Women's Super League: Can Taylor get Liverpool up and running in Man City reunion?

With the men's game paused for the international break, an enticing list of Women's Super League fixtures offers football fans their perfect fix of domestic action this weekend.

A full fixture list on Sunday will see all 12 teams in action, with intriguing ties taking place that could affect both ends of the table at this early stage of the campaign. 

At the top, Chelsea will aim to return to winning ways against rivals Tottenham, while Arsenal will be looking to get their season back on track at home to Brighton. 

Manchester City travel to face strugglers Liverpool in what will be their first match against former boss Gareth Taylor, who is yet to register a WSL point with the Reds so far.  

The London City Lionesses take on West Ham and Everton welcome Manchester United to Merseyside, with a Midlands derby between Aston Villa and Leicester also on offer.

But who does the Opta supercomputer predict to be this week's winners and losers? Let's dive into the data.

LONDON CITY LIONESSES V WEST HAM

One of three games kicking off early on Sunday sees the London City Lionesses welcome West Ham, who are one of two teams without a point this season, to Copperjax Community Stadium.

The Lionesses recorded the second triumph of their first campaign in the WSL at home to Liverpool last time out, while the Hammers fell to a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

West Ham have now lost each of their last seven WSL games, and they could become the first non-newly promoted team to lose at least eight in a row since Tottenham in March 2023 (nine).

And the Opta supercomputer does not favour the Hammers here, handing them a win probability of 23.6% to the Lionesses' 51.9%. A draw is given a 24.5% chance of happening.

Should the encounter go the way the pre-match simulations suggest, the Lionesses would become the first promoted team to win back-to-back WSL games since Leicester in February 2022, with the Foxes' second win on that run also coming against West Ham (3-0).

Hammers boss Rehanne Skinner will be aiming to stop the rot in what will be her 100th WSL game as a manager. She will become the eighth different person to achieve the feat. 

But Skinner is currently on the longest losing streak (seven) by any of the previous seven heading into their century match, with Kelly Chambers (September 2021) and Marc Skinner (March 2024) the only previous two to lose their milestone game.

EVERTON V MANCHESTER UNITED

After three away league games, Everton return to Merseyside as they play their first match at Hill Dickinson Stadium when they take on title hopefuls Manchester United.

But the Toffees have struggled to find comfort on home soil. Indeed, they have lost both of their last two home games in the WSL.

Everton could lose three in a row on home soil for the first time since October and November 2023, a run which included a 5-0 defeat to United – their joint-biggest home loss in the WSL.

And they face a stern test against United, who are unbeaten in all six of their away games against Everton in the WSL (W5 D1) – the Red Devils' joint-most visits to a single opponent without ever losing in the competition (also six vs Tottenham).

Skinner's team also have Ella Toone in their ranks, and no United player has been involved in more goals than the England international in the WSL this season (four, alongside Melvine Malard).

Meanwhile, Toone has also been involved in more goals against Everton than any other opponent in the competition (eight – six goals, two assists).

But the Red Devils have also impressed at the other end. No side have faced fewer shots on target than United in the WSL this season (14, level with Liverpool).

They have also conceded fewer goals than any other side in the division (two), while they have only shipped fewer across their opening five games in one of their six previous seasons (0 in 2022-23).

United are predicted to pile more misery on Everton here and are handed a 63.1% win probability across 10,000 pre-match simulations. The chances of a home victory are 17.3%.

CHELSEA V TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Champions Chelsea saw their perfect start to the season end away to Man Utd last time out, but they will be looking to get back on track against London rivals Tottenham. 

However, Spurs have started the campaign strongly themselves, sitting third and just a point behind Sonia Bompastor's side after beating Brighton in their last WSL fixture. 

Tottenham have won four of their opening five games for just the second time in the WSL (L1), also doing so in 2021-22. Indeed, victory in this match would see Spurs already equal the win tally that they managed across the whole of last season.

However, the Opta supercomputer has predicted a one-sided affair at Kingsmeadow, handing Chelsea an 86.5% win probability, more than any other side in action this weekend. Tottenham have been given a measly 4.8% chance of a win and an 8.6% probability of taking a point. 

That could, however, be down to the Blues' impressive run of form against Spurs in the WSL. Chelsea have won each of their 11 league meetings with Tottenham by an aggregate score of 27-7, the joint-most times two sides have met in the competition with one winning every time (also Chelsea vs Aston Villa).

Chelsea are also now unbeaten in each of their last 30 WSL games (W26 D4) and could equal the second-longest unbeaten run in the competition's history, set by Man City between May 2015 and May 2017 (W25 D6). The Blues themselves hold the outright record with 33 (February 2019 to January 2021).  

But Bompastor's team will have to be wary of Beth England, who so often relishes fixtures against fellow teams from the capital. 

