Another week has passed and we find ourselves at the last round of WSL and WSL2 fixtures before the international break. This week we take a look back at the big numbers from the top 2 tiers last weekend (the FAWNL took a break for the final group stage fixtures in the FAWNL Cup), and then look ahead to a big weekend of fixtures – including some huge games at the top of the tables in Tier 3!
Winning runs continue
The teams at the top of each of the top 2 tiers went into last weekend having won every league game this season, and on paper Manchester City had the best chance of making it 4 wins out of 4 this season as they headed to bottom of the table Charlton, who had scored just once in their opening league games, and who have not won in a game in regulation time since March (their playoff victory against Leicester coming on penalties). In many ways City dominated the game, with 75% possession and 19 shots on target to Charlton’s 5, but Greenwood’s free kick ended up the only goal of the game to secure a 0-1 scoreline for the visitors. For City, any frustration at their failure to score more will be eased by the delight at their first clean sheet of the season, whilst Charlton will be concerned that this is partly a result of them only putting one shot on target, having only created 0.5 shots on target per match on average this season.
In WSL2 top of the table Newcastle hosted a Leicester side who had 2 wins from 3 games, although both had come at the expense of the league’s bottom 2. Regardless, Newcastle comprehensively secured their 4th win of the season, winning 4-0 and converting 50% of their shots on target.
Elsewhere in the top tier Spurs recorded the league’s biggest win for the second gameweek in a row with a 4-0 win against Aston Villa. Spurs dominated the game with 70% possession and a phenomenal 35 shots to Villa’s 6, just over a third of those being on target. Whilst encouraging numbers for a Spurs team who have started the season strongly, it was the second time this season that Villa have conceded four, and seemingly the Aston Villa board felt this was a big enough concern for them to part ways with manager Natalia Arroyo on Tuesday. So far this season Villa have recorded an average of just 0.5 points per game – down on last season’s 0.91, and clearly this was too great a concern for the club despite 3 of their four opening fixtures having been against the league’s current top 3.
Going into the last gameweek Birmingham City and Crystal Palace had scored a combined 4 goals in their opening fixtures, so a combined 35 shots and 6 goals was perhaps unexpected, with the match ending as a 3-3 draw. The result left both teams amongst the 4 teams in the league to have conceded the most goals this season – conceding 10 goals in each in the first 4 games, alongside Aston Villa and Charlton Athletic.
In WSL2, the bottom of the table clash between Sheffield United and Durham saw 5 goals, with Sheffield recovering from their 10-1 loss to Manchester United in the Subway Players Cup 4 days earlier to win 4-1 – scoring double the goals they had in their 3 previous games combined. The result left Durham bottom of the table and the only team in the second tier without a point to their name this season.
Southampton became the only team in the top 2 tiers to have drawn 3 games in a row as both they and Nottingham Forest continued their unbeaten starts to the season with an evenly matched 1-1 draw, whilst Ipswich and Sunderland also retained their unbeaten starts against recently promoted sides Wolverhampton Wanderers and Watford respectively. The results mean we head into gameweek 5 with almost half of the league’s 12 teams still unbeaten, compared to just 3 out of the 14 sides in the top tier.
Big matchups in the WSL
Saturday’s only fixture sees perhaps the biggest number of the weekend, as Manchester United play their 250th competitive game, as they host Liverpool at the Progress with Unity Stadium. The hosts secured their first league win of the season last weekend, with a 2-1 win against West Ham, with Liverpool also securing their first home league win as they beat Everton 2-0. United have scored just those 2 goals at home in the league so far this season, whilst Liverpool are the league’s second highest scorers away from home, so United’s defence, one of 6 in the league yet to keep a clean sheet this season, is sure to have it’s work cut out.
In contrast, Arsenal have kept 2 clean sheets already this season, however their attacking form has caused concern, with only 2 goals scored in the opening 4 fixtures, and only Charlton having a worse average goals per game. They head to a Manchester City side with 4 wins out of 4, and who have not failed to win a home league game since their 1-1 draw with Everton in April 2025. With Manchester City’s shot conversion rate being a huge 11% higher than Arsenal’s in the opening 4 games, Arsenal will need to be more clinical if they hope to challenge City’s outstanding home record.
