Bayern Munich welcomed Real Madrid on matchday three of the UEFA Women’s Champions League league phase. The game was played in the wake of a tragic train collision in Spain and a minute’s silence was observed before kickoff.

In the end, it finished 2-2 with Madrid once again throwing away a two goal lead and game state played a big part in the proceedings. The draw keeps both clubs outside the top four and automatic qualification for place in the quarter-finals.

One of the many subplots in the game were the familiar names facing off against each other. Arianna Caruso returned to Munich after a late move to Madrid this summer, while Sara Dabritz was returning to her former club after a stint with Bayern from 2015-2019.

Meanwhile, Madrid’s Janou Levels, Merle Frohms and Lineeth Beerensteyn were all facing a former rival during their time with Wolfsburg. Although Beerensteyn joined Real from Wolfsburg, she also played for Bayern earlier in her career.

Madrid headed to Munich in search of their first win in the UWCL league phase this season, having dropped points from winning positions against PSG and Man City earlier. The Bavarians had one win and one draw after blowing away a two goal lead against Manchester City in the opening round.

Pau Quesada lined up his Real side in a 4-2-3-1 with some interesting lineup choices. Eva Navarro, a right winger who plays as the right back for Madrid started as the left-back, while young Spanish defender Silvi started as the right back. Beerensteyn started up front with prodigious goalscorer Felicia Schroder on the bench and Arianna Caruso started as the No.10.

For Bayern, Jose Barcala went with his staple 4-2-3-1 as well with Edna Imade leading the line and Pernille Harder playing behind her. Stine Ballisager filled in for Giulia Gwinn at right back in a choice that decided Madrid’s gameplan.

Scoring two early goals from their only two shots on target in the first half took away Madrid’s incentive to attack further. They only managed five shots after scoring their second goal of the game. The Spanish side dropped off into a compact 4-5-1 mid block with no pressure in the first phase of buildup. They were happy to concede possession, defend deep and hit Bayern in transition.

Apart from their goals, Madrid only managed to have one other shot in the first half. The German champions directed the proceedings and found gaps in Madrid’s passive structure quite easily but lacked the cutting edge in front of goal.

Let’s understand how the game panned out and which player stood out above the rest.

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Welcome to One Step Away, The Cutback’s WSL2 newsletter covering results, standout performances, talking points and everything else you need to know from around the league.

Last weekend’s WSL2 action saw a remarkable 31 goals scored across six matches, as the league’s forwards got their shooting boots on.

Beth Hepple (Durham), Princess Ademiluyi (Ipswich Town), Leticia McKenna (Nottingham Forest), Freya Jupp (Sheffield United) and Amber Hughes (Wolverhampton Wanderers) all scored twice at the weekend, while Newcastle’s Martha Thomas netted a late equaliser against Nottingham Forest to keep her top of the WSL2 charts.

The highest-scoring match of the weekend came at Turf Moor, where Sheffield United came from 2-1 down to beat Burnley 4-3. Bristol City also came from behind to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-2, while Leicester City rescued a late point against Southampton in a 2-2 draw.

Every match produced at least four goals, for an average of 5.17 per game, and there were some pretty good ones, too.

Newcastle rescue their unbeaten streak

Newcastle United’s perfect start to the season came to an end at Nottingham Forest, but Tanya Oxtoby’s side rescued their unbeaten record with a comeback from 2-0 down.

Leticia McKenna scored twice inside 15 minutes before Beth Lumsden did her best Lionel Messi impression, receiving the ball wide on the right, weaving past three defenders and setting up Kathleen McGovern shortly after half-time. Martha Thomas rescued a late point for the Magpies, scoring her sixth league goal of the season.

Newcastle aren’t just relying on Thomas for their success in front of goal. They’ve netted 16 times this season, with eight different players getting on the scoresheet so far.

Forest, meanwhile, might be the grittiest team in WSL2. Tom Mallinson’s side have won two and drawn four, taking points off high-fliers Newcastle and Ipswich to remain as one of three unbeaten teams in the division.

Watford win, Durham doomed?

Watford finally registered their first WSL2 win of the season with a 4-2 victory over Durham at Vicarage Road, leaving Willie Kirk’s side bottom of the table with six defeats from six matches.

Durham goalkeeper Catriona Sheppard had an afternoon to forget. She gifted Vera Jones Watford’s second with a misplaced pass before getting unlucky with an Aoibheann Clancy corner that soared on a perfectly directed gust of wind and flew into the top corner.

Sheppard’s miserable day was capped by a Madison Perry lob she had — correctly, I might add — adjudged to be off-target. The ball pinged off the inside of the post, into the American’s collarbone, and in.

Durham standout Beth Hepple scored two late consolation goals in reply, including a magnificent stoppage-time free-kick. But there was very little she could do about Durham’s defensive problems, which continue to worsen.

Kirk’s side have now conceded 20 goals in six matches and are already six points from safety, however Watford manager Renée Hector wasn’t feeling overly sympathetic to their cause after the match.

“I genuinely felt and believed that when it clicked, we were going to absolutely batter a team,” Hector said. “And I think that happened.”

PRINCESS!

Ipswich Town have stormed into the promotion places, and One Step Away favourite Princess Ademiluyi is rapidly becoming one of the most exciting players in WSL2.

The Tractor Girls came from behind to beat Sunderland 3-1, ending the Black Cats’ unbeaten start to the season. Elise Hughes had given Sunderland the lead after just three minutes before a Georgia Timms equaliser, but Tess Laplacette’s dismissal for a blatant professional foul early in the second half changed the game, allowing Ademiluyi to score twice in ten minutes.

Both goals showcased the 20-year-old’s extraordinary physicality and shooting technique. Goalkeepers in WSL2 aren’t used to facing players with Ademiluyi’s shot power, and Sunderland’s Frances Stenson had little chance of stopping either finish.

Ademiluyi has scored four goals in just 305 league minutes this season, giving her the best goals-per-90 record among FotMob’s qualifying WSL2 players, at 1.18.

Ipswich are understandably desperate to keep her. Ademiluyi is on loan from Gotham until December, and manager David Wright has publicly expressed his desire to sign her permanently. Losing their most dangerous forward midway through a promotion challenge could prove enormously costly.

Sunderland, meanwhile, can take some encouragement from their defeat. Melanie Copeland’s side finished with more shots and more touches in the opposition penalty area despite playing much of the second half with ten players. They remain third, just one point behind Ipswich, with a Tyne-Wear derby against Newcastle looming in November.

Bristol City find their feet

Bristol City’s difficult start to the campaign is beginning to look like a distant memory. Charlotte Healy’s side lost their opening two matches against Sunderland and Newcastle, but are now unbeaten in four league games, winning three to climb into fourth place.

The Robins have scored 11 goals during that run, including five against Watford and four against Wolves on Sunday. They fell behind to an early Amber Hughes goal at Ashton Gate, but strikes from Katie Robinson, Brooke Aspin, Rio Hardy and Marine Dafeur secured a convincing 4-2 victory.

Wolves manager Dan McNamara described the defeat as a reality check for his newly promoted side, acknowledging that Bristol City’s early results had disguised their quality.

Healy’s team now sit just three points outside the promotion places, and their visit to second-placed Ipswich on 8th November will provide a measure of how far they have recovered.

What to watch, where, and when

The WSL2 takes a break for the Subway Women’s League Cup this weekend, with league action returning on Sunday 8th November.

The pick of the next league round is Ipswich Town’s meeting with Bristol City, while Newcastle will look to extend their unbeaten run against Burnley at St James’ Park.

Durham v Sunderland - Sunday 8th November, 12:00 GMT

Ipswich Town v Bristol City - Sunday 8th November, 14:00 GMT

Newcastle United v Burnley - Sunday 8th November, 14:00 GMT

Southampton v Sheffield United - Sunday 8th November, 14:00 GMT

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Nottingham Forest - Sunday 8th November, 14:00 GMT

Leicester City v Watford - Sunday 8th November, 15:00 GMT

All six matches are available on the Barclays Women’s Super League YouTube channel.

Hello and welcome back to NWSL Crunchtime, The Cutback’s newsletter for the business end of the National Women’s Soccer League season.

If you missed last week’s NWSL Crunchtime, then get caught up right here.

We’re really getting to maximum crunch hours now. I’m talking a bowl of Crunchy Nut corn flakes, with a Crunch Corner on the side, all while the credit crunch of the 2000s rolls on.

There is just one (yes, one!) matchday left of the NWSL regular season. It is all to play for.

Decision Day, the 30th and final matchday, will see all 16 teams play at the same time (5:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 p.m. GMT) on Sunday 1 November.

Shield race down to two

After all last week’s drama of the Washington Spirit beating Gotham for the first time since 2024, the Spirit officially dropped out of the race for the top spot in the table after losing 2-1 to the KC Current.

As expected, former Spirit player Croix Bethune was in the heart of the action and got her 11th assist of the season for KC’s second goal. That set a new record for assists in a single NWSL season.

Gotham did their best to almost claim the Shield one week early, defeating the Orlando Pride 2-1 in Florida without Rose Lavelle or Jaedyn Shaw, both absent due to injury. The Boston Legacy couldn’t quite do Gotham a favour and seal an upset win in San Diego against the Wave. But a 2-2 draw did increase the gap between Gotham (1st) and the Wave (2nd) to three points.

That means the winner of the Shield will be crowned on Sunday. Gotham hosts the Utah Royals (6th), who have already clinched a playoff spot and will need just one point to claim their first-ever regular season title. The Wave travels up the California coast needing a win against Bay FC (14th), in addition to Gotham losing at home to Utah.

Three become one

Seven teams have now booked their spots in the playoffs: Gotham, the Wave, the Spirit, the Current, Angel City, the Royals, and the Portland Thorns. The eighth and final playoff spot will go to one of three teams: the Seattle Reign (8th), the NC Courage (9th) or the Denver Summit (10th).

Seattle have been in the driving seat for most of the season and have spent just six matchdays outside the top eight. Laura Harvey’s team earned a credible 0-0 against her former side, Utah, this past weekend which propped up their slim advantage on the chasing pack. They now host the Pride on Decision Day needing a win to guarantee a playoff spot, or a draw combined with a Courage draw or loss.

