Women’s Super League predictions: Can Ballon d’Or winner Putellas end Man City’s unbeaten start?

The Women’s Super League has new leaders heading into MD8, with Chelsea dethroning Manchester City at the top of the table last time out.

Just goal difference separates the two sides heading into the final round of fixtures and Andree Jeglertz’s side will be keen to regain top spot in their title defence.

But the Citizens face the London City Lionesses, who have Alexia Putellas in their ranks, to claim a record third Ballon d’Or.

Chelsea make a short trip across the capital to Charlton Athletic, the only side yet to get a point on the board, but the action doesn’t end there.

Manchester United will be hoping to match the top three against Everton, while Arsenal and Tottenham look to do the same against Aston Villa and Birmingham City respectively.

Brighton face rivals Crystal Palace and West Ham host Liverpool at the Victoria Road Stadium, but who will win this weekend?

With the help of Opta’s supercomputer, we dig into pre-match thoughts to find out.

EVERTON V MANCHESTER UNITED

The action kicks off at Goodison Park in Saturday’s only match, with Everton and Manchester United battling it out as they hope to get their season underway.

Everton were on the receiving end of a 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa last time out, with Elisabeth Terland’s 89th-minute equalizer helping United to a 1-1 draw with rivals Manchester City.

The Red Devils have picked up 11 points from their opening 7 WSL games this season (G3 D2 M2), their lowest tally at this stage of the campaign in the competition. However, 10 of those points have come from their last four matches (3 D1) and make them favorites here.

Eva Olid’s team has a 52.2% chance to collect all three points, while Everton’s probability of winning is estimated at 24.8%. The probability of a draw is 23%.

United’s strong position in this match owes to their recent record against Everton. They have done so in each of the last four seasons, winning six of their seven WSL away games against the Toffees (D1).

Everton are winless in each of their 14 meetings with United in the WSL (2D 12) – only West Ham have gone more against an opponent without ever winning the competition (Chelsea’s 17).

LONDON CITY LIONESSES V MANCHESTER CITY

The standout matchup in MD8 takes place at the Copperjax Community Stadium on Sunday, with London City Lionesses taking on WSL champions Manchester City.

London City have made a strong start after big spending, with one of those arrivals, former Barcelona captain Putellas, celebrating her third Ballon d’Or crown on Monday, becoming only the second woman to do so after former team-mate Aitana Bonmati last year.

Putellas has adapted well to life in England, scoring three goals and providing one assist in seven WSL games, but City will present his toughest test since joining London City.

City remain unbeaten in the league this season (6 D1) and for the first time since 2018-19 have managed to avoid defeat in each of their first eight matches of a WSL campaign (first 19 unbeaten).

But both teams are in great shape. Only City (16) currently have a longer winning streak at home in the WSL than London City (five).

However, it is this kind of opposition that London City have struggled with. They lost each of their first seven WSL games against ‘big four’ teams but have since picked up four points from two games, drawing 1-1 with Chelsea and beating Man Utd 2-1.

Over the last 10 matchdays, only Chelsea (28) and Man City (25) have scored more points than London City (22) in the WSL. The Lions have led in eight of those matches, but it was the first time MD7 failed to win one of those eight games (2-2 against Liverpool).

But despite their recent form, the Opta supercomputer backed City to get the job done comfortably. They are predicted to win in 55% of simulations based on the data, compared to London City’s 22.7% win probability.

ARSENAL V ASTON VILLA

Renee Slegers lifted the pressure on her with a morale-boosting win in the north London derby last time out, and Arsenal built on that by comfortably beating Benfica 3-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday thanks to an Alessia Russo hat-trick.

The Gunners will hope to continue that momentum at home to Aston Villa, who ended their five-match away winless streak in the WSL last time out with a 3-2 win over Everton (2B 3). Another win would take them to eight points from their opening five away games this season and equal their best return at this stage (2025-26 – eight).

Arsenal have won eight of their 12 games against Villa in the WSL (2D 2D), most recently 3-0 in May, while remaining unbeaten in each of their last 22 league home matches (16D 6) – the third-longest streak in the competition’s history.

The Opta supercomputer believes that will continue here. In 10,000 pre-game simulations, Arsenal won 78.5% of these scenarios, while Villa had an 8.5% chance of taking all three points. A draw is rated at 13%.

Arsenal have picked up just nine points from their first seven WSL games this season (2 D3 M2), compared to just fewer (seven) at this stage in 2014, so Villa can fancy their chances given they have won their last two league matches, as many wins as they have in their previous 17 combined (G2 D4 L11).

