while Durham have scored four goals. In their 4-1 defeat to Newcastle on the weekend, the Blades Amy Andrews actually had the most shots on target throughout the game despite scoring. If Stephen Healy’s side can work on being more effective with these chances they could come out on top in this fixture.
Watford vs Sunderland
Sunday 27 2:00pm Vicarage Road
This clash sees two teams from the opposite ends of the table face each other for the first time competitively in recent years. Newly promoted Watford have only secured two points so far this season, with their 0-0 draw against Burnley and 2-2 draw away at Nottingham Forest.
Sunderland fans will be hopeful coming into this fixture as they sit second in the table on 7 points, with hopes of remaining competitive against rivals Newcastle who sit at the top of the table. The Black Cats won their first two games before hosting Southampton in a 0-0 stalemate.
With aspirations of promotion, securing a third victory of the season will be important for Melanie Reay’s side. They come into this fixture hoping Watford will be easier to break down than Southampton, with key players Elise Hughes and Katy Watson unable to piece together strong chances last weekend.
Watford remain hopeful for their first ever BWSL2 victory, but are likely to remain realistic since they haven’t won a competitive match since early April. Renee Hector’s side may focus on their defensive capacity and pushing for a point to help keep them above the relegation zone.