The Courage charged up the table from August to October on the back of the record-breaking exploits of Ashley Sanchez. But it turns out that goals don’t always win games and, despite being third in the table six weeks ago, a poor run of form with four defeats in their last five has put NC the wrong side of the line. A narrow 1-0 loss to the Thorns was the latest blow.

Denver know the pain of high goalscoring not producing enough points. In fact, after a 6-1 thrashing of Racing Louisville, the Summit are the highest scorers in the NWSL with 53. Should they not make the playoffs, it will be the first time in league history the highest-scoring team has not made it to the post-season.

Give some love to the fixture gods, who have booked the Courage to take on the Summit on Decision Day. Both teams will be rooting for Seattle to drop points. The Courage could get away with a draw, providing they win; while Denver will need Seattle to lose in addition to beating NC. Goal difference is heavily in both NC’s and Denver’s favour should they tie on points with Seattle.

Right to host

The top four finishers in the NWSL will host in the first round of the playoffs, which start next Friday, 6 November. Gotham and San Diego are booked in, but the third and fourth hosting spots are fairly open, especially if any teams opt to rotate their squads with an eye on the impending playoffs.

KC (four straight wins) and Angel City (unbeaten in nine) are coming into Decision Day with the most momentum and could be the two to watch if the Spirit were to drop out of the the top four. However, the Spirit are gifted with a home game against one of the worst NWSL teams in history: the last-place Chicago Stars.

The Thorns, who clinched their playoff spot last weekend via one of the sweetest strikes you will see this year by Marie Muller, will be able to welcome back Sophia Wilson after she completed her two-game suspension for a hair pull.

Utah, who will be under the spotlight travelling to top side Gotham, are a curious one to watch. Briefly top of the table before the summer break, they have won just twice since September and are yet to beat any of the top four sides this season.

Where to watch

For the Americans out there, get locked in for Decision Day at 5:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, 1 November. You can watch Gotham FC vs. Utah Royals on ESPN, watch any other match on ESPN+, or watch a live whip-around reaction and instant-highlights show on ESPN2.

For those in the UK, put on an extra pot of tea and bring a blanket for a 10:00 p.m. GMT start. Right now, per Live-Football on TV, TNT Sports is set to broadcast Angel City vs. Boston Legacy (not that spicy), in addition to NC Courage vs. Denver Summit (quite spicy). That would mean the other games being streamed, for free, over on NWSL+.

Full Decision Day fixture list:

• Gotham FC vs. Utah Royals FC (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)

• Washington Spirit vs. Chicago Stars FC (ESPN+)

• Seattle Reign FC vs. Orlando Pride (ESPN+)

• North Carolina Courage vs. Denver Summit FC (ESPN+ / TNT Sports 2)

• Racing Louisville FC vs. Kansas City Current (ESPN+)

• Angel City FC vs. Boston Legacy FC (ESPN+ / TNT Sports 1)

• Houston Dash vs. Portland Thorns FC (ESPN+)

• Bay FC vs. San Diego Wave FC (ESPN+)

At the start of every away match, the travelling contingent of Arsenal supporters break into an a cappella rendition of the chorus of the club’s unofficial anthem, The Angel, more commonly known as ‘North London Forever’.

Last Saturday, the lyrics, “whatever the weather” felt particularly apt. As Storm Boelo brewed above the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Arsenal fans still showed up in their droves, filling an away allocation comprised of just under 4,000 tickets as they witnessed their team pick up a vital 2-1 win — the team’s first since the opening weekend of the WSL season.

Arsenal’s performances and results have left much to be desired, but one thing that cannot be questioned is the commitment of the supporters themselves, who have continued to show up in spite of their team’s struggles. Reporting from the away end at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, The Cutback was on hand to gauge the mood of the Arsenal fans.

Reflecting on the season so far, a common theme was the sense of deja vu with Arsenal once again making a stuttering start to their campaign.

“It feels like it’s just been the same story every year,” says home-and-away match-goer George.

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Sunday night’s Manchester Derby had everything: late equalisers, controversial refereeing decisions, players being booed, goal-line clearances and defensive mistakes.

It served plenty of drama and physicality, but the game broadly lacked attacking quality and won’t be remembered with the same fondness as the two derbies last season, in which City blew United away; or the season before last when Ella Toone’s hat-trick at the Etihad sunk an ailing Manchester City side.

City came into this derby as favourites despite United’s recent uptick in form, but they didn’t play like it for most of this match and failed to make their early dominance count. United defended well as City struggled to find openings and, when they did, the end product was often of low quality – Bunny Shaw’s brilliant opener aside.

It’s the first time this season the WSL champions have dropped points this season, but their performances this season have been far from perfect. Sunday night was the first time City have been made to pay for their defensive weaknesses.

Here are five things to take away from a frantic Manchester derby.

City must start keeping clean sheets

Manchester City have only kept one clean sheet this season in all competitions and that was against WSL minnows Charlton. This hasn’t been a problem in the majority of the games this season, but City’s lack of defensive solidity has come back to bite them against better teams. They are yet to win in the Champions League and this is their third score draw of the season.

The reasons for the defensive frailties are varied but the biggest one by far is individual errors, specifically poor clearances, and that was the reason for the United equaliser. In every WSL game they have conceded at least one goal from a poor clearance, a sloppy pass, or both.

Manager Andrée Jeglertz’s constant rotation in defence has made it harder for City to build relationships and rhythm, especially at full-back. Players are therefore more likely to make mistakes, especially when it comes to communication.

Some of the blame can be laid at the feet of individuals in the defence who are yet to scale the heights they reached last season. But City systematically look to play through the counter-press when they regain the ball in their own third, and that increases the chances of losing the ball in a dangerous area.

Terland’s equaliser came from a set-piece, which is the third time in as many games City have conceded from a dead-ball situation. It was a strength of theirs last season, when they conceded only once, so it is another part of the game they have to fix.

The pros and cons of aggressive full-backs

One tactical tweak from last season was to tone up the aggression of the full-backs. Beney and new signing Carlotta Wamser are probably as attack-minded as you can get in terms of intent, and Beney was selected as an out-and-out winger for this game.

City’s full-backs like to position themselves aggressively to win the ball high up the pitch, and that has reaped rewards going forward. However, it makes City vulnerable on the counter in wide areas and United were able to exploit them throughout this game.

Does Shaw get the fouls she deserves?

At the centre of most of the controversy in the match was City’s talisman Shaw. She managed to wriggle away from Le Tissier before being brought down by the England defender as she bore down on goal. The referee did not think the contact was sufficient to blow for a foul. The threshold for a foul in that situation is likely higher because it would definitely have meant a red card.

Shortly after, Le Tissier barged into Shaw off the ball, and the Jamaican Ballon d’Or contender quickly retaliated with a foul of her own seconds later. The United crowd were not impressed and every subsequent Shaw touch was met by a chorus of boos.

It was the same against Brighton last weekend, when a lot of strong challenges on Shaw went unpunished. It raises the question of whether the threshold for a foul on a player as strong as City’s number 9 is higher than it would be for any other player.

City manager Andrée Jeglertz was asked about it after the derby and said: “She is very strong and sometimes she gets knocks and hits. It takes a lot to make her fall to the ground. Sometimes I feel the level of what they give her is not right.”

City’s lack of pressing intensity

Another reason why United were able to get a foothold in the game was that City’s intensity in the press waned as the first half wore on. They were picking up loose passes in United’s defensive and middle third earlier in the game and their best chance of the half also came from their press and fell to Lauren Hemp.

That largely diminished over the course of the game and it was especially disappointing due to United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce’s well-documented issues on the ball. The hosts were able to play through City in the second half and force them back for large parts of the game.

One injury away from crisis?

Manchester City have made the most changes from game to game in the WSL this season. Jeglertz has said it is because he trusts all the players in his squad, allowing him to rotate between them regardless of the level of the opponent. That is one of the reasons why City’s bench is always able to affect the game. Most of the players being subbed on are starter-level quality and already have minutes under their belt.

However, City’s midfield depth is injury prone and it is a key area where Jeglertz cannot rotate. This wasn’t a problem last season, when City had no UWCL football to worry about and Yui Hasegawa and Laura Blindkilde Brown were able to shoulder most of the burden. The arrival of Sam Coffey in January was supposed to help in that regard but she has had her fair share of injury setbacks.

In the United game, City weren’t able to shore up the midfield when they started to lose the midfield battle. The first midfield substitute was Grace Clinton, who started the season on the sidelines due to injury. She did not make much of an impact besides the massive chance she missed late on. The second was Sydney Lohmann, whose last start in the WSL was her debut on the first game of last season.

As it stands, Coffey is out for the time being and Vivianne Miedema will miss most of the first half of the season with a knee issue. City’s fortunes this season may depend on the continued fitness of Hasegawa and Blindkilde Brown, who will have more minutes put into them than most other City players.

On a blustery Sunday evening in Leigh, Manchester United became the first team this season to deny Manchester City a league victory, after a late Elisabeth Terland equaliser secured a point for Eva Olid’s side.

It was a much improved performance from United, having struggled in earlier games against London City, Chelsea and Arsenal so far this season.

Here are five things United fans can take away from the game.

Confidence on the ball

One of the biggest takeaways from the derby was how confident and comfortable United looked on the ball. There was criticism of Olid and the new system in the opening two games against London City and Chelsea, with many players looking uncomfortable in possession. The game against City showed what Olid is trying to build with this team. Every player looked to be confident receiving the ball under pressure, including goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who had received plenty of early criticism for her ball-playing skills.

The midfield of Julia Zigiotti Olme, Hinata Miyazawa and Ella Toone were all moving into spaces to create passing options when United had the ball with the back four. Some of United’s in-possession football was one- and two-touch, especially in the second half, and it drove them up the pitch.