Elsewhere, 2nd host 4th as London City Lionesses make the short trip to Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs have not conceded in their last 210 minutes of league football and have scored 11 in their last 2 games; 15 goals in total this season making them the league’s top scorers. London City Lionesses are also flying high with 3 wins from 4 games, but having only kept a clean sheet on one of those outings they will need to tighten their defence against what is, on current form, their toughest test of the season to date.
Charlton remain in search of their first ever WSL point, and visit Brighton, a team who have failed to register a win yet this season. Last weekend Brighton managed only one shot on target against London City Lionesses which gives Charlton some hope, but both teams will have in the back of their mind the 4-0 victory Brighton secured when these teams met in the Subway Players Cup just under 2 weeks ago.
In WSL2, Leicester City, who started the season strongly (albeit against 2 of the leagues weaker teams), head to unbeaten Sunderland on the back of 2 consecutive league defeats, having failed to score in either. Sunderland meanwhile are the league’s second highest scorers, netting an average of 2 goals per game, whilst not having conceded more than once per game in the league all season. It could be a tough afternoon for Leicester, who need to be winning precisely these games if they want to have any chance of securing promotion back to the WSL.
The leagues highest scorers, Newcastle United, have scored 11 goals in their opening 4 fixtures, and they head to WSL2’s leakiest defence, Durham, as they aim to extend their winning streak. In fact, the last time Newcastle failed to win a league game was when Durham visited them on the closing day of the 25/26 season, with Durham winning 0-1, showing how fortunes appear to have changed this season. With Durham having conceded at least 2 on every league outing since that clean sheet in May, and Newcastle having scored 4 in both of their last 2 league matches, it seems likely that Newcastle will come out on top this time round.
Tier 3 top of the table clashes
With Tier 3 back in action this weekend, it is all about the top teams, with the Southern Premier Division’s top 2 going head to head in Weymouth as AFC Bournemouth host Oxford United. Oxford are the league’s top scorers, with a margin of 10 goals on the league’s second highest scorers, and 4 of their 22 league goals have come from Sophie Quirk – Bournemouth’s lead goalscorer last season. Oxford’s smallest winning margin this season has been 3-0, and they have won all of their last 3 league outings by a 5-0 scoreline, whilst also being the only team in all of the top 3 tiers not to have conceded in the league this season. Bournemouth meanwhile have won 4 of their opening 5 league games, including both home fixtures, but have only once this season managed a winning margin of more than one goal.
In the Northern Premier Division the top 4 all face off, with the league’s new leaders Huddersfield Town heading to Stoke City. Huddersfield are the only team to still be unbeaten in the Northern Premier Division, but head to a Stoke City side who have won all 3 of their home fixtures this season, scoring an average of 3.3 goals per home fixture. Huddersfield however are the league’s joint top scorers, with 14 goals in 5 games, and have not failed to win a league fixture since their opening day draw at Norwich, so this looks set to be an interesting encounter.
The league’s other top scorers, Liverpool Feds, head to Rugby Borough, who suffered their first defeat of the season 2 weeks ago. Whilst Feds have scored 5 more than Rugby Borough this season, they also have one of the league’s worst defences, having conceded 8 and only keeping a clean sheet on one occasion. Even with that leaky defence, Liverpool Feds may be best seeking to add to their goal scoring tally and hoping to outscore a team who, despite being second in the table, have only scored an average of 1 goal per game in their last 4 fixtures.
At the other end of the table, Peterborough United head to Middlesbrough – with both teams having lost 4 of their opening 5 fixtures. 4 of Middlesbrough’s opening 5 have ended with just one goal scored (with them on the losing side on 3 of those 4 occassions), whilst Peterborough have not yet been involved in a game with less than 3 goals (they have scored 6 and conceded 16 in their opening fixtures, conceding an average of 3.2 goals per game).
In the Southern Premier Division, Fulham, who have won all 4 of their opening fixtures host an Exeter City side without a win away from home so far this season, as they hope to keep the pressure on Oxford and Bournemouth. Swindon Town, without a point since the opening day, host an AFC Wimbledon side who have been on the receiving end of 2 fixture postponements already this season. Despite this they sit a respectable 5th, with 6 points from their 3 games, having not conceded since the opening day.
With a full gameweek this weekend we’ve tried to find the biggest numbers, but have undoubtedly missed something along the way! We’d love to hear from you if you think there’s a big number we’ve missed, or if there’s a number we need to be taking a look at next weekend when only Tier 3 will be in action. Get in touch by dropping us a mention via @WOSODataUK on X or Instagram!
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