Women’s Super League predictions: Champions Chelsea to build on winning start against struggling West Ham

Matchday four of the 2025-26 Women’s Super League sees the top half of the table take on the early strugglers in the bottom six.

In a remarkable coincidence, no team in the top six of the standings will face each other this weekend, with leaders Chelsea taking on bottom-side West Ham.

Liverpool and Aston Villa, who saw their last game postponed after the passing of Matt Beard, return to action with tough fixtures against Manchester United and Arsenal, respectively.

Manchester City will also be looking to extend their winning run, but will face a London City Lionesses side who claimed their first-ever WSL victory last time out.

Leicester City host Tottenham while Everton travel to Brighton on Sunday.

Here is how the Opta supercomputer thinks matchday four will pan out.

ARSENAL V ASTON VILLA

Matchday four gets under way at Emirates Stadium on Saturday as Arsenal, who were named as the Women’s Club of the Year at the Ballon d’Or awards, look to get back to winning ways.

The Gunners’ perfect start came to an end last time out following a goalless draw against Man United, while Villa will be looking to register their first win of the season after picking up just one point from their first two games.

The Opta supercomputer predicts Renee Slegers’ side to secure the win at home, giving them a 77.2% chance of victory. Villa won just 9.2% of the simulations, while 13.7% of them ended in a draw.

Arsenal have won seven of their 10 WSL meetings with Aston Villa (D1 L2), but have lost two of the last five (W3); more than half of those wins have come by at least four goals (four times).

However, Villa are unbeaten in each of their last four WSL away games and beat Arsenal 5-2 in their last meeting, scoring as many goals in that victory as they did across their first nine WSL matches against the Gunners.

Villa striker Rachel Daly could make her 100th WSL appearance, scoring 45 goals in 99 outings to date. The only English players to net more times within their first 100 games in the competition are Fran Kirby (61), Alessia Russo (48 in 92 apps) and Ellen White (47).

But finding the net against Arsenal will not be straightforward for Daly. They have faced the fewest shots (5.3) and shots on target (2.0) per game so far in the 2025-26 campaign.

LEICESTER V TOTTENHAM

Spurs were brought back down to earth last weekend after a 5-1 defeat to Man City, while Leicester lost 1-0 to reigning champions Chelsea.

Martin Ho saw his team concede five in a game for the first time in his entire managerial career. It was also as many goals as his Spurs and Brann sides had conceded across his previous 17 league games combined.

Despite their loss to Man City, Spurs will be looking to win three of their opening four games of a WSL campaign for the third time after previously doing so in 2021-22 (W4) and 2023-24 (W3 L1).

They are also unbeaten in all eight of their WSL meetings with Leicester (W6 D2), the most they have faced an opponent in the competition without ever losing.

However, the Foxes have won five of their last seven WSL home games (D1 L1), after only winning six of their previous 30 such league matches (D5 L19). 

The Opta supercomputer finds it hard to split these teams, giving Leicester and Spurs a 36.7% and 37% chance of a win, respectively, while there is a 26.3% likelihood of a draw.

MANCHESTER CITY V LONDON CITY LIONESSES

After their maiden WSL victory, a 2-1 win against Everton at Goodison Park, the Lionesses will be hoping to cause an upset on the road against Man City.

They will be aiming to be the first newly promoted team to win two of their opening four matches of a top-flight campaign since 2019-20, while the last promoted side to win back-to-back games in the competition were Leicester in February 2022.  

Isobel Goodwin could be vital for them. Since the start of last season, she has scored more goals across the WSL and WSL 2 than any other player (18), netting for the first time in the top flight last time out.

When meeting an opponent for the very first time in the WSL, Man City have won each of their last 11 games, since a 2-1 loss to Chelsea in July 2014.

City have also won 25 of their 26 WSL games against newly promoted opposition, with the exception of a 2-1 loss to Liverpool in May 2023. 