Terland: right place, right time

Terland’s equalising goal felt deserved after United’s earlier chances went astray. Terland herself had a great chance in the first half and a one-on-one in the second half that weren’t converted. Her role in the game may have gone unnoticed by some, but her constant runs in behind and her work chasing down City defenders on the ball were the hard graft you need from players in big games like this.

The finish for the goal was a proper striker’s finish. Terland found herself in the right place at the right time, anticipating where the ball would drop. With little time to react, she struck the ball on the half-volley, low and hard past Yamashita. A goal for Terland felt like a fitting end to what was a solid all-round performance from United’s number 10.

Learning from early mistakes

One of the main criticisms of this United side in their opening games was a lack of confidence on the ball and a lack of movement off the ball. Players’ body language looked down and the team were living off moments. None of those things can be said about this performance. Players were fighting for each other, there was movement on and off the ball and the confidence to play one- and two-touch football was a big improvement.

The performance felt like a coming of age for United as Olid tries to build a side that can contend for silverware. She has also quickly adapted to the players she currently has and United are now unafraid to play direct football when they need to, rather than the dogmatic build-up we saw against London City on the opening weekend.

United look far more mentally resilient, too. In the game against Chelsea, you could see the players’ heads drop as the first Chelsea goal went in. In the derby, United responded well when City took the lead, fighting to create opportunities and getting their late equaliser. That was another big improvement and a key quality this United side have shown in years gone by: fighting until the end.

Olid said post-match: “It was a hard week after Chelsea. Sometimes you need a difficult moment to react and see where the problems were we had to solve as a team. It had to happen to now be the team we are. We need to have our feet on the floor. This season is long and with really good teams. We need to keep improving and learning. If we have the desire and fight we had today, not a lot of things can stop us. There were moments I could see how we want to play. It’s a process and we need to keep working. It’s a good point today and to build from here.”

Lack of cutting edge in attack

One area United still need to improve is their cutting edge in attack. United got into the final third enough times to create big opportunities on the balance of the game. However, the lack of composure in key moments stopped them from becoming clear-cut chances. In the first half, Jess Park and Ella Toone both had chances around the edge of the box, but the final decision led to United losing possession when better passing options were available.

In the second half, the ball fell to Zigiotti Olme inside the box. It was a chance that almost certainly should have hit the target, but she rushed it and the ball flew over the bar. The lack of composure in the final third has been an issue for this United team for a number of seasons now and will likely be Olid’s biggest challenge to resolve. In the post-match press conference she said: “It’s more about us and that we didn’t score more of our chances. We didn’t put the ball in the net apart from that one. I think we deserved to win the game.”

Hinata Miyazawa

It’s fair to say Miyazawa hasn’t hit the ground running this season after an exceptional season for United last term. She was a huge part of United’s successful periods last season, controlling the midfield alongside Zigiotti Olme.

Against City, the performance looked like the Miyazawa of last season. She covered ground exceptionally well off the ball, cutting off the passing lanes. That was especially important through midfield and forced City to play the ball out wide, rather than through the middle to Shaw. Defensively, she won all four of her ground duels, made three interceptions, two tackles and four ball recoveries.

On the ball, she always offered an option to the back line. She came deep to create space through the middle for the United defenders to push forward. Miyazawa had a 90% pass completion rate in the game, which was the highest of any United player who wasn’t part of the back four. If United are going to be successful this season, this is the Miyazawa they need to provide stability and composure in the middle of the pitch.

Elisabeth Terland’s 89th-minute equaliser earned Manchester United a much-deserved point in a fiery Manchester derby, as an end-to-end affair finished 1-1 at Leigh Sports Village.

The Norwegian’s late strike rescued United and ruined Manchester City’s perfect start to this WSL season, after Bunny Shaw’s eighth goal of this league campaign looked to have won the day. Terland’s late dagger kept United’s unbeaten streak rolling as they look to build back toward the Champions League spots.

United’s number 10 will perhaps feel more relief than joy after her goal — she could easily have won this game for Eva Olid’s side, who produced a number of brilliant chances across both halves. United outshot and largely outplayed City, whose defensive vulnerabilities were on full display.

Olid went with the same starting eleven for the fourth WSL game in a row after three consecutive wins and their strong form has helped the Spaniard’s side build confidence as a unit. Though City gave United a more thorough examination than Charlton did last weekend, Olid will be happy with how her team built attacks and threatened City on the counter.

It was City that took control of the early going, and for the first 25 minutes it looked like this would be their derby to lose. Lauren Hemp looked to have a golden chance to score in the first 10 minutes, springing the offside trap and rounding an onrushing Phallon Tullis-Joyce, only for a questionable flag to save United. The City forward looked to be level and surely would have scored.

It may not be City’s only complaint about the way this derby was officiated. Maya Le Tissier’s plan to stop Shaw was to bully her and she was lucky to stay on the field on multiple occasions. She grappled with Shaw in the first half as the last defender, preventing her from running through on goal, and then crashed into Shaw off the ball five minutes later, sending her to the turf away from the gaze of the officials.

But unlike in United’s earlier games against elite WSL sides, Olid’s team found their feet. They were the better side for the final 15 minutes of the first period, with the combined threat of Ella Toone and Andrea Medina consistently breaking through City’s lines.

The pair combined to create United’s best chance of the first half. Medina’s beautifully timed run was found by Toone’s weighted pass, only for the Mexican’s low cross to find an unmarked Terland, whose disorganised feet failed to muster a shot from six yards out.

Terland had another excellent opportunity early in the second half, timing her run brilliantly to pierce City’s defence, only to scuff the ball straight at Yamashita one-on-one.

United continued to press after Terland’s misses and had this derby by the scruff of the neck by the hour mark, when Jess Park rattled the crossbar from range.

But United’s profligacy was punished by the imperious Shaw, whose Ballon d’Or candidacy grew in stature on Sunday night. Receiving the ball with her back to goal, Shaw held off United defender Dominique Janssen with ease before creating space and battering the ball past Tullis-Joyce into the far corner.

It was Shaw’s only real impact on the game, and City will be wishing that their best opportunity, which came late in the second half, had fallen to their star woman. Instead, it was substitute and former Manchester United player Grace Clinton who was presented with a chance to double City’s lead late on, only for her to sidefoot the ball across goal instead of bursting the net.

United were worthy of their equaliser, and Terland did well to strike home after a frustrating evening in front of goal. The 25-year-old has spent much of United’s season chasing lost causes and holding up play as an isolated forward, and that dirty work is clearly valuable to this United team.

However, despite her equaliser, United may be tempted into action in January after Melvine Malard’s exit in the summer. The Frenchwoman’s brace for Chelsea earlier on Sunday stands as a reminder of what United have lost.

City, meanwhile, looked fragile as they dropped points for the first time this season and lost their place atop the WSL table to Chelsea on goal difference.

United will look to keep the ball rolling against Everton next weekend, while City face another dangerous test away to London City Lionesses, who could leapfrog them with a win.

Arsenal took the spoils on north London derby day as goals from Georgia Stanway and Alessia Russo secured the Gunners’ first win since early September, however Spurs manager Martin Ho believes his side deserved more out of the game – particularly from the officials.

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Ho was upset with referee Phoebe Cross’s decision to give Arsenal an early second-half penalty and said he believed WSL officiating has “got worse” than it was last year.

Arsenal were awarded their penalty after a Lisa Baum shot struck the post, rebounded out and was cleared by a Tottenham defender, only for that clearance to clatter into the outstretched arm of Ella Morris standing around a yard away.

Ho said: “There was one early in the game which hits Baum’s hand, it’s the same distance, and then that [Morris penalty incident] happens in the box and it’s given, and they can’t even give you an explanation.

“It’s got worse. The refereeing this year has got worse than it was last year. I’m going back in [to see them] in a minute.”

IFAB rules dictate that if a player is struck on the hand or arm via a teammate’s touch, it should not be given as a penalty. The distance Morris was from the ball when it was struck was also minimal, and Ho was upset about both elements of the decision.

“You judge based on distance and time, and when you’re a yard away, and the time and distance means you’re unable to react, you can’t do anything, or move out of the way. That’s disappointing.”

He continued: “They [referees]have a hard enough job and I get it, but in games like this when it’s decided on things like that… and I thought the inconsistency throughout the game was the same. We just have to dust ourselves down but it’s frustrating that it’s decided on a decision like that, when the rule is in black and white and we get told that at the start of the season.”

Ho also took aim at the selection of referee for the derby. Phoebe Cross took charge of this fixture for the first time, and Ho believed her fourth official, Lisa Benn, would have been a more suitable selection.

“They need more support and more time, and I understand they can’t do more than one game on a weekend. It’s nothing against any of the referees but you’ve got an elite referee on the side of the pitch, for a big game. Put them in the middle.”

Spurs have now dropped their last three games to elite WSL opposition and look well out of the hunt for a Champions League place after a bright start to 2026-27.

A five-minute burst of pent-up frustration and energy was enough to propel Arsenal to a 2-1 victory over a spirited Spurs side in north London, as goals from Georgia Stanway and a second-half penalty from Alessia Russo guided the Gunners to an 11th WSL north London derby win.

The result will keep their manager Renée Slegers in her post for at least another week, but had it not been for an adrenaline-fuelled start to the second half, it could and perhaps would have been the same-old story for Arsenal, who were outplayed in the first half and struggled to kill the game in the second.

The Gunners started the second half with arguably their best 10 minutes of the season, attacking Spurs with pace and intent. They were almost immediately rewarded as excellent work down the left from Caitlin Foord opened space for Russo, whose shot was met with an outstanding save by Spurs goalkeeper Lize Kop.

Kop barely had time to settle herself before her goal was shelled once more. Thirty seconds later, a Lisa Baum shot cannoned off the post and was cleared straight into the arm of a startled Ella Morris, who was adjudged to have known just enough about it to be considered a guilty party.

Referee Phoebe Cross pointed to the spot — much to Spurs manager Martin Ho’s chagrin — and Russo calmly made up for her miss a minute earlier, sending Kop the wrong way for the eventual winner.

Spurs played their part in this derby, counter-attacking with verve and belief. They deserved to go ahead after 13 minutes, striking first through Cathinka Tandberg’s thumping header from a Victoria Pelova corner — her late run untracked by a sleepy Arsenal defence.

