2025–26 WSL Matchweek 20 Preview & Predictions
The WSL returns after nearly a month-long international break with the title race on the brink: City look to close in at Brighton, a refreshed United head to Spurs, Chelsea travel to Everton.
🌍 Weekend Landscape
Matchweek 20 opens the final run-in of the 2025–26 campaign as the WSL returns from a near-month-long international break, and it could be the weekend that leaves Manchester City on the brink of the title.
A seventh consecutive title for Chelsea is almost certainly gone now. City sit nine points clear of Sonia Bompastor’s side. With three to play, a City win at Brighton on Saturday would make Arsenal the only team in the division still mathematically able to catch them.
The break has been a genuine reset. With no club game since the 29–30 March round, rhythm, fitness and international workload will all feed into how the weekend plays out.
There are five fixtures rather than the usual six, with Arsenal v Aston Villa rescheduled to Wednesday 7 May to accommodate Arsenal’s UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final against Lyon, leaving the Gunners out of the weekend’s action.
Saturday’s programme opens with Brighton hosting Manchester City at Broadfield – the only fixture of the day.
Sunday follows with four games in quick succession: Tottenham host Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Everton welcome Chelsea to Goodison Park, London City Lionesses face Leicester at the Copperjax Community Stadium, and Liverpool host West Ham at BrewDog Stadium.
On our predictions, Manchester City (52%) are modest favourites at Brighton. Chelsea (54%) are also modest favourites at Everton, London City Lionesses (65%) are expected to win at home against Leicester, and Liverpool (51%) hold a slight edge over West Ham in a fixture that could shape the final survival picture. Tottenham v Manchester United is the tightest call of the weekend – 39% – 25% – 36%.
Match by Match Preview
Brighton v Manchester City
Sat 25 Apr — Broadfield Stadium | Sky Sports
Win probabilities: BRI 23% – 25% draw – 52% MCI
Dario Vidošić’s side arrive off the back of an away win at Leicester in their last league fixture before the international break – Kiko Seike’s second-half goal the difference – lifting them to 6th on 21 points, nine points clear of the relegation zone and effectively safe. They are also riding the momentum of a Women’s FA Cup semi-final place, booked with a 2 – 0 over Arsenal.
Manchester City return to WSL action looking to continue their march towards the title. Andrée Jeglertz’s side closed their pre-break schedule with a 3 – 0 Manchester derby win at Old Trafford – to move them to 49 points and nine clear at the top. Two more wins should be enough to hand them their first league title in a decade.
Head-to-Head Analysis (WSL)
Manchester City have dominated this fixture, winning nine of the last 10 WSL meetings. Brighton’s only victory in that run was a 1 – 0 home win in November 2023.
The reverse fixture in September finished Manchester City 2 – 1 Brighton at the Joie Stadium, but City had to come from behind: Fran Kirby opened the scoring before Shaw equalised and Yui Hasegawa grabbed a 74th-minute winner. City have won the last four meetings in a row.
🔎 Key stats to watch
Khadija Shaw needs two goals at Broadfield to reach 20+ league goals for the third time in four WSL seasons with Manchester City – a feat that would make her the first player in WSL history to do it three times.
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United
Sun 26 Apr — Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | Sky Sports
Win probabilities: TOT 39% – 25% draw – 36% MNU
Four defeats in five WSL matches – capped by a 5 – 2 loss at the Emirates in their final league outing before the break – have left Martin Ho’s side fifth on 29 points. The pause may have been welcome in that context: a chance to rebuild a defence that has lost the identity it showed at the start of the season, having now conceded 34.6 xG against – the second-worst figure in the WSL.
Manchester United looked physically battered before the break. Three straight defeats – including home and away losses to Bayern Munich in the UWCL quarter-finals and a 3 – 0 derby defeat to Manchester City – left them badly needing a reset. In that context, the pause may have been a rescue: a chance to regroup before a decisive final three games that could shape their UWCL qualification fate for next season.
Head-to-Head Analysis (WSL)
Manchester United have dominated this fixture. Across the last 10 WSL meetings, United have won seven and drawn three. Tottenham have never beaten United in the WSL.
The reverse fixture in December was a wild 3 – 3 draw at Old Trafford – a remarkable comeback: Spurs led 3 – 0 before United fought back, Fridolina Rolfö snatching the equaliser in added time.
🔎 Key stats to watch
A win on Sunday would move Spurs to 32 points, matching their club record for most points in a single WSL season, set in 2021–22. After finishing 11th last season, that would be a meaningful marker of progress amid their recent struggles – and it would also be their first-ever WSL win over Manchester United.
