The men’s international break means nothing to the Women’s Super League and this Sunday delivers one of the most action-packed single days of WSL football the season has produced. Seven games broadcast live, two derbies, a potential title statement and a sub-plot involving an Arsenal icon facing her former club for the first time. Here is the complete guide to everything happening in the WSL this weekend.
Manchester United vs West Ham – Sunday, 1pm
Three games in, Manchester United are still searching for their first WSL win of the season but Eva Olid’s side showed enough in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal to suggest the results will come if the performances continue in the same direction. After conceding seven goals across their opening two matches, United’s defensive structure was considerably more organised at the Emirates, and it took until the 96th minute for Arsenal to find a way through.
The identity Olid is building is becoming clearer: United are at their best when counter-punching using their technical midfielders to transition the ball quickly and exploit space in behind opposition defences. Andrea Medina, who arrived in the summer, has been the most exciting addition raw pace and aggression that gives United a different dimension in transition.
The concern is shot volume. United have attempted just 10 shots in the WSL this season the fewest by any side across their opening three matches in competition history. That statistic cannot continue if they are to compete consistently at this level. Elisabeth Terland needs more service, and the creative unit around her Jess Park, Simi Awujo and potentially Ella Toone if she returns to the starting XI have the quality to provide it. Sunday’s home fixture against West Ham is the opportunity to turn promising performances into three points.
Birmingham vs Crystal Palace – Sunday, 2pm
The battle of the promoted sides carries genuine significance in the early-season WSL table. Both Birmingham and Crystal Palace are still finding their feet since winning promotion from WSL2, and both endured punishing results last time out Palace in particular were thrashed by Tottenham in a scoreline that will have demanded significant soul-searching during the week.
But neither side is yet without points, which is more than can be said for pointless Charlton a small consolation that gives both clubs reason to approach Sunday with pragmatism rather than desperation.
The tactical profile of both teams suggests this will be a physical, direct contest where aerial duels and defensive organisation prove decisive. Five players have made 10-plus headed clearances so far this season and four of them are likely to start in this fixture. For two sides who will almost certainly be scrapping at the bottom of the table for the duration of the campaign, winning this specific contest is not merely important it is essential.
Liverpool vs Everton – Sunday, 2pm
The Merseyside derby in the WSL carries a specific statistical quirk that Everton supporters have been enjoying for years and Liverpool’s home record makes for painful reading. The Reds have lost eight of their nine league games hosted at Anfield, a baffling and persistent pattern that has defied multiple managerial attempts to resolve it.
Under Gareth Taylor, however, there are genuine signs of improvement in Liverpool’s overall game. Seven goals scored in three matches already surpasses their total from the first 10 games of last season a dramatic improvement in attacking output that suggests the system is clicking in ways it simply did not before. Only Chelsea and Arsenal have forced more high turnovers, which confirms that Liverpool’s press is functioning with the speed and co-ordination that Taylor demands.
Everton arrive in decent form but both of their wins this season have come courtesy of own goals, raising legitimate questions about their ability to manufacture goals from open play when opponents defend competently. Liverpool’s improving defensive structure and press should create the conditions to punish that limitation. The Anfield home record may finally be about to change.
Tottenham vs Aston Villa – Sunday, 2pm
Tottenham Women are building something genuinely exciting under Martin Ho and the football world is starting to pay attention. Last season’s 7-3 demolition of Aston Villa was an outlier at the time. Last week’s 7-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace featuring a stunning 14-pass team goal from Amanda Nilden in the 86th minute involving all but one outfield player suggests that result was not a fluke but a statement of intent.
The numbers under Ho since he took over in July 2025 are remarkable: only Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal have won more WSL games than Tottenham’s 13 victories in that period. A side climbing at that rate into the conversation around the top four deserves to be taken seriously and a win over Villa on Sunday would represent their longest unbeaten league run in the club’s history at seven games.
Villa arrive as the kind of opponent Spurs should be looking to beat if they are serious about their top-four ambitions. Ho’s side have the flair, the collective movement and the attacking intelligence to make this uncomfortable for a Villa side that was put to the sword at this very fixture last season.
Chelsea vs Arsenal – Sunday, 4.30pm
The weekend’s headline act and one of women’s football’s most compelling domestic rivalries takes centre stage at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening. Chelsea and Arsenal have now met 10 times in all competitions since the start of 2023/24, with the head-to-head tied at four wins apiece. A fifth win for either side breaks the deadlock and sends a statement about title intentions.
The tactical key to this match, according to those watching Chelsea most closely, lies in their full-back pairing. Only Manchester City’s Lauren Hemp has completed more carries into the final third than Ellie Carpenter’s seven this season a remarkable figure for a defender that reflects just how aggressively Chelsea’s full-backs attack. Carpenter plays with the freedom and directness of a winger as much as a right-back, and her capacity to stretch Arsenal’s defensive shape while simultaneously contributing to chance creation could be decisive.
Her mirror on the opposite flank is Katie McCabe and Sunday carries a significant personal sub-plot for the Ireland international. McCabe faces Arsenal for the first time since leaving the club this summer a reunion that will carry emotional weight and the kind of motivation that can cut both ways. McCabe has been known to allow emotion to cloud her judgment in charged moments, but channelled correctly, her high-risk, high-reward attacking style could be Chelsea’s most dangerous weapon.
Arsenal’s concern heading into this fixture is the passivity that has characterised their early-season performances. If Sonia Bompastor’s Chelsea encounter the same passive Arsenal that opponents have faced so far this campaign, Chelsea’s flying full-backs will have the freedom to cause damage from the first whistle. Arsenal’s counter is their pressing system only Chelsea and Liverpool have forced more high turnovers but translating that pressing quality into consistent attacking threat has been the gap in their game.
Chelsea’s full-backs against Arsenal’s press. Bellingham vs Rodri in spirit, if not literally. The WSL’s most watched fixture of the early season deserves the headline billing it has been given.
How to Watch
All seven WSL games this Sunday are broadcast live, culminating in Chelsea vs Arsenal at 4.30pm. In-game clips and free highlights are available across digital platforms throughout the day.