Despite their obvious frailties, Arsenal still had world-class players at their disposal. Georgia Stanway has been their main creative force in the final third this season and she was the one to equalise four minutes later, latching onto a Russo cut-back at the edge of the box and smashing it past Kop, whose hand could only divert it onto the underside of the bar.

Spurs continually showed their teeth on the counter throughout this contest and Ho will no doubt be delighted his side competed for 90 minutes against an elite WSL side — especially after Spurs were crushed underfoot by Chelsea and London City Lionesses in weeks prior.

He will, however, wonder what could have been as his side exposed Arsenal’s soft underbelly on the break and from dead balls. The Gunners don’t like being run at; don’t like defending crosses; don’t like defending set pieces. They looked frail and anxious at the back, but Spurs couldn’t land another punch after Tandberg’s opener.

As Spurs pushed for a winner, Arsenal looked more dangerous than they have all season on the counter. Runs in behind from Foord and Olivia Smith offered consistent threat, as did the ever-dangerous Baum, who was once again Arsenal’s brightest spark amid a dull first-half performance.

Arsenal’s full-time celebrations were loud and full of relief, revelling in a derby day victory with their 4,000 ‘travelling’ fans who made all the noise at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

Slegers said after the game that the fans were on her and the players’ minds, and that the decision to celebrate so vigorously after the final whistle was an off-the-cuff moment of joy and relief.

“We went to see the fans before the game for the warm-up and it was a nice little moment. Normally we do a huddle afterwards on the pitch and we decided to say, let’s go see the fans,” Slegers said. “There was not much more talking to do, so we enjoyed the celebrations and the three points.”

Spurs have now lost three WSL games in a row, all to elite sides, and their Champions League hopes look gone. Worse still, it looks as though Martin Ho will be without Alice Sombath for an extended period after she was stretchered off with what looked to be a serious knee injury.

Ho was upset with the decision that led to Arsenal’s winner, and with WSL officiating more broadly.

In his post-match press conference, Ho said: “It’s got worse. The refereeing this year has got worse than it was last year. I’m going back in [to see them] in a minute.”

He continued: “They [referees] have a hard enough job and I get it, but in games like this when it’s decided on things like that… and I thought the inconsistency throughout the game was the same. We just have to dust ourselves down but it’s frustrating that it’s decided on a decision like that, when the rule is in black and white and we get told that at the start of the season.”

For Arsenal, this derby day win will feel extra sweet after the torment of the past six weeks. Spurs must now “dust themselves down” and prepare to turn a corner against Birmingham next weekend.

After Arsenal’s 4-2 loss to WSL champions Manchester City at the start of this month, head coach Renée Slegers put her side’s poor start to the season down to the “margins” between Arsenal’s dominance in games and the results they were producing.

As November beckons, nothing has changed in that regard. Arsenal have just one win from their opening six games of the season – a 1-0 victory over Brighton on the opening weekend – and since then, they have picked up three league points, with two of those coming in draws against newly promoted sides.

The Gunners are looking to turn their fortunes around against Tottenham in the north London derby on Saturday afternoon, and Slegers seemed adamant about continuing Arsenal’s current possession-heavy method, which has often been criticised as lacking purpose and tempo.

Asked to define Arsenal’s style of play in her pre-match press conference on Friday, Slegers said: “I think how we look to dominate in possession; we look to be unpredictable and fluid with our positioning, we want to break lines, get a lot of bodies forward on the pitch when we attack, all those things. I think what you guys have seen is that we haven’t rewarded ourselves when we get into the final third with the final pass, the final cross, the final finish.”

The Gunners are up there with title contenders City and Chelsea in terms of possession, with all three teams enjoying roughly 63% of the ball over their first six games. However, according to Opta, Arsenal aren’t doing very much good with it.

Slegers’ team have the worst shot conversion rate (4.1%) in the WSL, despite taking the third most shots (121). They have the third-worst shooting accuracy at around 30%, and the third-lowest average xG per shot (0.09) in the league.

These numbers indicate that Slegers’ side aren’t creating quality chances, and end up drifting away from their goals of being “unpredictable”, “fluid” and trying to “break lines”. Instead, Arsenal are taking a lot of bad shots as they struggle to break down sides that are well prepared to stop them.

When Arsenal are able to craft a quality opportunity, they rarely take it. Slegers’ side have racked up 11 expected goals (xG) across their first six games, scoring only five times. Their total xG ranks below 12th-placed Brighton and their opponents on Saturday, Spurs.

Slegers cannot necessarily control how wasteful Arsenal have been in front of goal this season, but her job is defined by her ability to influence the process of chance creation through changes to tactics, philosophy and personnel.

In last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Birmingham City, Slegers deployed the in-form Alessia Russo in the No 10 role to deputise for the injured Mariona Caldentey, with the out-of-form Stina Blackstenius starting up front. It’s a combination that Slegers has often deployed throughout her Arsenal tenure, but it has very rarely brought results.

New signings Geraldine Reuteler and Georgia Stanway are both capable of playing more attacking midfield roles, however Slegers opted to move Russo away from her favoured position and away from goal – despite Russo being in a rich vein of scoring form. The England striker had scored five in her last four games for club and country heading into last Saturday’s game.

It’s one of several instances of Russo being moved around by Slegers this season, and it is showing up in her output. The 27-year-old has averaged around seven touches in the opposition box per 90 minutes this season, her lowest average since the 2023-24 campaign.

In her press conference, Slegers spoke of her side playing “faster” this season and that it was something they had worked on, specifically when facing low blocks or compact opposition. However the proof of that work is yet to be shown, and certainly doesn’t present itself in the data.

Arsenal have racked up the most final-third passes attempted (1,403) and completed (1,113) in the WSL so far this season, but have lacked any real cutting edge. This is still an Arsenal side that can move the ball around for fun, and the addition of Stanway – who has completed more final-third passes than any other WSL player – has cemented that part of their identity.

However, Arsenal find themselves stuck in front of teams, and cannot find a way to pull opposition defences out of their shape. These long phases of possession in an opponent’s third often results in the ball being crossed out of frustration rather than opportunity – Arsenal lead the league in crosses attempted, too.

The data and the eye test tell a very similar story about Arsenal this season, and the results of that are shown by the WSL league table.

Slegers said on Friday that she is “not looking at that table” and that she is taking things “game by game”. Each of those games comes with the hope that Slegers will finally be able to effect some positive changes on her team, and around 4,000 Arsenal fans will be in the away end at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium willing her and her team on.

Slegers had to endure some booing after last week’s 1-1 draw. It’s unclear what would be the final straw to trigger her exit, but unless Arsenal can find that long-awaited spark on Saturday, we may find out sooner rather than later.

Matchweek 6 was a decent enough week for The Scout. A total of 86 points was well above the 59-point league average and takes us to 504 points overall. That keeps us in the top 200 worldwide.

It’s worth noting that this score came from the entire squad, including the recommended subs and utilising mid-matchweek captaincy changes. Without those changes, the team would be 40 points worse off, and our 464-point total would leave us well out of the top 500. It pays to pay attention!

Our team for Matchweek 7 features plenty of changes. It’s worth £97.5m and lines up in a 4-4-2 formation.

Starting XI

Chiamaka Nnadozie (Brighton) £5.0m

As per, our starting goalkeeper needs to be playing on Saturday, with a backup on the bench for Sunday. Of the four teams playing on Saturday, I think Brighton are the ones most likely to keep a clean sheet, so in goes Nnadozie.

Amanda Nildén (Spurs) £5.0m

We’re going with another low-risk pick to start our defence. The Swede has played almost every minute for Spurs this season, so she can be considered a nailed-on starter for Saturday. For her to score good points, we’ll need Arsenal to carry on their poor form. If Arsenal do kick into gear and Nildén doesn’t score well, then we can bench her, hence the low risk.

Gabby George (Brighton) £4.0m

Similar to Nildén, George is playing on Saturday, so we can bench her if she doesn’t score some decent points. However, I’m backing a Brighton clean sheet this weekend and at just £4m, George is a great value pick.

Ellie Carpenter (Chelsea) £7.0m

In MW6, Carpenter became the top-scoring player in fantasy this season, now at 63 points. There’s a small rotation risk, with Chelsea facing Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday. But with an average of 10.5 points per match, Carpenter is worth the risk.

Lucy Bronze (Chelsea) £5.5m

Bronze is in the same boat as Carpenter regarding there being a small rotation risk, but her potential points haul also means the reward is worth it. She has started all six WSL matches and, with 47 points so far this season, she is the top-scoring player costing under £6m.

Olivia Smith (Arsenal) £7.5m

Arsenal have struggled in front of goal this season, but Smith’s screamer last time out shows that she is still capable of getting on the scoresheet. Slegers was a little negative about Smith after last week’s match, so if she is dropped, Baum is a better option. As the north London derby is the first match of the weekend, we can see the line-ups before confirming our transfers.

Océane Hurtré (Birmingham City) £6.0m

Hurtré was the first name on my fantasy teamsheet this week. She’s only three points off being the top-scoring player in the game, and has six goals in six matches. Her opposition, Charlton, are rock bottom of the league and conceding three goals per match on average. There was an injury worry for Hurtré at the weekend, but as she was named on the bench midweek, we can presume she’s fit. And even better, she didn’t play any minutes in Birmingham’s 5-0 win, so she’s rested.

Lauren James (Chelsea) £7.5m

It’s probably harder to think of reasons not to pick Lauren James. She started her last two matches for club and country, scoring four goals in the process. She’s averaging 10.75 points per match in fantasy and I’d expect her to be a star player against Palace this weekend. The only risk is that she might be rotated to keep her fresh for Roma in midweek. At the time of writing, James is the most transferred-in player this matchweek.

Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) £8.0m

Hemp’s 12.2 points per match is the highest of all players with two or more appearances. Although they’re away in the Manchester derby, City’s dominance in the WSL this season indicates that Hemp will still score a decent haul. She also scored against the Red Devils last season, so we know United are a good opponent for her.

