Women’s Super League team news, stats and how to watch live on Sky Sports | Football News

Team news and stats for the latest round of the WSL, including West Ham vs Man City and Chelsea vs Reading both live on Sky Sports.

West Ham vs Manchester City – Saturday, 11.30am, live on Sky Sports

Team news

West Ham boss Olli Harder has a virtually fully-fit squad to choose from for the visit of Manchester City.

The Hammers are boosted by the returns of Emma Snerle and Claudia Walker, who are available again after recovering from Covid.

Maisy Barker appears to be West Ham’s only injury concern, with the defender continuing her recovery from a long-term injury.

Manchester City will be boosted by the return of Chloe Kelly, who is set to make her first appearance of the season after recovering from a long-term knee injury.

Manager Gareth Taylor revealed it was unlikely captain Steph Houghton (Achilles) could feature again for City this season, with the defender’s rehab from a injury focusing on being fit to feature for England at the Euros.

Esme Morgan (broken leg) has no chance of returning this season, but there was a more positive prognosis for midfielder Vicky Losada, who could return after being out since February in the coming weeks.

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• West Ham won the last league meeting between these sides in October – they had lost all five previous FA WSL games against Manchester City.
• Manchester City have won both of their FA WSL away games to date against West Ham, winning 3-1 in January 2019 and 1-0 in their most recent such visit in May 2021.
• After a run of just one defeat in 10 home games in the FA WSL between March 2021 and January 2022 (W3 D6), West Ham have since lost two of their last three home matches in the competition (D1).
• Manchester City have already lost more FA WSL games in London during this season (2) than they did in the entirety of last season (1), with those two defeats coming against Arsenal and Chelsea. Nonetheless, they won on their last such visit in March against Spurs.
• Having won the reverse fixture in October, West Ham are looking to become only the fourth side to complete a league double over Manchester City in the FA WSL, after Bristol City (2014), Birmingham City (2014) and Chelsea (2021-22).
• Manchester City have won each of their last four matches in the FA WSL, keeping a clean sheet in each game. A win here would put them on their longest winning run in the competition since a 12-game stretch between December 2020 and April 2021.
• Manchester City have scored six goals following high turnovers in the FA WSL this season, the most of any side, while West Ham rank joint-second with five (tied with Chelsea and Arsenal).
• West Ham have amassed 23 open play sequences with 10+ uninterrupted passes in this season’s FA WSL, the third fewest ahead of only Birmingham City (5) and Leicester City (21). Manchester City meanwhile have the most such sequences of any side this season with 203.
• Manchester City’s Georgia Stanway has five goals and two assists in just six appearances against West Ham in the FA WSL, with her seven combined goal involvements against them being her most against a single side in the competition.
• Katerina Svitkova has assisted four goals this season in the FA WSL for West Ham this season, with those goals earning the Hammers five points – this is the most points any player’s assists have been worth in the competition in 2021-22.

Manchester United vs Brighton & Hove Albion – Sunday, 12pm

Team news

Manchester United look as though they will have to make do without defender Diane Caldwell again but are boosted by Ivana Fuso’s return to fitness.

Lucy Staniforth and Kirsty Smith are pushing for a return from their respective injuries before the end of the campaign, although the clash with Reading looks set to come too early for the pair.

Brighton hope to have Megan Walsh available again after she missed last weekend’s win against West Ham.

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• Manchester United have been beaten only once in five FA WSL meetings with Brighton (W3 D1), with that defeat coming away from home in April 2021 under previous boss Casey Stoney.
• Brighton have lost both of their away games against Manchester United in the FA WSL to date, conceding seven goals while failing to score at all themselves. Including games against Manchester City, Brighton have never scored in five away league visits to Manchester in the top-flight.
• Manchester United have won each of their last five home league matches, and could win six consecutive FA WSL games on home soil for the first time. They have scored 20 goals while conceding only once across their previous five.
• After a run of six defeats and one draw across seven matches between November and early February, Brighton have since won three of their last four games in the FA WSL (L1).
• Manchester United have conceded six goals following opposition high turnovers this season in the FA WSL, the joint-most of any side, along with Aston Villa.
• Brighton have won their last two away games in the FA WSL, against Aston Villa and West Ham – they have never won three away games in a row in the competition.
• Manchester United’s PPDA (opposition passes allowed per defensive action) is a league-low 9.8 this season, meaning they allow their opponents the fewest passes of any side on average for every defensive intervention; Brighton’s figure is 13.9 by comparison.
• Manchester United’s Alessia Russo has been directly involved in 12 goals in the FA WSL this season (9 goals, 3 assists), with those 12 goal involvements earning the Reds a total of seven points; only Spurs’ Rachel Williams has earned her side more points through goals and assists this season (9).
• Brighton’s Inessa Kaagman has been directly involved in 14 goals (11 goals, 3 assists) in 39 league matches for the Seagulls since making her debut in September 2020 – no teammate has been directly involved in more than eight league goals in this time.
• Manchester United’s Katie Zelem has scored five goals across her last five home matches in the FA WSL, which is as many goals as she scored in her previous 18 home games in the competition.

