The fifth round of fixtures in the Barclays Women’s Super League takes place across this weekend, and it promises once again to offer a lot of interesting action right before the international break.
It all begins with the only fixture happening this Saturday as rivals clash with Manchester United facing Liverpool at 1:30pm.
The rest of the fixtures are all taking place on Sunday, with clubs feeling the impact of having played in midweek action in both the Women’s Champions League and the Subway Players Cup.
Manchester United vs Liverpool
Saturday 3rd October, Progress with Unity Stadium, 1:30pm
Starting matchweek 5 off is the fixture between Manchester United and Liverpool, and both sides are coming into this one off the back of each securing victories last weekend over West Ham and Everton respectively.
After getting their first win of the campaign, Eva Olid’s Manchester United will be targeting back-to-back wins and continuing to progress forward with their performance levels. One player who has been key in their most recent fixtures has been Andrea Medina on the left-hand side. She scored in last week’s win and proved pivotal in their chance creation.
As for Liverpool, Gareth Taylor and his side will be satisfied with how they have began their campaign after two wins, one draw and one defeat from their opening four league fixtures, and heading into this latest game against their North-West rivals, they will look to a couple of their summer signings who have been continuing to adjust well to the Barclays WSL.
Vivien Endemann has left a good impression so far, and Natalia Ramos has been a bright spark in midfield, especially in last weeks performance where she attempted six shots - the most by a Liverpool in a BWSL game this season.
Previous league meetings between Manchester United and Liverpool has been more favourable towards United, with wins for them in both of last season’s fixtures. The fixture before that did see Liverpool get the victory and at the time was the first win they ever achieved when playing at Anfield. It’s also a fixture that tends to promise goals as there has not been a 0-0 scoreline ever registered between them in the league.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace
Sunday 4th October, Villa Park, 2pm
Moving onto Sunday’s fixtures, Aston Villa face Crystal Palace in a game that will have eyes on it following the news on Tuesday that Natalia Arroyo parted ways with the home side as their head coach.
Following a heavy 4-0 defeat away to Tottenham and a winless start to their season that leaves them in 13th place heading into the weekend, the club have signalled a change of approach, and it sees the return of former Everton head coach Brian Sorensen to the dugout in a Barclays WSL game as he takes interim charge.
Crystal Palace are playing in the West Midlands for the second successive week in the league after playing out an entertaining 3-3 draw with Birmingham City. They came from behind twice during the 90 minutes and looked to have turned the game around when Lexi Lloyd-Smith made it 3-2, before a near-late equaliser was conceded and it meant Jo Potter’s side drew a game for the second time this season.
The defensive record of both sides heading into this fixture is something to highlight, with both having conceded ten each - the joint-most along with Birmingham City and Charlton Athletic to start the season. After having been solid defensively in their opening two games, Palace have since conceded all ten of those goals in their previous two BWSL fixtures. Aston Villa on the other hand have conceded at least four in two of their four games.
Looking back at past meetings between the two, other than having faced off in the BWSL 2 in the 2018/19 season and a League Cup game in 2024, there only BWSL games came in Palace’s one full top flight campaign. They both traded wins that season, with the win that Palace managed in March 2025 being one of two wins they accumulated in that campaign.
Both teams will see this as a game they will want to win, and how they each approach the fixture will be something to keep an eye on.
Brighton and Hove Albion vs Charlton Athletic
Sunday 4th October, American Express Stadium, 2pm
This next fixture involves two sides currently at the lower end of the table as Brighton and Hove Albion host Charlton Athletic at the AMEX Stadium. Neither side has registered a victory yet this season, with Brighton currently the better positioned of the two sides in 11th, whereas Charlton are at the foot of the table on zero points.
Arturo Ruiz is still waiting for his first win in the Barclays Women’s Super League, but will be thinking that his side has a chance to end their winless run in the league this weekend. Last time out, they were beaten by London City Lionesses in a game where they closely match their opponents in possession, but failed to score despite having ten shots (one of which was on target) with an xG of 1.77.
Charlton themselves haven’t had the best of starts to their season in the top flight. Last weekend saw them lose again in the league up against the current leaders Manchester City, although they were competitive in the game for much of it and showed a threat on the counter attack, which could be part of their gameplan again this weekend vs Brighton.
In terms of players to watch who could be the difference makers on their teams, for Brighton, Kiko Seike is often the player they look to for goals. The Japanese international and Brighton’s top scorer last season has found the net once so far. American forward Olivia Garcia has looked lively so far when she has appeared off the bench as well, and is currently ranked second in the league for shots on target per 90 minutes and the same for successful dribbles per 90 (both are 3.2).
Charlton’s Jodie Hutton has so far looked like the player that can be pivotal for them in an attacking sense. The club has only scored once all season in the Barclays WSL, and it was her who scored the goal. She has also had a hand in creating eight chances for her team, so they will look to her as a creative outlet as well.
In terms of the last time these teams faced each other, this will be the first-ever league meeting between them, as all their last encounters came in cup competitions, one of which was last season and Brighton were 4-0 winners in that one just over a year ago.
Everton vs Birmingham City
Sunday 4th October, Goodison Park, 2pm
This is one fixture that has the potential to be an interesting one, as Everton host Birmingham City at Goodison Park where the Toffees are wanting to bounce back from a loss in the Merseyside derby last weekend, and the Blues look to secure their first victory since they were promoted to the BWSL.
Sixth-placed Everton have had a mixed start to the season, having won two games by 1-0 scorelines, and then losing twice to leave them in their current mid-table position. Home fans will be feeling hopeful of seeing their Scott Phelan’s team get a positive result from this fixture, and will want to see them score more goals considering they have only scored twice in the Barclays WSL so far this season - both being from own goals.
Birmingham City head into this one having been showcasing a strong competitiveness in their league fixtures so far, yet two draws and two defeats sees them down in 12th place. If there has been one player who has really been making a name for herself in recent weeks, it is Océane Hurtré and her attacking quality that has been on display.
She is one of the three joint-top scorers so far in the Barclays WSL (4), and has contributed in both the attack with chances created (10), and defensively with 24 contributions on that front, which has been better than 95% of players in her position.
Looking at Everton players who have performed well so far across the four games, Ruby Mace has stood out for her defensive attributes in registering 34 defensive contributions, including 13 tackles and 12 interceptions so far.
This weekend’s fixture will be the first Barclays WSL meeting between Everton and Birmingham since April 2022, which had ended in a 0-0 draw. However, Everton had won the earlier fixture that season 3-1. Much has changed though since then and both teams want to try and win this weekend.
Tottenham Hotspur vs London City Lionesses
Sunday 4th October, BetWright Stadium, 2pm
Onto a match-up that also feels like a must-see fixture this weekend in the Barclays WSL is Tottenham Hotspur vs London City Lionesses. 2nd place faces 4th place, and it’s two very attack-minded teams that are meeting in what should be a highly-competitive game.
Tottenham’s start to the 2026/27 season has been talked about a lot, considering how they are the league’s top scorers (15 goals) and are unbeaten, with the only game they dropped points in being a 1-1 draw with Liverpool in matchweek two. Victoria Pelova played a starring role last week against Aston Villa with two more goals to add to her season tally that has helped her settle in brilliantly at Spurs, and the same goes for Caitlin Dijkstra after scoring as well in the 4-0 home victory.
Someone else who has impressed formTottenham across the four games so far this season has been Norwegian midfielder Signe Gaupset, who has been consistently putting in good performances and been at the heart of Tottenham’s attacking work. She’ll look to carry on where she left off last week after making history in being the youngest player in the league’s history to create eight open play chances in a single game.
After back-to-back wins, with the last one being at home against Brighton, London City Lionesses will be looking for a third win in a row to keep their momentum on an upward trajectory. Alexia Putellas will want to add more goals off the back of opening her BWSL account last Saturday, and Lucía Corrales is another player likely to be key for them as an attacking full-back.
Part of the reason this game could be a great watch is also based on how closely fought their encounters were last season. After both teams won one fixture each in the league, there was also the entertaining Women’s FA Cup tie that needed penalties to decide the winner.
West Ham United vs Chelsea
Sunday 4th October, Victoria Road Stadium, 2pm
Ninth-place West Ham United take on third-place Chelsea in the last of the 2pm kickoffs, and both have had many encounters previously in the Barclays WSL, but it has long-been a fixture that Chelsea have dominated way more times than not.
Sonia Bompastor’s side will be aiming to continue what has been a favourable run of results against West Ham, where in the Barclays WSL alone, there has been 16 meetings and 14 of them have been won by Chelsea. The other two ended in draws, so West Ham have never beaten Chelsea in the league. The last draw was in one of the last encounters though, which was the 2-2 draw in March 2025.
West Ham have changed coaches since then, and it was against Chelsea that Rita Guarino took charge of the club for the first time in January this year. Whilst it ended in a 5-0 loss, there have been a couple more positives about the Hammers since then in Guarino’s tenure.
Their record this season so far is one win and three defeats, but they have looked promising in attacking transitions through Viviane Asseyi, who has scored three goals this season - beating her tally from last season (2).
With aspirations of targeting a title push again, Chelsea have begin their campaign brightly and put behind their opening weekend draw with Aston Villa by winning the next three games to make it a fourth successive Barclays WSL season where they have gone unbeaten in their opening four games.
One other thing that has gone in Chelsea’s favour has been when they have taken the lead, as they hold the longest run in the BWSL’s history of 46 games unbeaten when they have led at any stage of a game.
There are a considerable number of players who could be key for Chelsea in this one, but one that has been a breakout player for them across the opening games has been Lexi Potter. The young midfielder was revealed to have been given her first senior call-up to the England squad earlier in the week, and has formed a solid midfield partnership alongside Keira Walsh that has helped them out this season.
Manchester City vs Arsenal
Sunday 4th October, Etihad Stadium, 4:30pm
Lastly for this Sunday’s action, kicking off at 4:30pm is the game involving the league leaders Manchester City and Arsenal facing off for the first time this season in a big games at this early stage.
Andrée Jeglertz’s side has started the league campaign in perfect fashion with four wins from four games. An Alex Greenwood free-kick was enough for them to win last week against Charlton, but how they handle the upcoming fixture following a big game in the Women’s Champions League against Real Madrid is something that will test them.
Meanwhile, Arsenal will also have the same test to deal with, although because of how their season has begun, a win is something they will look to target away from at the Etihad Stadium this Sunday. Their main issues have stemmed from the lack of a clinical edge going forward and their start has seen them drop seven points behind Manchester City already.
The home advantage could be a key element of this game for Manchester City, mainly because of the impressive unbeaten record they have under Andrée Jeglertz in the Women’s Super League when it comes to playing at home. Khadija Shaw has started the season as strongly as usual and also has a good record of scoring at the Etihad Stadium as well (7).
Some of the more recent meetings between Man City and Arsenal have seen both be the beneficiaries of winning goals late on in games. Last season at the Joie Stadium, Iman Beney’s goal in stoppage time helped Man City win in that one. Plus, there was a late brace by Stina Blackstenius that guided Arsenal to a victory back in 2024.
It should be another enthralling fixture again this Sunday between the teams, given how it has often tended to deliver lots of drama and excitement if any of the previous meetings are anything to go by.