Kiko Seike (Brighton) £7.0m

Forward picks are a struggle in MW7. WSL2 forwards dominate the pool of options, but there are no WSL2 teams with an ‘easy’ fixture this weekend. In the WSL, there aren’t too many forwards that are scoring goals consistently, so we need to look at fixtures.

Luckily, Brighton have two threatening forwards and are facing a West Ham side that have already conceded 10 goals this season. Seike is my pick over Garcia; both have played in all six matches, but Seike has accumulated more points so far and has a track record in the WSL.

If you don’t have the budget for Seike but still want a Brighton forward (which I would recommend!), then Olivia Garcia is still a great option at £4m.

Bunny Shaw (Manchester City) £12.5m

Shaw was back to her usual best after the international break, with a double-digit haul in MW6 against Brighton. United will likely pose a tougher threat, but Shaw registered a goal and an assist against the Red Devils in the WSL last season, and you’d be brave to bet against her getting another goal involvement this week.

The Bench

Sophie Baggaley (Birmingham City) £4.5m

For our Sunday goalie, I’ve gone for Baggaley. At 3.3 points per match, there have been better options in goal so far this season. However, she’s making our team due to her opponent, Charlton, who are averaging 0.5 goals per match and have accumulated the lowest xG in the WSL.

Ruby Mace (Everton) £5.5m

Villa are averaging 0.6 xG per game this season, so a defensive option in a team playing against them is a relatively safe bet – as is having an Everton defender. Only Chelsea have conceded fewer goals than the Toffees in the WSL this season and of the Everton defenders available, Mace is the most likely to score points.

Martha Thomas (Newcastle United) £5.0m

The only forward with more points than Thomas this season is Bunny Shaw – pretty good company to be in. She’s averaging 8.4 points per match this season and, although she has a tough fixture this week in Forest (A), she is great value at £5m.

Beth Lumsden (Newcastle United) £7.5m

When I started making this team, I wasn’t expecting to include Lumsden, to be honest. However, there was budget available, so let’s get the midfielder with the best average points return in WSL2 (9.0).

Captaincy choices

I’d be captaining a Brighton player for Saturday; there’s no obvious pick from the north London derby, and Brighton are likely to score goals this week. I’ll be going for Seike, but if you don’t have the budget, go for Garcia.

If Saturday’s captain doesn’t perform (I’m going to put the threshold at seven points), then we need to look at Sunday’s matches. We can wait for the Chelsea line-up before making our decision, as they are the first match on Sunday. My priority order would be James, Carpenter, then Hurtré. If neither James nor Carpenter is starting, go for Hurtré as she will almost certainly start.

Set-and-forget

If you haven’t got the time to make changes to your team on Sunday morning, then get the armband on Hurtré. In terms of your bench, set it in this order: Nnadozie, George, Smith, Nildén.

Differentials

These are the players that can give you the edge; the ones that most people have not noticed. Here are my top picks per position, with a maximum of 5% ownership:

GK: 3% - Sophie Baggaley (Birmingham City)

Defender: 3% - Amanda Nildén (Tottenham Hotspur)

Midfielder: 2% - Wieke Kaptein (Chelsea)

Forward: 2% - Olivia Garcia (Brighton)

Two of these picks are in this Scout team, and the other two were close to getting in. Even though we’re already six matchweeks into the season and everyone got unlimited transfers last week, there are still some seriously good differential picks to be had.

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For more fantasy tips, check out Decoding Fantasy WSL, the fantasy-focused show from The Cutback Podcast Network, with new episodes every Thursday. Search for ‘Decoding Fantasy WSL’ wherever you get your podcasts.

A few weeks ago, Tottenham were riding high and living life among the WSL’s elite.

Manager Martin Ho’s side had won three of their opening four games, scoring 15 goals and conceding just two.

Smash cut to mid-October and Spurs are heading into the north London derby having conceded 12 goals across two crushing defeats to London City Lionesses and Chelsea. They remain fourth in the table, but the gap to London City, Chelsea and Manchester City has grown.

Spurs can be forgiven for losing against title-chasing Chelsea and a stacked London City side, but fans are rightfully worried about the manner of those defeats — games that suddenly went from finely poised to embarrassing.

Last week’s 6-2 defeat to Chelsea created fear among the Spurs faithful ahead of Saturday’s derby, but Ho believes there’s no need to panic and calls for patience with a young team that he believes is building toward something special.

“I think [the difference between] everyone’s expectations from last year to now is that we finished fifth, so [now] they expect us to finish in the top three, and we should be competing for this and this,” he tells The Cutback.

“We’re 15, 16 months into a totally different direction, a journey that the club want to go on. And if we want to be where those teams are — like Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, London City — then we have to take time to build this in a sustainable way.

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Brighton and Hove Albion are among many teams challenging for a place at the top table in the Women’s Super League.

The club made a promising leap towards that goal under manager Dario Vidošić, finishing fifth in his first season, then seventh and reaching a cup final in his second term. The Seagulls earned a reputation for being a high-pressing side, placing fifth in high turnovers (257) and scoring the fourth-most goals from them last season.

Brighton followed that up with some shrewd signings in the summer, but then suffered Vidošić’s shock departure in late August.

The Seagulls replaced Vidošić with Arturo Ruiz, a 29-year-old sports psychology graduate from Madrid who has quickly made a name for himself as a coach who can exceed expectations with unfancied squads. He guided Atlético Madrid and then Real Sociedad to Europe, and Brighton were hoping he could repeat that trick for a third time.

So far, Ruiz is struggling to make it work. Brighton are 12th in the WSL table with one win and three losses from six games. They are one of four WSL teams that have failed to keep a clean sheet this season, and half of their league goals were scored against minnows Charlton Athletic, who sit rock bottom.

Last weekend’s 3-2 loss to defending champions Manchester City came against a side they beat by the same scoreline last season. Brighton made four changes to their starting line-up and, despite conceding three early goals, competed well against a team that are unbeaten in all competitions.

Results aren’t going their way, but are Brighton’s performances good enough to turn things around?

What’s working? What’s different?

Brighton have carried several core principles over from their previous manager. Both Vidošić and Ruiz primarily use a back four in their starting formation, but there are important differences in how they choose to build up, how they press out of possession and which areas they try to progress the ball through.

Ruiz has used a 4-3-3 or a 4-1-4-1, while also switching to a back three in some games to utilise their pool of centre-backs and hybrid full-backs in defence. Real Sociedad and Granada both used a 4-4-2 formation for their starting line-ups under Ruiz, with a dash of back-five formations when facing specific opponents. Adaptability was key to Ruiz’s success.

His basic principles are focused on controlled possession and a build-up phase with a particular focus on using the flanks to progress the ball, with wide players responsible for creating and finishing chances. The team likes to build out with long, methodical possession sequences that often involve touches from several players in order to progress through the thirds.

This is reflected in the numbers this season. Brighton under Ruiz have the second-highest average ball-in-play time behind leaders City and are far more patient with the ball. On average, Brighton enjoy 15 long spells of open-play possession per match (10 or more passes), double last season’s figure.

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Hello and welcome back to NWSL Crunchtime, The Cutback’s newsletter for the business end of the National Women’s Soccer League season.

If you missed last week’s NWSL Crunchtime, then get caught up right here.

Only two regular-season games remain and it is all to play for.

Gotham FC, the San Diego Wave, and the Washington Spirit make up the top three and are guaranteed a playoff spot. Forty-eight points is still the magic number to clinch a post-season berth, and the KC Current and Angel City are inching closer after wins this weekend.

If you love chaos and tracking the week-by-week turbulent nature of the end of the season, then definitely follow Alison Gale on BlueSky (chart below).

Seattle leapfrog into 8th

It was no surprise that the Seattle Reign travelled to the bottom side in the NWSL this weekend and came away with three points. The Chicago Stars are having one of the worst seasons in league history, and a 3-1 win for the Reign was par for the course. It was Seattle’s first away win since 1 August.

Regardless of the opposition, this was a massive moment for Seattle. Before Sunday, Laura Harvey’s team had lost three of their previous four matches. After looking safe in the playoff spots through the summer, the Autumn has humbled them. Now making the playoffs is back in their hands.

This season’s unsung hero for the Reign, Maddie Mercado, was at it again. She scored a brace to bring her total for the season up to 10. For a player bombed out on loan to Carolina Ascent in the USL Super League last season, that’s quite an impressive turnaround.

Surging San Diego

The San Diego Wave made it five wins on the spin after beating the NC Courage 2-1 away on Saturday. The last three wins in that streak have all come away from home. Jonas Eidevall’s team is now the most in-form team in the NWSL and has taken 25 points from a possible 33 since the start of August, with an incredible 21 points from 24 over their last eight games. That one defeat was a narrow 1-0 loss to Seattle.

As they so often do, the Wave took an early lead, via Melanie Barcenas after four minutes, and then tried to control proceedings. Trinity Byars then made it 2-0 after half-time. At this point in the game, the Wave had 58% possession and almost twice the xG. Despite giving up a late goal to former Manchester United midfielder Vilde Bøe Risa, San Diego saw out the game, soaked up pressure, and showed off their resilience and calm.

The win puts San Diego just one point off the top of the table with a home playoff match and a top-four finish now guaranteed. They are the team to beat in the NWSL and will have fans in New Jersey and New York very, very nervous indeed.

That’s the Spirit

After several weeks of existential crises about whether the Washington Spirit would ever turn their home stadium of Audi Field back into a fortress, the team responded with an enormous 1-0 win over league leaders and East Coast rivals Gotham FC. Prior to this weekend, the Spirit had lost five of their previous six at home. Abigail Segal has more on the biggest game of the regular season here.

The result has revitalised the race for the playoffs and the NWSL Shield trophy. Gotham once had a nine-point lead on the Spirit but that has now been cut to three. San Diego has benefited massively, too. All three teams have very similar goal differences, adding some extra spice to the recipe.

Buckle up, because this is the best NWSL Shield race in many, many years. Gotham and the Spirit have never won the regular season title before, while the Wave lifted it once in 2023 under former manager Casey Stoney.