Leicester City vs Arsenal – Sunday, 12.30pm

Team news

Leicester duo Molly Pike and Ashleigh Plumptre picked up injuries against Chelsea last weekend, so are expected to miss out this time against the Gunners.

Defender Abbie McManus is also out for this weekend’s match after missing the crushing 9-0 loss to Emma Hayes’ champions last time out.

After their Champions League elimination in midweek, Arsenal are set to be boosted by the return of Beth Mead and Lia Walti, who missed Thursday’s defeat to Wolfsburg.

Mead was suspended for the Germany second-leg loss so is expected to provide fresh legs this weekend, while Walti did not travel for the European encounter.

Mana Iwabuchi and Rafaelle are both out for the trip to Leicester, but Caitlin Foord played in the Wolfsburg match after injury so is expected to continue her comeback at Leicester.

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• Leicester City and Arsenal’s last two meetings in all competitions have seen a total of 11 goals, with all 11 being scored by the Gunners – Arsenal 4-0 Leicester in the reverse fixture in December, and Leicester 0-7 Arsenal in the League Cup in November 2008.
• Arsenal are currently unbeaten in 20 FA WSL matches against newly promoted opponents (W18 D2) since losing their first such match against Manchester City in May 2014. They have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six league games against these sides.
• After winning three of their first four home league matches under Lydia Bedford (L1) while keeping three clean sheets in the process, Leicester City lost their last home match 9-0 against reigning champions Chelsea. It was the fifth instance of a side conceding 9+ goals in a game in the FA WSL, and the first since Bristol City against Chelsea in September 2020.
• Arsenal have won each of their last three matches in the FA WSL, their longest winning run since picking up three points in each of their first six matches under Jonas Eidevall to start the campaign.
• Having conceded seven goals in open play last time out against Chelsea, Leicester City have now conceded a total of 32 goals in open play this season in the FA WSL, three more than any other side (Birmingham City, 29).
• After winning seven consecutive away games in the FA WSL between February and October 2021, Arsenal have since won just two of their last six on the road in the competition (D3 L1), although they did win their last such outing against Brighton.
• Leicester City have conceded 16 goals across their last three league matches, which is as many goals as they had conceded in their previous 11 games in the top-flight.
• Since making her FA WSL debut in January, Stina Blackstenius has scored more goals than any other Arsenal player (4), despite only starting four of their seven league matches in this time.
• Leicester City have progressed 1.69 metres per second upfield with their open play sequences in this season’s FA WSL, the quickest of any side. Arsenal’s open play sequences have seen them progress 1.1 metres upfield on average – only Manchester City have a lower figure (0.92).
• Arsenal’s Beth Mead has scored in consecutive league matches and could score in three consecutive FA WSL games for the first time since May 2018. Meanwhile, Mead’s next FA WSL assist will be her 36th in the competition, which would take her past Karen Carney to become the player with the most assists in the competition’s history.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa – Sunday, 2pm

Team news

Tottenham have no fresh injury concerns after their slender defeat to Manchester City last time out, with goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer impressing last week in her first WSL match for a month.

Aston Villa, meanwhile, have injury doubts over Alisha Lehmann, Anna Patten, Jill Scott, Meaghan Sargeant and Ramona Petzelberger, who scored a late equaliser in last weekend’s draw with Reading.

Ruesha Littlejohn picked up a knock after coming off the bench last weekend but that does not appear to have hampered her chances of making the squad in north London.

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• Tottenham Hotspur have won two of their three matches against Aston Villa in the FA WSL (L1), winning their only previous home encounter in December 2020 (3-1) – that fixture is the highest scoring WSL meeting between the sides so far.
• Aston Villa have scored a single goal in each of their three FA WSL matches against Tottenham Hotspur despite registering only two shots on target in each match.
• Four of Aston Villa’s five wins in the FA WSL this season have come away from home, including each of their last four victories in the competition – they’ve won twice as many on the road in 2021-22 as they did in 2020-21 (2).
• Aston Villa have won two of their last three away games in the FA WSL, as many as they’d won in the previous 14 on the road in the division (W2 D4 L8).
• Tottenham have only scored more than one goal in one of their last 12 home games in the FA WSL, doing so in a 4-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion in February.
• Tottenham Hotspur have failed to score in their last two FA WSL matches, attempting 15 shots without success in these games. They have never gone three consecutive games without a goal in the WSL.
• Tottenham Hotspur are the only side in the FA WSL yet to score a headed goal this season, failing to net with any of their 32 headed shots at goal (excluding blocks).
• Aston Villa have had fewer different goalscorers (excluding own-goals) than any other side in the FA WSL this season (6) – with only Leicester (four players on two goals) having a lower scoring top-scorer than the Villans this term (Remi Allen, three goals).
• Aston Villa are the only side in the FA WSL yet to score a goal via a high turnover, despite registering 141 instances of a high turnover this season. In contrast, no side has conceded more goals via high turnovers than Aston Villa (6).
• Tottenham’s Ashleigh Neville has been directly involved in three goals in her last four FA WSL appearances (two goals, one assist), as many as she’d registered in her first 37 games in the competition (two goals, one assist).

