Sat. Jul 6th, 2024
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With five games left of the Women’s Super League season Chelsea and Manchester City are locked on 43 points at the top.

Chelsea are chasing their fifth successive league title in boss Emma Hayes’ final season in charge, while City are looking to triumph for the first time since 2016.

Arsenal are still in contention, but have it all to do sitting six points further back in third.

How are things shaping up for the remaining games? Who has the tougher run-in? What do the pundits and managers think?

Current table

Team Played Points GD Form (past 5 games)
1. Chelsea 17 43 +36 WLWWW
2. Man City 17 43 +34 WWWWW
3. Arsenal 17 37 +19 LWWLW

City have recovered from early-season blips to win their past 11 WSL games, including a 1-0 success Chelsea in February, to move level on points at the top but with two goals to make up.

If goal difference is level at the end, the title outcome will be decided on goals scored – and Chelsea currently lead City 50-45 on that metric.

What are the remaining fixtures?

March Liverpool (A)
April Aston Villa (H) West Ham (H) Leicester City (H)
Liverpool (A) Bristol City (A) Everton (A)
May Bristol City (H) Arsenal (H) Man City (A)
Man Utd (A) Aston Villa (A) Brighton (H)
Tottenham (A) Bristol City (H)

Chelsea and Arsenal will both miss a WSL game across the weekend of 30-31 March as they face each other in the League Cup final at Molineux.

That will allow Manchester City to potentially change the standings at the top, depending on their results in their next matches.

Gareth Taylor’s Blues have to play three of the current top five, but two of them are at home. Chelsea face two trips to top-five sides, while Arsenal have to visit City.

What does the Opta ‘supercomputer’ suggest?

Team % chance of winning title Current position & points
1. Chelsea 66.7 1st – 43 points
2. Man City 32.9 2nd – 43 points
3. Arsenal 0.4 3rd – 37 points

Opta’s ‘supercomputer’ prediction model estimates the probability of each match outcome (win, draw or loss) by using betting market odds and the Opta team rankings – based on historical and recent team performances.

These are simulated thousands of times to create the probabilities.

Chelsea ‘in driving seat’ but City ‘will push all the way’

Arsenal midfielder Kim Little told Sky Sports that Chelsea’s 3-1 win over the Gunners earlier in March meant the title had “slipped away slightly”.

Former England midfielders Karen Carney and Izzy Christiansen agreed, with the latter adding: “It’s going to be Manchester City pushing Chelsea all the way.”

Ex-Arsenal, Chelsea and Wales striker Helen Ward told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra she cannot see Chelsea and City dropping enough points for the Gunners to be involved, saying “trying to overhaul a six-point deficit on one team is difficult enough”.

And Little believes Chelsea “are in the driving seat,” although City will keep fighting.

Asked if this will be the year they finally win the league after beating rivals Manchester United 3-1, boss Gareth Taylor said: “It’s always felt like that. When we started the season, our first game against West Ham, the performance was really good and we started to see things.

“Obviously there’s a long way from that point then, to where we are now. Full credit to the players to get us to this position and to where we are. It’s taken a lot of hard work and a lot of trust.

“We’re there now. The most important thing now is that we’ve always been chasing – and we now look like we’re at the top and things will invariably change. We need to control what we can control.”

But, who will win it? BBC pundits Anita Asante and Fern Whelan made their predictions after City’s success at Brighton.

“Chelsea arguably have the better run-in and probably it’s their title to lose,” said Asante, who won the quadruple with Arsenal in 2007.

Whelan, who played for Everton and Liverpool, added: “I’d probably have to agree in terms of the run-in. Anyone can take points off anyone in the league but the way Chelsea are, and they have done it, they have been there before. They are the team to beat.”

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