Thorn to run

As expected, Sophia Wilson was handed a two-game suspension for a hair pull before the international break. And so, the Portland Thorns began their stretch without their biggest star by drawing 2-2 away to Bay FC.

The topsy-turvy affair saw the Thorns take the lead first, before Bay scored twice to flip the scoreline. Caiya Hanks then saved Portland’s blushes with an 87th-minute equaliser.

With just one win in their last seven games, Portland have slipped all the way down to seventh in the table. Although missing Wilson will hurt, Morgan Weaver and Hanks showed there is quality among the attacking replacements. After all, it is the Thorns’ defence that people will point fingers at.

Portland rank last among the top-half teams for goals conceded (41) and have just one clean sheet in their last 14 matches. Robert Vilahamn’s team haven’t kept a clean sheet away from home since 3 May against Chicago.

What to watch out for

The game of the week once again falls on the Washington Spirit (3rd), who will travel to Kansas City to face the Current (4th) on Sunday [25 October, 5.00 pm ET / 1.00pm UK].

What’s at stake? So, so much.

The Spirit will be doing everything to keep their Shield hopes alive while also wanting to seal hosting a playoff match come November. Meanwhile, the Current are one point away from clinching a playoff place and will also be eager to secure home advantage in the post-season.

Home bragging rights mean something more in Missouri. KC boasts the best home record in the NWSL (W10 - D4 - L0) and have only lost one regular-season game at CPKC Stadium in their history (2-1 to the Orlando Pride in July 2024).

The club is also looking to get a record 18,000 people on to the stadium premises this weekend by selling $10 “ground passes”. Roughly 6,000 of those will not be in the stands due to capacity limits, and will instead watch the game on a 12.1-metre screen.

There’s also the small matter of the Croix Bethune derby. Bethune was a standout star for the Spirit for two seasons before a $1.1 million move to KC. The Current were thrashed 4-0 in her first reunion with her former side. Now, in front of her new home fans, there will be added emphasis on showing her old employer what they’re missing.

Recently, Bethune has struggled for fitness, but she did come off the bench for the Current in their 2-0 win away to the Utah Royals. If she gets one more assist, it will bring her total for the season up to 11, setting a new NWSL record.

Renée Slegers cut a forlorn figure after her Arsenal side made it five matches without a WSL win on Saturday, setting an unwanted club record in the process.

The Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw against Birmingham City thanks to lacklustre chance creation and Birmingham’s French speedster Océane Hurtré, who opened the scoring by tearing through the Arsenal defence and dinking one over Misa Rodríguez.

It was the second time this season that Arsenal have failed to beat newly promoted opposition at home. For Slegers, the pressure is beginning to boil over.

Quizzed on her future after the game, the former Dutch international said: “Everything I want is the best for us, and all the best for these players. I think if that’s not the case anymore, then a change needs to happen. But I have belief in knowing where we can go with this team, and it’s been really tough.”

As contradictory as the statement is, it’s the first time Slegers has acknowledged that change could be coming. This was Arsenal’s third draw in as many games at Emirates Stadium this season and there were familiar failings on display.

As had been the case against Manchester United, Arsenal took far too long to find their attacking rhythm. They registered just eight shots and one big chance in the first half, despite having 76% of the possession.

Arsenal’s best chance of the first half came when Birmingham pressed them in the centre of the pitch. Stanway threaded a ball through for Olivia Smith, whose eventual cutback was scuffed wide by Blackstenius.

When Birmingham set up in a low block, however, Arsenal struggled to create chances of note. Alessia Russo’s header hit the post after a quality Leah Williamson cross provided a rare piece of incisiveness.

Slegers was explicit in her criticism of her team’s sluggish approach in the first half: “It’s hard for us to build momentum because I think the tempo needed to be higher and our basics in everything – in the duelling positional detail, all the ball basics… I think we turned it over at times and then we lost momentum.”

Things would get worse before they got better for Slegers’ team at the start of the second half. WSL top scorer Océane Hurtré put the visitors ahead with a beautiful run and finish, burning Ona Batlle for pace and lifting the ball beyond Misa in the Arsenal net.

Arsenal were caught by a sucker-punch counterattack for the second home game in a row while chasing a goal of their own. The ball went from the edge of the Birmingham box to the back of the Arsenal net in a matter of seconds.

The goal also exposed a key structural weakness in Arsenal’s setup. The Gunners’ only win of this WSL season came at Brighton on the opening weekend, and The Cutback highlighted vulnerabilities down the left side of their defence after the match. This didn’t cost them on the day, but Birmingham manager Amy Merricks had noticed that particular chink in their armour.

Merricks told The Cutback after the match that Hurtré’s run and finish, which cut through the gap on the left-hand side of Arsenal’s defence, was part of a deliberate tactical ploy.

“That was absolutely part of the plan,” she said. “We know where their strengths lie and we know where their weaknesses lie.”

Hurtré fully exploited that weakness. She was already running into the space behind Batlle by the time Neve Herron took possession and was well clear of the Spanish full-back by the time the ball in behind reached her feet.

Batlle is not the only defender culpable here. Lotte Wubben-Moy doesn’t cover herself in glory either, failing to make the interception.

There was more to like from Arsenal’s performance after Hurtré’s goal. The bulk of the home side’s chances came in the final half-hour, with the Gunners generating two expected goals in this period compared with 0.7 in the first hour.

This at least shows that Slegers’ team are still capable of playing with energy and directness, but the contrast between the final 30 minutes and the previous hour highlights Arsenal’s biggest problem this season. They fail to reach an acceptable tempo in possession until it’s almost too late.

In the end, Arsenal’s equaliser came from a moment of individual brilliance. Olivia Smith followed up her two goals on international duty for Canada with another excellent long-range strike. Closer to goal, Arsenal once again could not find their finishing touch. Their five goals this season now represent less than half of their 11 expected goals.

Speculation over Slegers’ future will continue as Arsenal head into next weekend’s north London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Gunners are four points behind neighbours Tottenham and nine points behind the Champions League places.

Spurs have conceded 12 goals in their last two WSL games, giving Arsenal an opportunity to find their scoring touch. Anything other than a win would bring further pressure on Slegers and her players.

The Washington Spirit sealed their spot in the NWSL playoffs after beating league leaders Gotham 1-0 on Saturday in DC.

Lucia Di Guglielmo’s first ever NWSL goal was enough to secure all three points for Spirit, who record back-to-back wins for the first time since the beginning of September.

It’s the third consecutive time that these two sides have played out a 1-0 scoreline, but this time, it was Washington on the winning side.

The result has considerable implications for Adrián González’s side. It secures a spot in the postseason, and it proves that they can slay Gotham, a feat they haven’t completed since 2024. It also prevented Gotham from securing the Shield and cut their lead over the San Diego Wave to just one point with two games to go.

The match - a rematch of the 2025 NWSL Championship - saw an athletic, motivated Spirit side face off against a less energetic but well-organised Gotham. Gotham may have dominated possession, but the home side was by far more effective when they did have the ball.

From the jump, Washington played with a dynamic confidence that’s been rare over the last few months. With September signing Clara Luvanga making her first start for the side, as well as Trinity Rodman and Sofia Cantore putting in dynamic shifts on the wings, the Spirit had a high press that frequently challenged Gotham’s bread and butter: their high defensive line.

Luvanga at the No 9 also provided an effective outlet when Washington needed an option. Throughout the match, Rodman and Luvanga proved they have a good connection. Once Luvanga adapts her finishing skills to NWSL defences, she’s posed to do some real damage, just ask the Houston Dash.

It wasn’t just Washington’s front line that looked revitalised. With Leicy Santos back in the lineup for the first time since the start of August, the midfield looked extremely balanced. Hal Hershfelt put in a great shift breaking pressure and preventing turnovers, while Andi Sullivan’s distribution shone through.

For Gotham, who registered five shots to Washington’s 13, Rose Lavelle’s machinations on the right side were pretty much the only attacking threat. Striker Sam Kerr was isolated all game, desperately missing Jordynn Dudley and Jaedyn Shaw alongside her. Dudley, the rookie winger, has given defenders immense trouble all season long but was placed on the season-ending injury list during the international break, while Shaw picked up a knock during the international window and wasn’t fit enough to feature off the bench.

The best chance of the first half came in the 44th minute, when Cantore crossed in a ball to Rodman who got a head to it. The ball looked destined to loop over Ann-Katrin Berger and into the far post, but the German keeper made a spectacular diving save. Rodman kept pushing, however. Soon after, she won a duel with Jess Carter and looked to be heading to goal, but the ref called a foul, much to Rodman and the crowd’s displeasure.

The second half saw the introduction of Mélissa Bethi, one of Washington’s summer signings, in exchange for Santos, who is still coming back from injury. Bethi thoroughly proved her utility as a playmaker for Washington.

In the 69th minute, she sent a penetrating ball up to kickstart a breakaway for Luvanga. However, centre back Tierna Davidson recovered and disrupted Luvanga enough for Berger to pick it up.

But a mistake by Davidson in the next minute led to Washington’s golden opportunity. Her misplaced pass from the back found Cantore, who collected the ball and despite pressure attempted a through ball past the back line. Taryn Torres was smart to it, but her sliding block sent the ball to Bethi. The Algerian chipped an aerial ball over Gotham players and to an incoming Lucia Di Guglielmo. The full-back trapped the ball and, in a moment of grit, fought Torres’s pressure to stick it into the back of the net for her first NWSL goal.

The goal was Washington’s first against Gotham in the regular season since June 2024, and their first goal at Audi Field in nearly two months.

Washington did not let up despite taking the lead. Shortly after Di Guglielmo’s goal, Rodman took the ball on the counter, cut inside, and managed a shot. It was again blocked by Davidson, but it found Bethi again, who took a shot that rattled off the crossbar.

Gotham made some attacking-minded subs in order to drum up an equaliser, the most effective of whom was new signing Olivia Wingate, but ultimately Sandy MacIver and her back line managed the clean sheet without much wavering.

