It’s crunch time in the Women’s Super League and with less than two weeks of the season left, the fates of the top four teams in the table are yet to be decided with the title and Champions League qualification places still on the line.
Arsenal and Chelsea still have three matches left to play, and therefore each have a game in hand on both Manchester United and Manchester City, but United are top of the table by one point over defending champions Chelsea. Arsenal and City are five points behind Chelsea, with goal difference splitting the two sides as they battle for the third and final European place.
Starting with the leaders United, here’s what to watch for in the top four — and a prediction on how each will ultimately finish.
In just their fourth season in the top flight, United have already bettered their previous points tally of 47 from 2020-21 as they top the table with 50 points with two games remaining, They are all but guaranteed Champions League football next season with a far greater goal difference (+42) than City in fourth (+25).
The Red Devils won’t be given an easy ride in their last two games of the season, however, and after hosting a Manchester derby they will have to travel to face a Liverpool team who have already beaten both Chelsea and City at Prenton Park.
Although they are six points better off than their cross-town rivals, United have never beaten City in the league but have managed some very credible draws so far over their short existence. Coming into this one off the back of an FA Cup final loss to Chelsea, the Red Devils will have even more incentive to take maximum points but it’s a fixture that will likely throw up a draw.
After City, United have to face Liverpool on the last day of the season and, depending on how the penultimate round of fixtures pans out, they may well be playing for the title. The Reds, despite their standing in the table (seventh), have proven to be tricky opposition on their day and should United not be on a song, they could easy fall to a last-day defeat. However, I can see this team finishing strongly and taking all three points on Merseyside.
