Women´s Super League predictions: Leicester need Christmas miracle against rampant Chelsea

This weekend marks the final Women’s Super League matchday before the winter break.

Chelsea will look to cement their perfect start at the top of the table when they visit Leicester City on Saturday, having won all 14 of their matches under Sonia Bompastor in all competitions.

The Blues already lead Manchester City by five points, and Gareth Taylor’s challengers could find themselves further adrift by the time they visit Everton on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Arsenal will defend their unbeaten record under interim coach Renee Slegers at Liverpool, while bottom-of-the-table Crystal Palace host Manchester United.

Surprise package Brighton and Hove Albion, meanwhile, will attempt to bounce back from a 4-2 loss to Chelsea when they welcome Tottenham to Broadfield Stadium.

But who will come out on top in this weekend’s matches? We turned to the trusty Opta supercomputer to get its matchday 10 predictions.

LEICESTER V CHELSEA

Bompastor has already made the best start by any WSL coach in the competition’s history, and Chelsea could become the first team to ever win their first 10 games of a season when they visit Leicester for Saturday’s early kick-off at the King Power Stadium.

Chelsea have got an exceptional record against the Foxes, who have lost each of the teams’ previous six WSL meetings, averaging over six goals conceded per game across the last five (32 conceded – 6.4 per game).

With Chelsea already netting 30 times in nine games, there could be goals, goals and more goals in this one. Leicester should be particularly wary of Aggie Beever-Jones, who has now scored 17 goals in the WSL – only Lauren Hemp (31), Georgia Stanway (29) and Beth Mead (18) have netted more in the competition before turning 22.

Chelsea have made a habit of starting strongly this term, opening the scoring in all nine of their WSL matches. They have won 43 of their last 44 league games after going 1-0 up, the exception being a 4-3 defeat to Liverpool in May.

The Foxes have struggled in front of goal this season, failing to score in more games than any other team in the WSL (seven). Only one team has ever scored fewer goals through nine matches of a WSL campaign than the Foxes’ two this term (Yeovil Town, 0 in 2017-18).

Chelsea are overwhelming favourites for this one and the Opta Supercomputer gives them 83.1% chance of victory, with 9.3% of match simulations ending level. Leicester may need a Christmas miracle to earn three points, being assigned just a 7.6% win probability.

BRIGHTON V TOTTENHAM

Brighton will look to get back to winning ways after putting up a valiant effort against Chelsea in their last league game. The Seagulls will also want to remain among the chasing pack and a win would lift them to third ahead of Sunday’s matches.

However, Brighton have failed to win any of their last five WSL meetings with Tottenham (two draws, three losses), since a 2-1 home win in October 2021 under Hope Powell.

They have enjoyed a terrific start to the season, though, particularly at home. Brighton are unbeaten on their own turf in the WSL in 2024-25, winning four of their five matches (one draw) – as many wins as they recorded in their previous 25 such games (four draws, 17 defeats).

There could be drama in this one as nine of the total 13 penalties awarded in the WSL this term have come in games involving either Brighton (two for, two against) or Spurs (two for, three against). Both sides, meanwhile, boast plenty of attacking ammunition.

Kiko Seike is Brighton’s leading scorer in the WSL this season, netting five times from just 15 shots to register the best conversion rate of any player to net three or more times (33%).

Meanwhile, only Mead and Khadija Shaw (eight apiece) have scored more WSL goals against Brighton than Spurs’ Beth England (seven), who is now just three goals away from levelling Vivianne Miedema at the top of the all-time WSL scoring charts.

The Opta supercomputer makes Brighton slight favourites with a 43.1% win probability, with Spurs given a 30.2% chance and 26.7% of simulations finishing all square.

EVERTON V MAN CITY

Merseyside is a very happy hunting ground for Manchester City and they will be looking forward to travelling to Walton Hall Park for Sunday’s first match.

City have won more away WSL games against Everton (eight) than any other team, while they have only netted more times on the road against Brighton and Bristol City (both 25) than versus the Toffees (24).

The Citizens are firm favourites with the supercomputer, winning 73.8% of match simulations to Everton’s 11.5%, with 14.5% finishing level.

Everton’s only league win this season came in their most recent home game against Liverpool; they could now win back-to-back home WSL matches for the first time since January 2023.

City, meanwhile, have dropped points in two of their last four away games (2-2 versus Arsenal, 0-2 versus Chelsea) after winning 10 of their previous 11 such matches.

Everton will have to deal with current Golden Boot frontrunner ‘Bunny’ Shaw, who has scored nine goals so far this term. Five of those strikes have come via her head, and she has more such goals in total (24) than any other player in WSL history.

ASTON VILLA V WEST HAM

Aston Villa will welcome West Ham to Villa Park for a clash between two sides hovering above the danger zone. Sunday’s hosts sit ninth on six points, just two behind eighth-placed West Ham.

Villa picked up their first victory of the campaign in their last home game against Crystal Palace (3-2) and could now win back-to-back home games in the WSL for the first time. They have played the most home games in the competition without ever winning two in a row (48).

It should be a day to remember for Jordan Nobbs, as the WSL’s all-time leading appearance-maker brings up 200 outings in the competition. She scored on her 100th outing in the WSL back in October 2018, representing Arsenal against Bristol City.

Villa are in need of results to ensure they are not dragged into the mire, and the supercomputer is backing them here, with a 53.2% win probability. West Ham are given a 22.8% chance of a victory and a 23.9% chance of taking a point.

CRYSTAL PALACE V MAN UTD

Sunday’s slate of games also features the first league meeting between Palace and Manchester United since the 2018-19 Championship season, when the Red Devils trounced the Eagles 5-0 away and 7-0 at home.

Palace sit bottom of the table and are expected to remain there for Christmas, with the supercomputer only giving them a 13.6% chance of earning three points. United, meanwhile, are given a 69.6% chance of victory and a 16.8% probability of a draw.

United have a perfect record against newly promoted opposition in the WSL, winning all 10 such games while scoring 29 goals and only conceding once.

Marc Skinner’s side claimed their biggest win of the season last weekend, winning 4-0 against Liverpool; each of the Red Devils’ last six league victories – and 12 of their last 14 – have been accompanied by a clean sheet.

Only Chelsea (nine times), Arsenal (seven) and United (six) have opened the scoring on more occasions in the WSL than Palace (five) this season, though the Eagles have dropped a league-high 10 points from winning positions – if they do find themselves ahead, the challenge will be holding on.

LIVERPOOL V ARSENAL

The final fixture of the weekend sees Arsenal visit Liverpool, having looked a team transformed since Slegers took the reins from Jonas Eidevall.

The Gunners have won their last three league games, last winning four in a row in the WSL in December 2023, when they enjoyed a run of seven victories.

In their five WSL games under Slegers to date, Arsenal have scored exactly once (v Man Utd), twice (v West Ham), three times (v Spurs), four times (v Aston Villa) and five times (v Brighton); the Gunners have not scored six times in a league match since beating Leicester 6-2 last November.

On the opposing bench, Matt Beard will not be looking forward to Arsenal’s visit. He has lost 16 of his 20 previous WSL meetings with Arsenal (three wins, one draw), losing to the Gunners with each of his clubs – seven times with Liverpool, four with West Ham and Chelsea, once with Bristol City.

The main threat to Liverpool could be Alessia Russo, who endured a slow start to the season but has since scored in four straight WSL games. She could become just the sixth Arsenal player to net in five in a row, and the first since Mead in May 2022.

Arsenal are big favourites with a 63% chance of victory, while Liverpool are assigned just a 17.4% hope and a 19.6% chance of earning a draw.