“I think what happened today, my first goal, is because of all the work we did all season,” Di Guglielmo said after the game. “I’m really happy that it happened today. It’s kind of a dream. Everything is perfect. But I also think that when you work consistently all season, then things like that happen.”

Saturday’s results were not what Gotham wanted. “We have a lot of work to do,” coach Juan Carlos Amorós said of his team’s Shield push.

“The Shield is still in our hands. We have two more games to go, and if we win those two games, we win the Shield,” O’Sullivan said. “We need to keep our heads up and move on from this and focus on next week.”

Jaelin Howell concurred: “Going forward - we’ve been in a position before where our backs are against the wall - we have to lean on each other, and I have no doubt that we’ll be able to do that.”

Washington, who kept themselves in the Shield race with the win, will do everything they can to put up a fight. There is much that has been made of the budding rivalry between the clubs. Indeed, defeating Gotham has seemed to be Washington’s white whale for the past couple of years.

But for Sullivan, her team has a lot to be proud of, regardless of who was on the other side of the pitch. “The quality of what we brought, I think, is the most important thing for us,” the captain said. “But yeah, it feels a little bit good to do it against Gotham because we’ve struggled against them for a little bit.”

“Today we wanted to feel that joy, that energy, that feeling that we are able to beat any team, being brave, being proud of every single player, every single fan that came today,” González said after the match. “And I think it’s important for us, for the club, for the fans to have a performance like this. And also, clinching playoffs for the third season in a row is not easy.”

Chelsea responded emphatically to a spirited Spurs first half performance, scoring three times in nine minutes after the break to secure a commanding 6-2 victory at Stamford Bridge.

Lauren James and Ellie Carpenter both scored twice, while goals from Sjoeke Nüsken and Maika Hamano kept Chelsea unbeaten in the WSL this season.

Spurs’ defensive shape left gaps for Chelsea to exploit, with their two defensive midfielders, Signe Gaupset and Drew Spence, often positioned too high to protect the space in front of the back four.

Chelsea repeatedly looked to exploit those gaps with runs and balls in behind, but Spurs’ defenders, particularly Toko Koga and Ella Morris, did well to recover and limit Melvine Málard and Alyssa Thompson’s opportunities in the first half, blocking shots and making crucial tackles.

Chelsea’s pressure eventually paid off in the 25th minute when Lauren James stole the ball from Toko Koga as she tried to play out from the back. James drove towards goal, holding off a challenge before firing home from an extremely tight angle to beat Lize Kop at the far corner. It was a finish that showcased her individual quality, once again making a difficult chance look deceptively simple.

Spurs drew level just before half-time through Matilda Vinberg, who finished from close range after Julie Blakstad was given far too much time and space on the left edge of the box. It was a well-earned reward for Spurs’ attacking quality in the first half, and they looked to have Chelsea stunned for a period afterwards. Two minutes later, Drew Spence took the opportunity to shoot from range, narrowly clearing the crossbar.

Spurs manager Martin Ho could be seen applauding and urging his players to sustain that intensity, but Chelsea responded in kind by scoring three times in nine minutes to kill the game.

Chelsea’s go-ahead goal came after Alyssa Thompson made an excellent run down the left and delivered for Ellie Carpenter, who fired past Kop. The combination between Thompson and Carpenter has become a familiar and effective feature of Chelsea’s play over the past two seasons — as has the brilliance of Lauren James.

James doubled Chelsea’s lead minutes later, scoring her second of the afternoon. After assessing the options either side of her, she decided to go alone. Her finish found the bottom-right corner, reigniting the energy and noise inside Stamford Bridge.

Sjoeke Nüsken added a fourth five minutes later, making an immediate impact off the bench, before substitute Hamano scored the fifth with a screamer into the top corner. Gaupset’s consolation goal immediately after the restart had no bearing on the result.

James came close to completing her hat-trick, in the final few minutes as Chelsea fans bayed for a sixth. Ellie Carpenter fulfilled their wishes, scoring an excellent goal on the turn with her left foot in stoppage time.

For Spurs, it is now two challenging back-to-back defeats after they lost 6-1 to London City Lionesses in their previous match before the international break. However, despite the lopsided scorelines, the Lilywhites have demonstrated that they have enough attacking talent to regain their early-season form.

Chelsea, meanwhile, look like a thoroughbred in what could become a two-horse race in the WSL this season.

In a leisure centre on White Hart Lane in north London, a blast of high-pitched screams rings out.

England and Arsenal striker Alessia Russo has just arrived at the second edition of The Alessia Cup, a girls’ football tournament that takes her name and is organised under the banner of her foundation. The noise is being made by 18 teams of teenagers who have just realised their heroine has arrived.

Russo walks around the pitch, chatting to girls whose mouths have practically hit the floor. They are starstruck and overexcited, but the moment is as surreal for Russo as it is for the girls. England’s shy superstar is still getting used to her status four years after she announced herself to the world during Euro 2022.

“It does feel weird”, she says. “And I say it to my parents all the time that it just feels weird that that is a thing. I see myself as just Alessia from Maidstone. I’m just a normal 27-year-old girl. I love doing normal things.”

Russo is speaking to The Cutback the day after England’s emphatic 5-0 win over Greece in World Cup qualifying, and at the end of an international window during which she scored three goals in two games.

The 27-year-old launched the Alessia Russo Foundation last year with a focus on participation, empowerment and education around women’s health. The Alessia Cup has become a core part of the foundation’s activation and, in partnership with Sky, the event brings together teams from around north London for much more than just a football tournament.

There are dance classes, photo booths, face painting, T-shirt printing, menstrual health workshops, free boots from Adidas, and a chance to play Sky Sports reporter for the day. It is a playground of joy for the hundreds of 14-year-olds taking part.

For Russo, the tournament and wider work of the foundation are about creating a tangible legacy, and ensuring that girls across the country can access the football opportunities that she had.

“The grassroots is so important. It’s something that lays the foundation for your love for football. But there’s still girls that can’t play, haven’t got teams, or their teams fold.

“I was very fortunate as a kid that I had a really good grassroots and academy journey, but I did start in boys’ football teams, until I got a girls’ team. I didn’t mind. I’ve grown up with two older brothers, so I’ve always liked competing against the boys. But I know that that might put a few girls off. I think it’s important to make sure that we don’t miss out on finding the next superstar.”

Russo, like many of her Lionesses teammates, grew up playing with boys because that was so often the only option available. The Arsenal striker’s journey started at Bearsted FC boys’ team in Kent, before she later moved on to Charlton and Chelsea.

As she works her way through the crowds on tournament day, stopping for photos and signing autographs, she’s reminded of interactions she had with her idols as a child.

“I know it definitely had an impact on me when I was younger and I met Kelly [Smith] at my school,” she says, referencing the now famous picture that Smith posted on her X account in 2012, when she highlighted Russo as a future “top player for England”.

“When you can see someone that’s like you doing something that you want to do, it makes you believe it that little bit more. I hope it can have even the slightest impact on a few of them to go on and want to pursue football.”

Legendary England striker Smith is now back at Arsenal as an assistant coach working specifically with Russo and the other forwards. Russo describes it as an “amazing full circle moment” to now learn from Smith, who scored 46 goals for England and 130 for Arsenal.

Finding form is the ultimate challenge for every striker, and despite the “tough” start to Arsenal’s season, which currently sees them 10th in the WSL table, Russo’s own form has turned a corner.

Having failed to score in her opening five games of the season in all competitions, Russo is now on a run of four goals in her last five games for club and country. It all started with an impressive finish in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Paris FC in the Champions League – a moment that seemed to break a seal for the forward.

Since that goal, she’s not only grabbed more, but finished from distance with confidence and ease. The statement goal came in Arsenal’s 4-2 defeat to Manchester City, where Russo bent one into the bottom corner.

Russo admits that with experience has come an acknowledgement that she needs to work on the mental side of her game.

“I’ve learned that as I’ve gotten older. When I was younger, with how the start of the season went, I would have beaten myself up even more, and it probably would have taken me even longer to get back firing. But as I get older, I understand the importance of talking to people, letting emotions out, and then also finding solutions.

“I think that the more you sit and dwell on not scoring and missing big chances, the more it affects you.”

It was a meeting with the Arsenal psychologist just before the Paris FC game that helped everything click.

“We have great people both at Arsenal and England that I can speak to and open up. And I did that actually before the Paris game to our psychologist at Arsenal, and he was great. And then after that, things did click. Whether it was a coincidence or not, I don’t know. But I think the little 1% in tough moments of elite sports are really important.”

Russo has now hit the run of form we’ve become accustomed to: when she hits a streak, she can’t stop. But what does it actually feel like to be in a goalscoring run where every shot seems to go in?

“It’s a tough question. I think that chances come easier than when you’re not in that space, and it’s not that you’re doing anything wrong. I think that when you’re just in a flow, things kind of fall into place.

“I also think when things aren’t going well for me, I like to really strip it back and just focus on training and I think then that sets me up for then things to flow into place, not overcomplicating things.

“I would be the first one to be frustrated and angry that I’m not scoring and helping contribute to the team. But I think the more you get in that mindset, the less likely things are to come. So I think it’s just staying really free in your mind, working hard in training, hitting the back of the net in training, and in all your chances that you get. And then I think that that makes it come alive on a game day.”

The Alessia Cup provides the perfect antidote to the high intensity and pressure of professional football, reminding Russo of why she started playing football in the first place.

“I just feel such a sense of gratitude and a weight off my shoulders,” Russo says. “Things are so intense in the football world and there’s so much pressure, but you feel so grateful for what we are doing with young girls and I think it’s a moment where you can kind of step back and just enjoy seeing all the smiles on these kids’ faces. Your love for football is in them too, and it’s a really special feeling.”

As the tournament day comes to an end, and Russo works her way through the carousel of signature and selfie requests, priorities turn back to the WSL and Arsenal. The Alessia Russo Foundation will continue to build, with more tournaments planned across the country, but for now it’s back to the Emirates, and the pressure.

Such is the life of the superstar striker.