And the Opta supercomputer backs Andree Jeglertz’s side to take all three points, predicting them to win in 80.8% of the simulations, while the Lionesses won just 7.4% of them and clinched a draw in 11.8% of the run-throughs.

BRIGHTON V EVERTON

Everton have failed to build on their opening-day win at Anfield, following it up with defeat at home against Spurs and the Lionesses.

Brighton, meanwhile, kick-started their campaign last time out with a 4-1 win against West Ham, with Rosa Kafaji registering a goal and assist.

Kafaji became the 10th different player to both score and assist on their first start in the WSL, with the Arsenal loanee the third-youngest player to do so (22 years, 78 days), while Fran Kirby has either scored (three) or assisted (one) in four of her last five top-tier starts.

The Opta supercomputer has predicted the points to be shared at Broadfield Stadium, favouring a draw in 26.4% of simulations, while Brighton and Everton won 37.3% and 36.3% respectively.

Everton have won their last two WSL away games – both against Liverpool (MD21 last season, MD1 this season) – and could record three successive away victories in the competition for the first time since August 2012 under Mo Marley.  

But the Toffees have conceded in each of their last eight league matches against Brighton, since a 5-0 away win in March 2021.  

LIVERPOOL V MANCHESTER UNITED

Having picked up seven points so far this season (W2 D1), United have gone unbeaten across their opening three league games for the fourth season in a row, the only WSL club who can boast that since 2022-23. In fact, the Red Devils have avoided defeat in each of their first five matches in each of their prior three seasons.

They showed their defensive strengths against Arsenal, conceding just one shot on target. Since the start of last season, Phallon Tullis-Joyce has recorded the most clean sheets (15), boasts the best save rate (79.8% - minimum five appearances) and has prevented more goals (7.3 – excluding own goals) than any other goalkeeper in the WSL.

The Red Devils have been given a 55.1% chance of continuing their unbeaten start with a win by the Opta supercomputer, while Liverpool emerged victorious in 22.6% of simulations and secured a draw in 22.2% of them.

However, Liverpool have won three of their last four WSL games against United (L1), with only Chelsea (four) beating the Red Devils more often across the last two seasons.

Gareth Taylor is still awaiting his first league win as Liverpool manager, but his first will see him move back into outright second for most managerial wins in WSL history (currently 75, level with Nick Cushing); he has only lost more games in the competition to Arsenal and Chelsea (both five) than United (two).

It could be a landmark game for Liverpool’s Gemma Bonner, who is set to become the third player to make 200 appearances in the Women’s Super League, after Jordan Nobbs (210) and Millie Bright (205 currently).

Liverpool's next defeat, meanwhile, will see them join local rivals Everton in being the only two clubs to lose 100+ WSL games.

WEST HAM V CHELSEA

The final game of matchday four sees league leaders Chelsea take on 12th-place West Ham in a London derby.

The Blues are aiming to win their opening four WSL games of a campaign for the fifth time, winning the league in three of the previous four they did so in (2015, 2017-18, 2024-25, second in 2016).

West Ham, on the other hand, have lost each of their last five WSL games and could lose six in a row for the first time.

Hammers boss Rehanne Skinner has only once before had a longer streak herself in the competition, losing her final nine games in charge of Tottenham and first in charge of West Ham between 2022 and 2023. 

The Opta supercomputer has labelled Chelsea as heavy favourites for this match, with the current champions winning 81.3% of simulations, making them the biggest favourites this weekend.

West Ham, meanwhile, have been given just an 8.2% chance of victory and 10.4% probability of securing a point at home.

In the last league meeting between Chelsea and West Ham in March 2025, the Hammers became the first team in WSL history to come from two goals behind to avoid defeat against the reigning champions, with Shekiera Martinez netting an equaliser in stoppage time.

Nevertheless, West Ham are winless in each of their 14 WSL meetings with Chelsea (D2 L12), the joint-most times one side has faced another in the competition without ever tasting victory (along with Reading v Arsenal).