After a stellar opening weekend, the Barclays Women’s Suepr League action continues from Friday night with an all-new local derby, followed by a possibly key midtable clash and a big test for week one’s standout team.
Here’s what to look out for this weekend.
A new WSL local rivalry is born as Palace host Chelsea
After more than ten years of the league, two of the biggest names in London football finally face off in the WSL on Friday night – and it’s one of the biggest tests Palace will face all season, hosting the reigning champions on Friday night. They have plenty to work on after shipping four goals in week one away at Spurs, but will have an extra challenge in that their squad depth is damaged. Brooke Aspin and Lexi Potter (even if the former was not suspended) are ineligible to face parent club Chelsea. Hayley Nolan and Elise Hughes are also out of action.
Chelsea’s campaign got off to a slightly shaky start against Aston Villa last week at Kingsmeadow and there are clearly a few growing pains under Sonia Bompastor. Could Palace pull off an upset? They drove Chelsea right to the wire in an FA Cup clash earlier this year, with Mayra Ramírez’s late goal the only thing that separated the sides. It would certainly be a shock, and unfortunately for Palace it’s hard to imagine. Nonetheless, it’s a small bit of WSL history for these two sides to face off. That kicks off at 19:30 on Friday night and is live on Sky.
Embed from Getty ImagesSpurs and Villa look to set out early markers in push to climb up table
One of the key elements of the last two seasons has been the growth of a more competitive midtable in the WSL, with multiple teams beginning to compete for a top-half placing and even pushing the top four. Two of those sides are Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, who finished 6th and 7th respectively last years. They face off this weekend at Villa Park to set out an early case for themselves as challengers – Liverpool’s achievement in breaking into the top four last season will be a goal for these two teams. Spurs boss Robert Vilahamn said ahead of the game that Villa “will be one of those teams we compete against and want to finish higher than in the table.”
Embed from Getty ImagesTheir two league meetings last season saw a win apiece, interestingly with both sides winning away. It’s the first time Spurs have travelled to Villa Park, where their opponents will play all their home WSL games this year. It’s the most accurate metric of where each currently are in their development, as neither have yet faced a team particularly close to them in quality – Villa were defeated by the champions, while Spurs were at the other end of the spectrum in recording a heavy win over a newly promoted side. The match presents a good bellwether of what to expect from the two sides this season, and kicks off at 16:30 on Sunday.
Will City bring Brighton back down to earth?
The best performance by a new signing last week wasn’t Mariona Caldentey. It wasn’t Viviane Miedema, or Elisabeth Terland, or even Fran Kirby or Lucy Bronze. In fact, it was Brighton’s new striker Kiko Seike who took the division by storm with a stunning debut hattrick in their 4-0 win over Everton. It was a dream start to WSL life for her after making the switch from Japanese side Urawa Reds, and was also a perfect debut for boss Dario Vidošić. In fact, the Seagulls are currently top of the league – but all that could change when they face Manchester City this weekend. Gareth Taylor’s side were breathing down the necks of champions Chelsea last year and will want to kickstart their season with a win after last week’s draw at the Emirates.
Embed from Getty ImagesCity did have to play in the Champions League on Thursday, but a 5-0 lead from their first leg meant they were able to rest a few players like Miedema and Lauren Hemp. Brighton should expect to face a full-strength side this weekend and it will be a tough test. However, two of their summer signings have plenty of experience of City. Fran Kirby is no stranger to scoring against the Cityzens, while Nikita Parris spent scored more than 33 times for them. Brighton shocked City with a 1-0 win in Manchester last November – can they recreate that this week? City host Brighton at 12:30 on Sunday.
Elsewhere: United face Everton, Liverpool look for a win in London, and Leicester host Arsenal
In the weekend’s other fixtures, Leicester and Liverpool are looking to improve on last weekend’s draw as they face Arsenal and West Ham respectively. The Gunners, like City, played in the Champions League midweek. Unlike City, they fielded a full-strength side as they had to fight to overturn a first-leg deficit against BK Häcken so might be slightly more depleted. This could help Leicester’s chances – but Amandine Miquel will need to break a long pattern of defeats in this fixture. Arsenal have won all of their last six meetings, and Leicester will need to produce a much-improved performance from the one that saw them draw with Liverpool last weekend. It will also be worth keeping an eye out to see whether Arsenal’s youngsters get any minutes with the squad feeling the effects of their midweek action. That fixture is at 15:00 on Sunday.
Embed from Getty ImagesAt the same time, West Ham host Liverpool and will have to compete better than they did in last weekend’s defeat to Manchester United to convince fans that they can avoid another relegation battle. Liverpool finished fourth last season and have made exciting signings over summer. Record recruit Olivia Smith looked sharp on her debut against Leicester, but Matt Beard will want to see more ruthlessness in front of goal to reap the rewards of their possession.
Finally, Manchester United travel east to face Everton on Sunday at 14:00. After a convincing win over West Ham at Old Trafford with a new-look side, Marc Skinner admitted there were still elements of his new system the team needed to work on. Fans will want to see new striker Elisabeth Terland open her United account after she failed to find the net last weekend despite a strong debut, and Skinner highlighted transition play as an area for improvement. Everton, meanwhile, desperately need a morale boost after their demolition by Brighton and the ACL injury to Aurora Galli – but the odds are stacked against them this weekend. United beat Everton 5-0 and 4-1 in the WSL last year, as well as a 7-0 thrashing in the League Cup.
Follow all the WSL action here on FromTheSpot.