WEST HAM V LIVERPOOL

West Ham and Liverpool are the two teams looking to get back to winning ways, the Hammers were beaten by Brighton, while the Reds earned a good point against London City.

Liverpool have lost just one of their six WSL away matches against West Ham, although that fixture has ended in a draw in each of the last four campaigns (W1), with a chance of a stalemate rated at 26.6% by the Opta supercomputer.

The Hammers won 1-0 in their most recent WSL game against Liverpool in April, their second win against the Reds in the competition. They are looking to win back-to-back WSL games against Liverpool for the first time.

Gareth Taylor’s side are 10th in the table but could be higher. Liverpool have lost the most points from positions gained in the WSL this season (eight) and are projected to finish second best here.

Since the start of last season, the Hammers have lost the most WSL games (18) and the most league games by 3+ goals (eight), including their last two defeats, but Liverpool have a 33.4% chance of taking all three points, compared to West Ham’s 40%.

BRIGHTON V CRYSTAL PALACE

Crystal Palace will be hoping their men’s team can go one better than they did against Brighton in the Premier League earlier this month, with the Seagulls continuing their turmoil with a 5-0 defeat.

However, the Opta supercomputer predicted a similar result at Broadfield Stadium. Brighton have a 54.7% chance of beating their opponents, while Palace’s hopes are rated at just 22% and a draw at 23.3%.

Palace are winless in their last four games against Brighton in all competitions, starting with a 5-1 away defeat in December 2018 (1D 3D), while they are winless in their last six WSL matches (3D 3D), losing their last two.

Brighton, meanwhile, have won two of their last three WSL games (W1), without a win in their previous seven games (D4 L3). After a 3-0 win over West Ham in MD7, the Seagulls are looking to keep a clean sheet in consecutive league matches for the first time since November 2021.

And this weekend the hosts will be looking to build on their good home form. They have won their last two home games in the WSL, as many as they have in their last 10 combinations (W2 D3 L5), although Palace are the first newly promoted side to go unbeaten in their first three away games of the WSL season, drawing all three this season.

CITY OF BIRMINGHAM AT TOTTENHAM

After beating Charlton last time out, Birmingham will be hoping to move further away from the bottom of the table when they host Tottenham, who are fighting for revenge after their north London derby defeat.

However, against no side have Birmingham gone more games without a win in the WSL than Tottenham, failing in all four attempts (D1 L3). They also have the worst goals per game ratio against Spurs (0.25 to 1 in 4).

But Spurs need a win as they have lost each of their last three WSL games. They could lose more in a row for the first time since five defeats between February and March 2025 under Robert Villahamn.

Tottenham will be confident going into this match given that they have won each of their last four games against Birmingham in all competitions without conceding a goal – they have not won five in a row against an opponent as a WSL side.

And Opta supercomputer Spurs’ St. Backing him back to winning ways at Andrew’s, he gave them a 40% chance of winning. Birmingham’s hopes of a second league win of the season are backed by 34.2% and a draw by 25.8% of pre-match simulations.

One thing you can expect from this rig is targets. In Spurs’ nine WSL away games in 2026, 49 total goals have been scored (25F, 24A) for an average of 5.4 per game, the most of any away team in a calendar year.

CHARLTON ATHLETIC V CHELSEA

Chelsea are riding high after a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace last time out with a 2-0 win over Roma last time out to remain perfect in their Champions League campaign.

They travel to the Valley this Sunday to face a Charlton side who have lost each of their four WSL home games 12-2. The only team to lose their first 5 home matches in the competition is Yeovil Town (first 11 between 2017 and 2018).

This will be only the third meeting between Charlton and Chelsea in the WSL era, with the Addicks losing 4-0 in the FA Cup both times, in January 2020 (home) and January 2025 (away), and this weekend the hosts may fear the worst.

Chelsea have scored 98 goals in 32 games against newly promoted sides in the WSL, averaging three goals per match, sitting at the top of the league table for the first time since the end of MD7 last season and will be looking to stay there.

The Blues are unbeaten in their last 22 league games since a 1-0 loss to Man City in February 2024 when they started the day as WSL leaders (W17 D5) and that stretch is expected to continue.

Sonia Bompastor’s side have a whopping 80.5% chance of winning, higher than any other team in MD8. Charlton’s hopes are rated at just 8.5% for a win and 10.9% for a draw.

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