Indeed, England has scored 18 goals in WSL London derbies, more than any other player in the competition's history. However, England has netted just one goal in eight league appearances against Chelsea – a first half strike for Spurs at home to the Blues in February 2023.

ASTON VILLA V LEICESTER CITY

Villa Park plays host to another derby this weekend, with Aston Villa aiming to build on their 2-0 win over West Ham with a triumph over Leicester on home turf. 

The Villans are looking to record back-to-back WSL victories without conceding for the first time since between December 2023 and January 2024 – a run which included a 1-0 success against Leicester.

And they have a good record against this weekend's opponents, winning each of their first five WSL games against Leicester between September 2021 and January 2024, though they are winless in three league meetings with the Foxes since then (D2 L1).

But there may not be a better time to face Leicester, who are winless in each of their last 18 WSL away games, a run that started in February 2024 and has seen four different managers in charge of the Foxes (D5 L13). 

Leicester have recorded the lowest expected goals (xG) tally in the WSL this term (2.2), although their three goals are still more than they had at this stage last season (two).

The Foxes have also had the fewest touches in the opposition box in the top flight (56), along with averaging the fewest shots per game in the competition (7.4).

And Leicester's wait for a WSL victory is expected to continue here, with the pre-match simulations handing them a 23.2% chance of taking all three points. Villa, meanwhile, are given a 52.6% probability of a victory. 

ARSENAL V BRIGHTON

Arsenal are yet to click this season following their Champions League triumph, with the first game of their European title defence ending in a 2-1 defeat to Lyon in midweek. 

The Gunners are now winless in each of their last four games in all competitions (D2 L2), their joint-longest run without victory in the WSL era (also May 2014 and January 2022).

But they are predicted to get themselves back on track at home to Brighton, with Arsenal taking all three points in 77.7% of the data-led simulations, compared to the Seagulls' win probability of just 8.9%. The chance of a draw is 13.4%. 

However, for the second consecutive season, Arsenal have registered just eight points from their opening five WSL games (W2 D2 L1 in both) – only in 2014 (four) have they won fewer than nine points from their first six matches of a campaign (won nine in 2024-25).

Brighton's cause will not be helped by Michelle Agyemang's absence, with the forward ineligible to play against her parent club, which is a huge blow for Dario Vidosic's side. 

The Seagulls have lost each of their seven away games against Arsenal in the WSL, conceding 26 goals. Among sides to visit the Gunners as often in the competition, only Reading (3.9) average more goals conceded per game than Brighton (3.7).

Should Arsenal want to get themselves back to winning ways, they will need to rely on the talent at their disposal in the final third. 

Indeed, in 2025, Mariona Caldentey has been directly involved in more goals in the WSL than any other player (15 – nine goals, six assists) – in that period, she has scored or assisted on 12 of her 17 league appearances for the Gunners.

Furthermore, only two players (minimum 500 minutes) have a better minutes-per-goal-or-assist rate in the competition than Chloe Kelly (91 – four goals, three assists in 637 minutes) since she made her WSL debut for Arsenal in February. 

LIVERPOOL V MANCHESTER CITY

The weekend's action concludes at Anfield when winless Liverpool welcome second-placed Manchester City to Merseyside. 

The Opta supercomputer favours City in 66% of pre-match simulations. Liverpool's win probability is down at 15.6%, with this weekend's hosts having lost their opening four games for the first time in a WSL campaign after defeat to London City last time out. 

Meanwhile, the Citizens have seemingly found their groove under Andree Jeglertz, and they will be confident of continuing their good run of form, given they have won 15 of their last 17 meetings with Liverpool across all competitions (L2). That includes winning each of the last five in a row, netting four or more goals in four of those victories.

Indeed, after failing to do so in four straight seasons between 2020-21 and 2023-24, City have since won at least four of their opening five games in back-to-back WSL campaigns (W4 D1 in 2024-25).

The Citizens have also scored 15+ goals at this stage of a top-flight season for the third time, after 2017-18 (19) and 2018-19 (16), and that has been key to their success. 

City have had the most different goalscorers in the WSL so far this season (excluding own goals), with the Citizens having nine scorers at this stage of a season for the first time since 2017-18 (10). Jeglertz's team have had more scorers than eight of the other 11 teams have scored goals.  

But Taylor will be out to stop the rot against his former employers, who he led to FA Cup and League Cup glory during his five-year reign.

He will face City for the first time in the WSL – the Welshman has lost all four of his league games in charge of the Reds, after losing just five of his final 32 games in charge of the Citizens (W25 D2).

However, the odds are stacked against Sunday's hosts, particularly at home. 

Liverpool have lost six of their seven WSL matches at Anfield, the only exception being a 3-1 win against Man Utd in March 2025. That gives the Reds their joint-worst loss rate (86%) among venues where they have played at least seven WSL games, along with City's Joie Stadium.