After a busy week of League Cup action, the Women’s Super League returns this weekend with some big games.
Chelsea’s clash against Manchester United has been postponed due to the London club’s involvement in the Champions League, which gives the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City an opportunity to put points on the board. The Gunners will host Everton at the Emirates, while City are at home to West Ham.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa are among those in search of their first wins of the campaign. Palace, in particular, will hope to bounce back from their heavy defeat to Chelsea last week.
Here’s how 90min projects Gameweek 3 in the WSL to unfold.
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Aston Villa
It’s been a largely positive start to the season for Brighton following their managerial change in the summer. Dario Vidosic’s side thrashed Everton 4-0 in their opening fixture and were narrowly beaten 1-0 by last season’s runners-up Man City away from home.
Villa, on the other hand, were beaten by just one goal in their opening match against Chelsea, but were held to a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur last time out. Both teams won their respective League Cup games midweek, making Saturday’s meeting at the Broadfield Stadium an interesting match up.
Overall, Brighton have looked the more in-form team throughout the early weeks of the season. Their big name summer signings are already making an impact, so it’s likely they will scrape through a tough fixture against Villa with a narrow victory.
Prediction: Brighton 2-1 Aston Villa
Man City vs West Ham
This game will surely only go one way. Despite their draw against Arsenal on the opening day, Man City have had a largely positive start to the new campaign in all competitions.
They made hard work of their 1-0 win over Brighton last time out but had enough to get over the line. Gareth Taylor’s side do have a massive midweek clash against Barcelona in the Champions League a few days later, so it will be interesting to see whether preparations for that have any bearing on Sunday’s match.
Rehanne Skinner’s side came from behind to draw 1-1 with Liverpool in their last league outing, while they cruised past Championship opposition Portsmouth 6-1 in the League Cup on Wednesday. However, they did crumble against top quality opposition in Man Utd, so it’s possible they’ll struggle in a similar way this time around.
Prediction: Man City 4-0 West Ham
Arsenal vs Everton
As far as starts to the season go, things couldn’t get much worse for Everton. They lost summer signing Inma Gabarro to an anterior cruciate ligament injury after their narrow defeat to Man Utd, making that two long-term knee injuries from two games.
Their reduced squad was noticeable in midweek as they were held to a draw against Championship opposition Newcastle United in the League Cup. Penalties were needed to clinch the extra point.
However, their resilient defensive display against the Red Devils last weekend should give them confidence heading into a tough match at the Emirates. It won’t be a cricket score, but Arsenal should brush them aside somewhat comfortably.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Everton
Tottenham vs Liverpool
Liverpool’s visit to Tottenham on Sunday is without a doubt the toughest game of the weekend to call. Robert Vilahamn’s side started the season well with a win over Crystal Palace but could only manage a 2-2 draw against Villa in their last league outing.
The Reds, on the other hand, have drawn both of their two league fixtures so far and were beaten by Man Utd in the League Cup midweek. After heroically finishing in the top four last season, it’s been a sub par start to the campaign for Matt Beard’s side.
Liverpool have started to make a habit of dropping points from a winning position, which is something the manager will need to address sooner rather than later. Therefore, Spurs may have enough to scrape a victory, even if they initially fall behind.
Prediction: Tottenham 3-2 Liverpool
Leicester City vs Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace have had a rough start to life in the top flight, most notably a 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea. Sunday presents an opportunity to face a team that will most likely finish in the bottom half of the table, so this will arguably be the most telling test for Laura Kaminski’s side so far.
The Foxes made Arsenal work for their narrow 1-0 win last week, so they will be full of confidence ahead of the weekend. However, Amandine Miquel rotated heavily for their League Cup group stage meeting with Bristol City on Wednesday night and were held to a draw before they lost the penalty shootout for the extra point.
This will likely be the closest of Palace’s games so far but, based on Leicester City’s first two WSL matches under Miquel, they have enough quality to secure a much-needed first victory of the campaign.
