Key events
The battle to avoid the drop: “Whoever stays up out of Leicester and Reading, the achievement will be remarkable,” writes Sophier Downey. “The stakes could not be higher – Leicester travel to Brighton having to match Reading’s result; Reading must beat Chelsea and hope the Foxes falter.”
Exclusive: Coaching methods are failing to keep up with the rapidly increasing demands of women’s professional football, resulting in more hamstring injuries among top female players. Experts are calling for women to be trained at a higher level to prevent such injuries. Linda Geddes reports …
Women’s Football Weekly podcast
Faye Carruthers is currently a nervous wreck and will be at Wembley later this evening to cheer on her beloved Luton Town in the men’s Championship play-off final. She was joined by award-winning author and Guardian women’s football correspondent Suzy Wrack, Tottenham Hotspur fan and Proud Lilywhite Chris Pauros, and England legend and recently appointed Arsenal assistant coach Kelly Smith to look ahead to a tantalising final weekend of WSL action. Listen here and subscribe for free on the usual pod platforms.
Today’s permutations
The title race: Chelsea will retain their title if they beat Reading. They will also lift the trophy if they draw, unless Manchester United beat Liverpool by six or more goals. Even if Chelsea lose they can win the title if Manchester United don’t win. If Chelsea lose and Manchester United win, the title goes north to Marc Skinner’s team.
Champions League qualification: Chelsea and Manchester United are already guaranteed entry into the second round of next season’s competition. In third place in the table, Arsenal are odds-on to qualify for the first round of next season’s Champions League but can be overtaken if they lose against Aston Villa and Manchester City beat Everton by enough to come out on the right end of – author counts fingers and removes one sock – an 11-goal swing.
Relegation: To avoid relegation, Reading must beat Chelsea and hope Leicester lose against Brighton. If Leicester draw their game against Brighton, Reading would need to beat Chelsea by three goals to stay up on our old friend “Goals Scored”.
WSL Golden Boot: Aston Villa striker Rachel Daly currently leads the standings with 21 goals, but it is not beyond the realms of possibility that she could be overtaken by Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, who trails her by three goals and will be hoping to fill her boots against Everton at the Academy Stadium.
Today’s WSL fixtures
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West Ham v Tottenham
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Reading v Chelsea
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Manchester City v Everton
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Liverpool v Manchester United
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Brighton v Leicester City
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Arsenal v Aston Villa
Big interview: Emma Hayes
The Chelsea manager has endured challenges on and off the pitch this season but her squad have timed their return to form perfectly. Suzy Wrack chats to the likeable Londoner with a penchant for loud touchline effing and jeffing about the personal medical issues that have blighted her season, the injuries that threatened to derail her team’s season and the focus on player welfare that has helped her squad hit their peak at exactly the right time this season.
Women’s Super League – final day
After 126 matches, 423 goals, five-hat-tricks, 42 clean sheets, eight red cards, a record attendance of 47,367 and what seems like an inordinate number of anterior cruciate ligament injuries, today marks the end of the 2022-23 WSL season. All six games kick off at 2.30pm (BST) and there’s plenty to play for at both ends of the table.
In the box-seat, Chelsea travel to bottom side Reading and a win for Emma Hayes’s side will guarantee Chelsea their fourth consecutive title and complete their third league and FA Cup double on the spin. It would also condemn Reading to the Championship, which was won by a Bristol City side that guaranteed themselves promotion to the top flight a month ago.
Reading can still avoid the drop, but face a tall order. They have to beat Chelsea to give themselves a puncher’s chance of staying up and hope Leicester lose away at Brighton. Reading could also stay up if they win and Leicester draw, more of which anon. Further up the table, there’s a place in next season’s Champions League first round up for grabs. Arsenal currently sit in third place and can only be overtaken by Manchester City in preposterously unlikely circumstances.