The WSL returns this weekend after the international break, which means it’s also the start of a new ‘leg’, with Matchweek 6 kicking off Leg 2 for fantasy. A new leg means ALL fantasy managers get unlimited transfers in Matchweek 6, and it’s incredibly important to get them right.

There are no WSL2 matches in MW6 or MW8 due to cup competition activity, so you’ll need to take that into account. Leg 2 is also the longest of the season at six matchweeks – we won’t get unlimited transfers again until MW12, unless you use your wildcard, of course.

But before we look ahead to MW6, let’s take a look back at MW5. Our team scored 83 points, bringing us to 418 for the season. That puts us 154th in the world and just seven points from the top 100.

The team below is worth £98.5m and lines up in a 3-5-2 formation.

Starting XI

Anneke Borbe (Arsenal) £4.5m

Borbe’s inclusion in this team is a tactical one. Hannah Hampton is on the bench and, with a clean sheet in her last four WSL appearances, she’s likely to return points. But it’s always sensible to start a keeper playing on Saturday and sub them out if they don’t perform.

Arsenal have rotated their keepers this season, but luckily for us, Arsenal’s line-up will be out before the deadline. I’m expecting Borbe to be Slegers’ pick but if someone else starts in goal, put them in instead. We have the budget to move to Misa if needed.

Ellie Carpenter (Chelsea) £7.0m

Carpenter is the highest-scoring defender in the game so far this season on 48 points, and it’s not just clean sheets where the marauding Australian scores points. She has scored points from goals, assists, attacking actions, defensive actions and bonus points. We’re tripling up on Chelsea and Carpenter is an easy pick.

Andrea Medina (Manchester United) £5.5m

One of the signings of the season so far, Medina has been on fire for United. She’s facing a Charlton side with the bluntest attack in the league, having scored just two goals in the opening five matches. Medina will also be riding the high of making her debut for the Spanish senior side during the international break.

Alex Greenwood (Manchester City) £6.0m

It’ll probably come as no surprise that we’re also tripling up on City this week. They are the only team to have taken all 15 points and have conceded just six goals in the process. Greenwood’s 5.4 points per match represents decent value for her £6m price, and she’s also a good pick considering she’s on corners and free-kicks.

Lisa Baum (Arsenal) £6.5m

The German’s transfer didn’t create too many headlines in the summer, mainly due to the lofty reputations of Arsenal’s other signings. However, five matches in, many would argue that she has been Arsenal’s best signing this season and potentially their best player outright. She’s facing a Birmingham City side averaging 2.4 goals conceded per match, so there are points to be scored here.

Océane Hurtré (Birmingham City) £6.0m

A difficult fixture, but that hasn’t mattered for Hurtré so far this season. Birmingham City are yet to win a game but Hurtré is the top-scoring player in fantasy and also joint-top for both goals and goal involvements in the WSL. Because her match is on Saturday, you can put her in your XI and then bench her if she doesn’t return well. It’s a low-risk, high-reward pick.

Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) £8.0m

Lauren Hemp is the second-highest scorer in fantasy behind Hurtré. The Lioness played good minutes in both matches during the international break, so we know her fitness is good and she’s likely to be available. Brighton (H) is a relatively kind fixture for a team with a 100% record, so expect good points.

Alexia Putellas (London City Lionesses) £8.5m

Even the very best need time to settle, but it’s not taken long for Putellas. She averaged 2.5 points across her first two matches before averaging 11.7 across the next three, including a 16-point haul against Spurs in MW5. She’s expensive, but she’s worth it.

Daniëlle van de Donk (London City Lionesses) £4.5m

Another LCL player makes the squad thanks to a kind fixture this weekend. Everton have been defensively strong so far, but LCL have the quality to disrupt the Toffees’ solidity. At just £4.5m, the Dutch midfielder is fantastic value, especially given how often she has played further up the pitch.

Bunny Shaw (Manchester City) £12.5m

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 67% of teams have Shaw and it’s easy to see why. She’s the joint-top-scoring forward (42 points) and has historically been a safe premium pick. She also netted for Jamaica during the international break, which suggests she should be available this weekend.

Beata Olsson (Liverpool) £6.5m

A slightly left-field pick, but hear me out. Liverpool face Villa this weekend, the side that has conceded the most xG in the WSL this season. Vivien Endemann has generally been a better pick so far this season, but the German didn’t feature in MW5 due to a minor calf injury and was not called up for international duty.

If Endemann doesn’t play, Olsson will be the player Liverpool look to for goals on Sunday. Olsson didn’t make it on to the pitch for Sweden during the international break, but she was on the bench for both matches, suggesting she should be physically fit and available for Sunday.

The Bench

Hannah Hampton (Chelsea) £5.5m

Chelsea’s opponents this weekend, Spurs, may be the top scorers in the WSL this season, but they’ve not faced Hannah Hampton yet. She’s only conceded one goal this season and has kept a clean sheet in her last four. Unless Borbe (or Misa) gets a good points haul on Saturday, Hampton will be coming in for Sunday’s game.

Melvine Malard (Chelsea) £8.0m

Forwards are an area where we’re going to take a bit of risk this week. Malard has been decent value this season, but only when she has played. She’s averaged six points in the three matches she has featured in after missing the opening two. At £8m she’s not the cheapest option, but as we have the budget, she’s a good pick.

Hanna Lundkvist (Manchester United) £5.0m

Similar to Medina, Lundkvist’s inclusion is driven by the fact that United are likely to keep a clean sheet this weekend. The defender has played the full 90 in her team’s last four WSL matches and in both Sweden matches during the international break. The only reason she hasn’t made our XI is because she is less likely to score attacking-action points than the defenders we have picked.

Alejandra Bernabé (Liverpool) £4.5m

Liverpool’s opponents this weekend, Aston Villa, are averaging 0.6 xG per match this season, so it’s always useful to pick a defender facing them. Bernabé is averaging 5.2 points per match, which makes her great value for her £4.5m price tag.

Captaincy choices

You know the drill, we’re doing separate captains for Saturday and Sunday.

For me, Lisa Baum is the player in Arsenal v Birmingham most likely to score the most points, so she’ll be getting my armband for Saturday. If she doesn’t return at least seven points, it’ll move over to Bunny Shaw for Sunday.

Set-and-forget

Borbe, Baum and Hurtré were all easy picks for the XI because they play on Saturday and can be replaced by bench players if they don’t perform. However, if you’re not going to tinker with your team on Sunday morning, you probably don’t want to start all three. I’d recommend setting your bench in this order: Borbe, Hurtré, Lundkvist, Bernabé.

As for the captaincy, just put it straight on Bunny Shaw, as she’s most likely to score well this week.

Differentials

These are the players that can give you the edge; the ones that most people have not noticed. Here are my top picks per position, with a maximum of 5% ownership:

GK: 2% - Elene Lete (London City Lionesses)

Defender: 1% - Hanna Lundkvist (Manchester United)

Midfielder: 3% - Lexi Lloyd-Smith (Crystal Palace)

Forward: 4% - Beata Olsson (Liverpool)

MW6 is probably the hardest matchweek of the season so far for picking differentials. Unlimited transfers mean that ‘hidden gems’ like Océane Hurtré and Andrea Medina are being picked up by a lot of teams. There are also no WSL2 fixtures, removing another source of high-quality differentials.

But there are still a few great shouts. I expect both LCL and Man Utd to keep clean sheets this weekend, so having a nailed-on starter from each is useful. Lexi Lloyd-Smith is at home to a West Ham side that have lost their last three. And with Endemann’s fitness in doubt, Olsson is likely to be Liverpool’s main goal threat.

Don’t forget to sub (to us)

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For more fantasy tips, check out Decoding Fantasy WSL, the fantasy-focused show from The Cutback Podcast Network, with new episodes every Thursday. Search for ‘Decoding Fantasy WSL’ wherever you get your podcasts.

Manchester City are the only perfect team in the WSL. They’ve won their opening five games of the 2026-27 WSL season, scoring 16 goals and conceding six.

Andrée Jeglertz’s side beat Arsenal 4-2 in their most recent league game, coming from behind twice to pile pressure onto the Gunners and their manager Renée Slegers. City have also remained unbeaten across all competitions this season.

There were questions around Manchester City’s summer transfer business and their ability to cope with the demands of European competition. The 2025-26 champions responded with a relatively quiet transfer window, making just three signings.

Their most important addition this summer may actually be their mantra: “We will find a way.”

Jeglertz’s side have come from behind four times in seven games across all competitions to rescue a result. They have not always dominated games, but they have repeatedly absorbed pressure and found a way through.

They did so against Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and now Arsenal.

Is there a secret behind City’s ability to win without always being convincing?

The good

City have a thin but undeniably talented squad. They have exceptional players in every department. City set up in a 4-2-3-1, with Khadija Shaw spearheading the attack and Lauren Hemp and Aoba Fujino operating from the flanks. Yui Hasegawa controls midfield alongside Sam Coffey in the double pivot, while Jade Rose and Alex Greenwood provide the defensive foundation.

Jeglertz’s attacking system has plenty of variety. City can go long or build with short passes. They can cross, attack the channels and play through or around an opposition block.

This season, there has been greater fluidity among City’s midfielders and attackers. City usually use their goalkeeper in the build-up, with the two centre-backs splitting either side. The double pivot plays a crucial role in progressing the ball through the thirds. Both midfielders often drift slightly wider, allowing the full-backs to push higher and leaving the central corridor vacant.

That central space is then occupied by the No 10 or a winger moving inside to provide a vertical outlet. Last season, Vivianne Miedema often played as the attacking midfielder. This season, former Arsenal forward Beth Mead has taken up that role, with Fujino also spending time there.

These counter-movements from the double pivot open a direct route for City. They can either play a grounded pass into the feet of the No 10 or go directly to Shaw, with the attacking midfielder positioned to compete for the second ball. Once either receives possession, City have runners on both flanks and can attack at pace.

This season, 71.7% of City’s attacking-third touches have come down the flanks. Their attackers also make plenty of counter-movements in the final third, adding unpredictability to the attack. This makes it difficult for opponents to track runners and creates space across the pitch.

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