Football: Will Manchester City and Arsenal derail Chelsea’s attempt for fifth consecutive Women’s Super League title?

Following a month-long winter break, women’s football in England is back in full swing with the return of the Women’s Super League.

The first weekend of action saw Chelsea cement themselves three points clear at the top of the table with a 3-1 win over Manchester United, whilst both Manchester City and Arsenal put on impressive performances to keep hot on the heels of Emma Hayes’ Blues.

A 5-1 win over Liverpool left Manchester City in second place on 25 points with a goal difference of 23, whilst Arsenal’s 2-1 win against Everton also put them on 25 points. With a goal difference of 15, Arsenal find themselves in third.

This season, both City and Arsenal have found themselves within touching distance of the reigning champions despite falling short last year.

In fact it was actually Manchester United who pushed Chelsea to the very last day of the season last year, with the Red Devils missing out on an inaugural WSL title by just two points. Manchester City and Arsenal struggled to come close to the top spot, and instead fought it out for third spot eleven points below six-time title winners Chelsea. 

With Emma Hayes just months away from her departure and an injured Sam Kerr set to miss the rest of the season, this is a better chance than any for either Arsenal or Manchester City to clinch the top spot.

Should either team manage to knock Chelsea off of the top spot, it would be the first time since the 2018/19 season that a team other than Chelsea is crowned Champions of the Women’s Super League.

Is a lack of Champions League football a blessing?

The Women’s Champions League group stage is hotting up, and with two match days still to play, all is at stake. 

Chelsea are currently top of Group D and have two fixtures to manage over the next two weeks alongside their WSL games.

Despite sitting at the top of their group, Emma Hayes’ side are far from safety. Just two points separate first-place Chelsea and third-place Paris FC, with Hacken sandwiched between them. 

The six-time WSL champions host fourth-place Real Madrid on January 24, 2024 and will then be required to travel to France to take on Paris FC.

Whilst Chelsea prepare for four fixtures within the space of eleven days, both Arsenal and Manchester City have one less mid-week game to play and therefore a lot less travel. 

This time of year is a notoriously busy period in the women’s football calendar, with domestic leagues and cup tournaments returning from break as well as the Champions League and European fixtures. 

It was only late last year that Chelsea boss Emma Hayes raised the issue of fixture congestion in England after her side were required to play three fixtures in six days.

“We're the only team in Europe and yet we're the only association that doesn't help its team in Europe; Spain do, France do, Germany do, we don't,” Hayes told the media. “That, for me, is disappointing. Don't we want an English team to try and progress in Europe? It's hard enough.”

Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall raised a similar point during the 2022/23 season, but given his side’s early exit from this year’s Women’s Champions League campaign, he could well be feeling the benefit of a less congested calendar. 

There is no doubt that both Eidevall and Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor would rather their teams be competing in Europe at the highest level. 

However, off the back of a busy summer for players following the 2023 Women’s World Cup and with fixture congestion in women’s football at an all-time high, both sides will recognise the opportunity in front of them: to capitalise on a lack of European football whilst Chelsea could be seen as preoccupied.

Arsenal or Manchester City: who could pip Chelsea to the top spot?

Both sides have already come up against the WSL Champions once this season.

In October, Manchester City’s Chloe Kelly put her side up early on, only for Chelsea to secure a draw when Guro Reiten scored in the 96th minute. 

As for Arsenal, they delivered Chelsea’s only league loss of the season so far with a shock 4-1 win over the Blues in December. Newly fit Beth Mead made it onto the score sheet, along with Amanda Ilestedt and Alessia Russo who managed a brace. 

Despite a performance that Emma Hayes hailed as “disappointing”,  Chelsea bounced back the following week with a convincing 3-0 win over Bristol City.

Taking a look at the Women’s Super League so far, it’s evident that the title is going to be defined by the tightest of margins.

With eleven match days to go, Chelsea have lost only one game, drawn one and won the other nine, having scored 35 goals so far. Manchester City and Arsenal, however, have both lost twice, both drawn once and both won their other eight fixtures. City have managed 31 goals whilst Arsenal have netted 26. 

Shortly after their upcoming Champions League fixtures, Chelsea are faced with the prospect of hosting Manchester City at Kingsmeadow Stadium on February 16, 2024. A month later on March 17, 2024, the Blues will host Arsenal. These two fixtures will undoubtedly shape, and possibly define, the remainder of the season.

Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester City: Who are the deciding players?

With Sam Kerr out with an ACL injury, Chelsea will be in need of a clinical attacker with a reliable goal-scoring ability. 

Luckily for them, they have Lauren James on their roster.

The 22 year-old has found her feet for Chelsea this season, having already scored 10 goals this season - more than any other Chelsea men’s or women’s player this year.

Although not a natural out-and-out striker and more comfortable as an attacking midfielder, James is still the league’s current second-top scorer, and a figure that Emma Hayes will look to to soften the blow of losing Kerr at such a crucial point in the season. 

Manchester City look to ramp up their title chances with the help of the Women’s Super League’s current top goal scorer.

Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw has so far netted 12 goals for Manchester City, strengthened further by her most recent hat trick in their 5-1 win over Liverpool. 

Last season, the Jamaican international managed 20 league goals and with 11 fixtures still to play, will be eager to better her form. Having joined the club in 2021, Shaw is still waiting to get her hands on that all-important Women’s Super League trophy.

Arsenal’s title chances have been bolstered by the return of Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema in late 2023. 

The duo both suffered ACL injuries in late 2022 which ruled them out of the 2023 Women’s World Cup as well as the best part of Arsenal’s 2022/23 season. 

Beth Mead made all the difference for Jonas Eidevall’s side after scoring the winner in their 2-1 win over Everton, whilst Vivanne Miedema got over an hour of playing time. 

As the record holder for the most Women’s Super League goals scored, Miedema will play a huge part in the remainder of Arsenal’s season should they push Chelsea to the final day of the season.

Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester City: When do they face one another?

Here are the key, upcoming Women’s Super League fixtures to look out for: