Manchester United enters Matchweek 8 at the helm of the FA WSL after a 2-2 comeback draw with Manchester City and a London Derby draw between Chelsea and Arsenal. The Red Devils will kick off the weekend with a 7:30 a.m. Saturday game against bottom-dweller Aston Villa. Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton and Manchester City will be watching closely as they look to rob Manchester United of its current position in the standings.
U.S. Women’s National Team fans will be able to see Alex Morgan, Christen Press, Rose Lavelle, Sam Mewis and Tobin Heath play days after taking down the Netherlands in an international friendly. The Aston Villa-Manchester United and Tottenham-Brighton games will be available for free on the FA Player, while the Everton-Manchester City game will be on live TV through NBC Sports Network.
Game of the Week: Everton vs. Manchester City
A clash between the league’s fourth place and fifth place will receive the most attention this weekend. It is a surprise to see Manchester City outside of the top 3, and more so a surprise to see Everton ahead of the Citizens seven weeks into the season. Nonetheless, positions will not matter once the two squads step on the pitch on Sunday morning.
Everton and Man City last played in the FA Women’s Cup final on Nov. 1. Manchester City won the game 3-1 in extra time after the game finished 1-1 in regular time. It was not a walk in the park for the Citizens, who had to fight hard to score past 22-year-old goalkeeper Sandy McIver. However, USWNT midfielder Sam Mewis opened the scoring for Manchester City in the first half. Everton equalized in the second half via French international Valerie Gauvin and took the game into extra time. It was not until the 120th minute that Man City was able to score the winning goal and another to make it 3-1.
Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor and Everton head coach Willie Kirk will feel that the game can go either way and will do whatever they can from a tactical standpoint to play to their strengths.
Talk of the Week: New faces for Tottenham and West Ham United
Two managerial changes in the FA Women’s Super League were announced just days into the International break two weeks ago.
Matt Beard, who helped West Ham United to the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium in May 2019 and coached the London side since 2018, parted ways with the club after starting the season with a 1W-5L-1D record. At the same time, Tottenham decided to let go of co-head coaches Karen Hills and Juan Amoros after seven league games without a win.
West Ham goalkeeping coach Billy Stewart and first-team coach Paul McHugh took temporary charge of the team as the club looks for a new manager to take the wheel. On the other hand, Tottenham acted fast and appointed Rehanne Skinner just hours after the sackings of long-time coaches Hills and Amoros.
It will be interesting to see if the dynamic will change for the best in the coming days. West Ham will have the difficult task to take on Chelsea at Kingsmeadow on Sunday, while Tottenham host Brighton as it looks for its first FA WSL win of the season.
