As the curtain falls on another season of Women’s Super League football, this season could be remembered as one of the most influential ever, as next season will mark the beginning of the league’s landmark broadcasting deal with Sky Sports.
This will likely bring a lot more eyes to the women’s game and the performances and table finishes that these clubs can achieve on the final day could have a massive impact on the number of televised games a team could be given next season, along with the race to avoid relegation from the league altogether.
With plenty still to be decided on the final day, let’s take a look at all of the fixtures to be played on the final day and assess how they could affect the league’s standings.
Arsenal vs Aston Villa:
Arsenal manager Joe Montemurro will leave his post after this season content with the knowledge that he has left his side in a positive position for next season, having all but secured the final Women’s Champions League spot with Manchester United being three points behind the Gunners but possessing a vastly inferior goal difference to the Londoners.
Despite this, expect the home side to leave it all out on the pitch as it is likely that the players will want to send Montemurro off to his personal break on a high, having earned the respect of fellow managers around the league and even bringing home a WSL title for Arsenal in the 2018-19 season.
Conversely, the visitors will be desperate to come away from Meadow Park with a result as the razor-thin relegation battle over the last few weeks has been narrowed down to three teams, Villa, Birmingham City and Bristol City.
The West Midlands outfit will likely know that even if they are only able to salvage a point, that would probably be enough as they are already two points above bottom-side Bristol City, and the Robins would have to win their game by a margin of over twenty goals to overturn Villa’s goal difference advantage.
If the visitors were to lose, however, then Villa fans around the country will be praying that Bristol City fail to win their game, as it would send them back to the Championship after just one season in the top-flight.
Birmingham City vs Tottenham Hotspur:
A mere twenty-four hours ago, Carla Ward’s Birmingham City side would have looked at this game as an opportunity to give some developing prospects some experience having all but secured their safety in the WSL for next season, sitting three points above Bristol City with a drastically superior goal difference.
However, in another example of controversy surrounding this Birmingham team this season, they were deducted the one point that they earned in their one-one draw against Reading on the 25th of April as Ruesha Littlejohn was featured in the team, despite the fact that she should have been serving a suspension.
That deduction now puts the Blues firmly back into the relegation dogfight, as they are now level on points with bitter rivals Aston Villa, with both sides sitting two points above Bristol City. This means that Birmingham could be relegated if they lose, Bristol win and Villa pick up points.
Tottenham will travel to Birmingham just looking for pride after a disappointing season has them languishing in eighth place. The visitors cannot mathematically climb any higher in the league’s standings, but they can prevent West Ham from overtaking them if they win.
Brighton and Hove Albion vs Bristol City:
The final game of the final day that will affect the relegation battle is the fixture between the Seagulls and the Robins.
The home side don’t have much to play for, but are currently level on points with Reading, with the Royals only sitting above the Seagulls in sixth by way of goal difference.
If Brighton can better Reading’s result against Chelsea on Sunday, they will climb into sixth place, occupying the final spot in the top half of the table, which would be a massive achievement for Hope Powell’s side, having finished ninth in both of their first two seasons in the WSL.
However, they will definitely face some resistance as they welcome Bristol City to Broadfield Stadium.
In their last game, Robins fans were dealt a massive blow as they held Manchester United to a goalless draw for almost eighty minutes, until a Yana Daniels own goal denied the WSL’s bottom side an invaluable point.
Bristol’s task on the final day is simple, win at all costs. Anything less than a win will guarantee the Robins’ relegation to the Championship, regardless of the results elsewhere. If Bristol win, they will have to hope that results go their way to pull off the great escape.
West Ham United vs Manchester City:
A few weeks ago, West Ham looked to be another team locked in the relegation battle but after draws against Everton and two against Aston Villa in their last four games, Olli Harder’s side can breathe easy knowing that they have all but secured their status in the WSL for next season.
However, the visitors have a much more pressing issue on their hands as they are still in with a chance of winning the WSL title, sitting only two points behind Chelsea in second.
In order for City to win the league and avoid a fourth straight season as the WSL’s runner-up, they need Chelsea to drop points against Reading and they must win at Victoria Road.
If Chelsea draw against Reading, Manchester City would need to beat West Ham by a margin of at least three goals to topple the reigning champions.
Manchester United vs Everton:
While the next game has no relative stakes behind it, and will not change either side’s league position, it is a final opportunity for both teams to cap off impressive seasons, which has left them both dreaming of chasing the ‘Big Three’ next season.
It will be difficult for Casey Stoney to be disappointed with this WSL campaign after securing a second successive fourth place finish in what is only Manchester United’s second season in the top-flight, and their first full season, after their maiden campaign was called off due to COVID.
However, with the Red Devils being so close to Arsenal in third place, it will be hard for fans to look at the costly losses to Reading and Brighton and not feel like their side could have secured Women’s Champions League football for next season.
Willie Kirk’s Everton team will likely be much more satisfied with their league position for this season, having finished tenth in 2018-19, sixth in the shortened 2019-20 season and securing fifth this season.
With a couple of quality acquisitions in the summer, we could see the Toffees begin to solidify themselves as the ‘best of the rest’ in the WSL for seasons to come.
Chelsea vs Reading:
Finally, Chelsea have the chance to retain their WSL crown for a second season and keep their hopes of an unbelievable quintet of trophies alive if they can beat Reading.
Reading have been one of the more confusing teams in the WSL this season, as Kelly Chambers’ side have seemed to play to the level of their competition throughout the season, notching a two-nil win away to Manchester United but suffering two brutal losses to Bristol City and West Ham, losing to the Hammers by a shocking five goals to nil at the Madejski Stadium.
The Royals cannot finish higher than their current league position but can prevent Brighton from bumping them down into seventh, which would be the Berkshire side’s lowest finish since 2016.
For Emma Hayes’ Chelsea team, they have the chance of completing a domestic treble ahead of their Women’s Champions League final against Barcelona, having already won the Community Shield and the Continental League Cup.
If Chelsea win, they are champions. If they draw, they will have to wait to see if Manchester City can beat West Ham and also overturn their advantage in goal difference. If the Londoners lose at Kingsmeadow, the window of opportunity for Gareth Taylor’s City team will be wide open.
The Inbound Observer 