The WSL [Women’s Super League] is approaching the business end of its season. At the time of publishing this article, Manchester City are at the top of the standings with 46 points in 18 games. However, that could change as the Chelsea Women’s team have a chance to go to the top of the table with a win against Aston Villa in just a few hours.
Last season, the WSL title was decided on the final day. It took a 3-0 win for Chelsea’s Women’s team against Reading to help them clinch the trophy. It looks like the Emma Hayes-led team will have to do something similar this season as well. The title race is set to go down the wire and it could be any team in the Top 3 that could lift the WSL trophy.
The Top 3 teams need results to go their way if they are to win the trophy
Manchester City’s women’s team have elevated their game and look solid both on attack and defence. They have scored the second most goals in the league and conceded the fewest among the twelve teams. Meanwhile, Chelsea have managed to keep the ship sailing despite the absence of their talismanic forward Sam Kerr. The reigning champions are banking on the brilliance of Lauren James as she will have to lead the way from the front if the six-time champions want to win their fifth consecutive title.
Although the Arsenal Women’s team are third in the table, they are very much in the race to win the WSL trophy. The London-based team have four games left to play and three of them are against teams placed eighth, ninth and tenth on the table. Their only difficult fixture is against the Manchester City women’s team and although it is going to be difficult, this will be an obstacle they will have to pass if they are to win the trophy.
Will Chelsea win their fifth WSL trophy?
Emma Hayes announced earlier this season that she was going to leave Chelsea at the end of the current campaign to become the coach of the US Women’s team. The legendary manager has not only transformed the Blues team but also the women’s game over the past twelve years. A perfect send-off for her will be the team winning the WSL title and the UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy.
Her presence on the touchline is always a great boost as she is one of the most tactically nuanced coaches in the game. Having managed the club to six WSL titles, Hayes has the experience of being in title races. This will certainly give Chelsea the upper hand, but alongside WSL they also have the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final fixture against Barcelona in the coming days.
Having already lost their key player, Sam Kerr, the Chelsea women’s side cannot afford to lose anyone else before the end of the season. Both Manchester City and Arsenal are waiting for them to make a mistake and while they have the experience of being in situations like this, every title race is different from the other.
