wf065: FA Women’s Super League (WSL) 2025/26 Week 14

Kerolin scored a hat trick in the summit clash. Courtesy from this site.

Martina Fernandez scored two goals to help Everton win. Courtesy from this site. Watch the celebratory Spanish dance here.

Blogger’s Comments and Prediction on Friday, January 30th: It seems there are people who are forcing a ridiculous schedule packed with too many matches to female footballers, and they’re probably thinking like “Only for now, only for money, only for myself.” They will be punished somehow. Last year’s UEFA Women’s Champions League have similarly resulted in a flood of injuries. Perhaps that same money-hungry disease has infected FIFA in the Women’s Club World Cup, whose pre-tournament forced the WSL match between Arsenal and Leicester City be postponed. Also see this article.
Back to the main story. The focus of this week is, of course, the showdown between the top and second-place teams. City, having suffered one-goal losses in last year’s league opener and the recent League Cup semifinal, will be looking for third time lucky. Aoba Fujino was absent from the previous two matches, but is scheduled to play this time. Can she make a difference? Fourth-place United and fifth-place Tottenham face off against bottom-placed Liverpool and West Ham, respectively. They’ll be looking to rack up three points. The mid-table match between Brighton and London City will also be intriguing. Everton will need points against Aston Villa.

Overall Review: In the head-to-head match between the top and second-placed teams, City won 5-1, achieving their 13th consecutive win and moving 11 points clear of United, who have risen to second place. Depending on the result of the postponed match, Arsenal could move up to second place, reducing the gap to 10 points. Chelsea’s loss this week may prompt them to change their priority to the UEFA Champions League and domestic cup competitions. Everton earned a welcome three points from upper placed Aston Villa. In the mid-table battle, London City’s win this week has seen them rise to sixth place.　

Match 1 (1/31): Arsenal vs Leicester City: Postponed probably by the too much tough schedule for Arsenal as with City last year. The winner of the Club World Cup pre-tournament was, however, Arsenal, who defeated Corinthians in the final.

Match 2 (2/1): Brighton & Hove 1-2 London City: The match, which drew a crowd of 1,990 at Broadfield Stadium, was won by the away team, London City. Brighton & Hove took the lead with a goal from Kiko Seike, but London City overtook them within the first half. Brighton’s Moeka Minami scored a painful own goal. Brighton dominated the ball possession rate, touches in the opponent’s box, and shots, but suffered a disappointing home defeat. Seike and Minami both played the full game.

Match 3 (2/1): Everton 2-1 Aston Villa: The match, held at Goodison Park, saw Everton come from behind to win thanks to two goals from center-back (CB) Martina Fernandez. CB Ruby Mace also provided two assists. Aston Villa had more ball possession and more touches in the opponent’s box, but Everton had more shots. Everton’s Hikaru Kitagawa and Honoka Hayashi, and Aston Villa’s Maya Hijikata played the full game.

Match 4 (2/1): United 3-1 Liverpool: The match, which drew a crowd of 4,502 at Progress with Unity Stadium, ended in a win for the home team and a disappointing defeat for Liverpool, who had managed to catch up once. While both teams had equal ball possession, United had significantly more shots and touches in the opposing box. Both United’s Hinata Miyazawa and Liverpool’s Fuuka Nagano played the full game.

Match 5 (2/1): West Ham 1-2 Tottenham: The match, held at Chigwell Construction Stadium, saw Tottenham, the away team, come from behind to win. They dominated the ball possession rate, touches in the opponent’s box, and shots, resulting in a comfortable victory, but the score difference was minimal. Toko Koga played the full game and assisted on the equalizer. Riko Ueki of West Ham played the full game.

Match 6 (2/1): City 5-1 Chelsea: The match at the Etihad Stadium saw City vent their frustration with a landslide victory. Chelsea had more possession, but City had more shots and touches in the opponent’s box. City’s Kerolin scored a hat trick. Ayaka Yamashita and Yui Hasegawa played the full game. Aoba Fujino, who had come on as a substitute after recovering from injury, was forced to leave the game due to injury, raising concerns.