Everton v Chelsea
Sun 26 Apr — Goodison Park | Sky Sports & YouTube
Win probabilities: EVE 24% – 22% draw – 54% CHE
After a four-game winning streak that carried them from 11th to 6th, the Toffees went two without a win before the break – a 2 – 1 defeat at Old Trafford and a Merseyside derby loss against Liverpool. Everton still sit eighth on 20 points, safely out of danger, but with just 19 xG created – ninth in the WSL – and 29 big chances all season – 10th – they have always looked like a side more reliant on fine margins than sustained control.
After the sting of a UWCL quarter-final exit at the hands of Arsenal, Chelsea responded swiftly, overcoming Tottenham to book an FA Cup semi-final spot. Their final WSL match before the break was a 4 – 3 thriller against Villa, a result that kept their WSL ambitions alive. Sonia Bompastor’s side sit second on 40 points, with just two points separating them from Manchester United and Arsenal, so the margin for error is very tight.
Head-to-Head Analysis (WSL)
Chelsea have dominated this fixture, winning nine of the last 10 WSL meetings. Across the last five WSL meetings at Everton’s home, Chelsea have won by an aggregate of 15 – 1.
Everton’s only victory in that run – a 1 – 0 home win in the reverse fixture back in December – was historically significant: Honoka Hayashi’s 12th-minute goal ended Chelsea’s record 34-game WSL unbeaten run.
Everton have scored just one goal across their last five home WSL meetings with Chelsea, and have kept only one clean sheet in their last 10 league matches against them.
🔎 Key stats to watch
Set pieces look like the key battleground. Chelsea are the WSL’s highest-volume corner takers (145 – 1st) and generate the second-most xG from set plays (8.74). Everton concede corners at the highest rate in the league (138 – most conceded).
London City Lionesses v Leicester City
Sun 26 Apr — Copperjax Community Stadium | Sky Sports & YouTube
Win probabilities: LCL 65% – 24% draw – 11% LEI
London City Lionesses return to action needing to arrest a worrying slide. Eder Maestre’s side took just two points from their last five WSL matches before the break – a run of three defeats and two draws – and now sit seventh on 21 points. There is no immediate danger, but the gap to eighth-placed Everton is just one point. The break offered Maestre a chance to rebuild.
Rick Passmoor’s side have now lost seven consecutive WSL matches – defeat on Sunday would make it eight in a row and nine in all competitions. The Foxes sit bottom on nine points, 12 from safety with four games left: mathematically still alive, but practically gone. Their 12.3 xG created all season is the worst in the WSL by a wide margin, and they have scored just nine goals in 16 matches.
Head-to-Head Analysis (WSL)
There is only one previous WSL meeting between these sides. Leicester won 1 – 0 at home in December, top-scorer Shannon O’Brien striking in the 59th minute – a result that remains one of Leicester’s only wins of the season.
🔎 Key stats to watch
With the men's team also having just been relegated (to League One), Leicester City faces the prospect of both its men's and women's sides dropping a division in the same season – a grim double for the King Power group.
Liverpool v West Ham United
Sun 26 Apr, 2pm — BrewDog Stadium | Sky Sports
Win probabilities: LIV 51% – 33% draw – 16% WHU
Gareth Taylor’s side won the Merseyside derby 3 – 2 at Goodison Park in their final WSL fixture before the break, extending their unbeaten run in the league to three matches. They now sit 10th on 17 points, four clear of West Ham and seven clear of the relegation zone. Survival is not guaranteed yet, but the trajectory is firmly upwards: 17 points from their last nine matches after taking just four from their opening ten, and across all competitions.
Rita Guarino’s side sit 11th on 13 points after a 1 – 1 home draw with London City Lionesses in their final outing before the break – a useful point, but one that failed to close the gap on Liverpool. With three games remaining, there is no room for error in the run-in.
Head-to-Head Analysis (WSL)
Liverpool hold the edge across the last 10 WSL meetings – four wins, five draws, one defeat – but the recent picture is tighter.
The reverse fixture in December finished 2 – 2 at the Chigwell Construction Stadium, extending a run that has seen four of the last five meetings end in draws.
🔎 Key stats to watch
This has the profile of a tight, nervy game. Liverpool have created 18.0 xG – 11th in the WSL – while West Ham have created 18.2 – 10th – making them two of the lowest-output attacks in the division, ahead of only Leicester on 12.3. Their big-chance numbers are not much better either: Liverpool have created 30 – ninth – while West Ham have created just 18 – 11th.
Data sources
Predictions: WSLAnalytics model | Squad values: Soccerdonna | Match stats: FotMob