The Women’s Super League is back after the winter break, with the league table poised nicely ahead of the second half of the season.
Manchester City sit six points clear at the summit, taking full advantage of Chelsea’s slight slip-up during their incredible winning streak.
Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham are still in the mix for the Champions League places, with the former pair kicking off the weekend with a blockbuster clash that could shake things up at the top.
There have also been managerial changes for both West Ham and London City Lionesses since the league was last in action. The latter face winless Liverpool in Eder Maestre’s first game in charge, while Rita Guarino’s first test comes against reigning champions Chelsea.
But who is expected to start 2026 on a high note? Here, with the help of the Opta supercomputer, we look ahead to MD12.
ARSENAL V MANCHESTER UNITED
Arsenal have a one-point advantage over Man Utd heading into MD12, and a win would lift them into second above Chelsea, while the Red Devils would also put pressure on the Blues with a victory.
It is the Gunners who are tipped to triumph at the Emirates, with a 52.5% win probability according to the Opta supercomputer, compared to 23.3% for United. There is also a 24.3% chance of a draw.
However, Arsenal have won only two of their last eight WSL meetings with United (D4 L2), with the reverse fixture this season ending 0-0; both top-flight games between the pair in a season have not ended level, however.
Renee Slegers’ side are on their longest unbeaten run of the WSL season (six – W4 D2) and are looking to win three in a row for the first time this term.
United could be the perfect opponents for them in that case, as they have lost away to Arsenal in both of the last two WSL campaigns, since winning 3-2 in November 2022.
Marc Skinner’s side have won just one of their last four league games (D1 L2) and conceded 12 goals across their final seven games of 2025 in the competitions, only two fewer than across the first 16 matches of the year, a record their head coach will be keen to improve on.
ASTON VILLA V BRIGHTON
Aston Villa lost their first two WSL home games against Brighton but are unbeaten in their three since (W2 D1), winning this exact fixture 3-1 last season, also at Villa Park.
And overall, Brighton have won just one of their last seven league games with Villa (D2 L4), a 4-2 home win in October 2024.
Villa have lost three of their last four WSL matches (W1), including a 6-1 thrashing to Man City last time out. However, they are expected to bounce back here, with a 48.9% win likelihood.
Brighton are given a 25.4% chance of claiming all three points despite being beaten in their last two league away games. However, they have not won back-to-back matches on the road since March 2024.
The team scoring first does have an 80% win rate in Brighton’s league games this season (8/10, D1 L1 – one 0-0 draw), meaning the 25.7% chance of a draw may not come to pass.
CHELSEA V WEST HAM
Chelsea won more points than any other in the league in 2025 (56), but a blip at the end of the year saw them lose ground on Man City, so they will be keen to start 2026 brightly.
And they are expected to do just that, with a mammoth 90.1% win likelihood to West Ham’s 3.4%. The Hammers are given just a further 6.5% chance of getting a draw.
So, the omens do not look good for new boss Guarino, who will become the first Italian to manage in the WSL, and she is not helped by the fact that West Ham have lost each of their last six away matches.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their 15 previous matches against West Ham in the competition (W13 D2), the most times one side has faced another in the WSL without losing.
The Blues lost their last home game 1-0 to Everton, but have not failed to win consecutive home games since a pair of draws in February/March 2018. The last time they lost two in a row was September 2013 (three).
Sam Kerr, who is still awaiting her first league start in over two years, will be hoping to play a key role. She has been involved in three goals as a substitute in the top-flight this season (two goals, one assist).
MANCHESTER CITY V EVERTON
Andree Jeglertz is enjoying his first season in charge of Man City so far, with a six-point lead at the top of the table, and they are expected to make a strong start to the new year.
They have won each of their last 10 league games, and won 84.8% of the supercomputer’s pre-match predictions, meaning they are highly likely to make that 11.
City, who average 2.6 points per game in the month of January, have won 17 of their 19 WSL matches against Everton (D1 L1).
Everton have won 100% of their points in 2025-26 so far on the road (8/8) but have won just one of their last 10 league outings (D2 L7). They are given just a 5.6% chance of winning on Sunday, with a 9.6% chance of a draw.
But their defence will face a tough task; City have scored eight more goals than any other team in the top-flight this term (32), averaging 2.9 per game.
And Khadija Shaw has scored eight goals across her last four WSL appearances, including four last time out against Villa. She has also scored in each of her six starts against Everton in the competition.
TOTTENHAM V LEICESTER CITY
Tottenham are still in the mix at the top of the table as they sit just two points behind the Champions League places ahead of their meeting with ninth-place Leicester City.
Spurs have played more WSL games without losing against Leicester than any other opponent (W7 D2) and have won all four of their home matches versus the Foxes 1-0.
Only Man City (18) have won more points at home in the WSL this season than Spurs (13), and are the favourites here with a 60.2% win probability.
Leicester, meanwhile, picked up just their second league win of the season last time out, but are given just an 18.9% chance of earning back-to-back wins for the first time since October 2023.
It also does not help that Leicester remain on the longest-ever winless streak away from home in the WSL (21 – D7 L14), with their last win on the road coming in their first away match of 2024 against Everton.
LIVERPOOL V LONDON CITY LIONESSES
The weekend’s action concludes with winless Liverpool looking to get their first three points on the board against London City Lionesses, who have had a change in management.
Despite sitting sixth in the table, Jocelyn Precheur was shockingly dismissed from his position, with Maestre taking over and looking to help the team respond after two straight losses.
The Lionesses won the reverse fixture 1-0 and are looking to become the first promoted side to earn a WSL double over an opponent since Leicester in 2021-22 (vs Birmingham City).
However, they are not the favourites despite their position or form, with Liverpool’s home advantage giving them a 45.7% chance of claiming their first three points of the season. London City have a 27.5% chance of victory.
Liverpool are winless in 11 matches so far (D3 L8) and won the fewest points of any ever-present WSL side in 2025 (19), as well as suffering the most defeats (14) last year, but Gareth Taylor will be hoping the new year will be more successful for his team.