Chelsea vs Reading – Sunday, 6.45pm, live on Sky Sports

Team news

Chelsea look set to be without Fran Kirby (illness) and Pernille Harder (knee) for the visit of Reading. In their absence, Beth England is expected to retain her place leading the Chelsea attack.

Reading remain without long-term absentee Brooke Chaplen for Sunday’s trip to the WSL leaders.

Opta stats

• Chelsea lost the reverse fixture against Reading back in December, their first ever defeat to the Royals in FA WSL history (W8 D2) – they’ve not failed to win both home and away games against Reading in a single campaign since 2017-18 (D2).
• Reading’s 1-0 win against Chelsea in December was their first clean sheet against the Blues in the FA WSL, in what was their 11th attempt. However, Reading have lost four of their five away games against Chelsea in the competition (D1), conceding 14 goals in the process (2.8 per game).
• Reading have won just two of their 10 FA WSL matches against reigning champions (L8), winning 1-0 versus Chelsea in December 2021 and 2-0 versus Manchester City in April 2018. The only WSL sides to beat reigning champions in both league meetings in a season were Chelsea in 2019-20 and 2015, Man City in 2016 and Notts County in 2015.
• Since losing to 3-2 versus Arsenal on matchday one, Chelsea have lost only once in their last 16 FA WSL matches (W13 D2); conceding just four goals and keeping 12 clean sheets in the process. Chelsea have conceded fewer goals (7) and kept more clean sheets (12) than any other side in the competition this term.
• After winning five FA WSL matches in a row between November and February, Reading are without a win in their last six in the competition (D2 L4) – none of this season’s teams in the Women’s Super League are currently enduring a longer wait for a win than the Royals.
• Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 12 home games in the FA WSL (W11 D1), keeping a clean sheet in 11 of those games and in each of the last six in a row. In fact, no side has kept a clean sheet in seven consecutive home games in FA WSL history.
• Chelsea have generated more high turnovers than any other side in the FA WSL this season (209), while only Man City (6) have scored more goals via high turnovers than the Blues (5).
• Only Emma Hayes with Chelsea (163) has managed more FA WSL games with a single side than Kelly Chambers with Reading (116) – with Chambers losing more games to Hayes than she has against any other manager in her WSL managerial career (8).
• Chelsea’s Sam Kerr has the best minutes-per-goal ratio of any player in FA WSL history (min. 15 goals), with the Australian striker averaging a goal every 82 minutes (36 goals in 2936 minutes played).
• Last time out versus Leicester City, Beth England became the second player to reach 40+ goals for Chelsea in the FA WSL, with only Fran Kirby (54) scoring more for the club. England netted a brace and provided an assist against the Foxes – only versus Everton in November 2020 (2 goals, 2 assists) has she had a hand in more goals in a single WSL game for the Blues.

Here’s how to follow the WSL on Sky Sports…

Sky Sports – All 35 games will be available across Sky Sports’ flagship channels, including Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event.

Sky Sports digital – Follow all the latest from the WSL across SkySpots.com and app, including exclusive features and interviews, plus dedicated live blog coverage and in-game clips from games live on Sky Sports. You can watch free match highlights from every WSL game this season on Sky Sports’ digital platforms and YouTube channel.

Sky Sports News – Running 24 hours a day, seven days a week Barclays FA WSL fans can enjoy Sky Sports News (channel 409) rolling editorial coverage of the league and its storylines throughout the season.

Inside the WSL – Hosted by award-winning broadcaster and journalist Jessica Creighton, Inside the WSL is a comprehensive round-up of all things Barclays FA Women’s Super League and women’s football. Airing weekly from Thursday, September 9 on Sky Sports Premier League, the half an hour show will review and preview matches, include in-depth analysis and exclusive player interviews. Viewers can expect gripping behind the scenes access as well as a summary of all the action both on and off the pitch.

Sky Sports Social – Alongside coverage and visibility for the league across all Sky Sports’ main social media channels, a new bespoke Twitter channel @SkySportsWSL will be the home of all Barclays FA WSL content on Sky Sports.

To add all the Barclays FA WSL fixtures to your calendar click here.