The WSL Matchday 2 promises thrilling clashes as Manchester City seeks its first win under Andree Jeglertz against Brighton, while Everton debuts at Goodison Park. Key matches include West Ham vs. Arsenal, London City Lionesses vs. Man United, and Aston Villa vs. Chelsea, with Opta’s supercomputer providing predictive insights.
The Women’s Super League (WSL) is back, and after a thrilling opening weekend that saw 18 goals scored, derby day victories, and an impressive hat-trick, matchday two promises even more excitement. Sonia Bompastor and her Chelsea squad began their title defense with a hard-fought win against Manchester City, joining Manchester United and Everton, who both secured comprehensive victories over Leicester City and Liverpool respectively. Tottenham also managed a late win against West Ham, setting the stage for another captivating round of fixtures.
This week, all eyes are on Manchester City as they aim to secure their first victory under the guidance of new boss Andree Jeglertz when they host Brighton. Meanwhile, Everton is set to mark their first season at their new home in Goodison Park against Tottenham. Liverpool, London City Lionesses, Leicester, and West Ham are all eager to bounce back and secure their first wins of the campaign.
But how does the Opta supercomputer predict these weekend’s matches will unfold? Let’s dive into the predictions.
WEST HAM UNITED V ARSENAL
The weekend kicks off with a Friday night clash between West Ham and Arsenal at Chigwell Construction Stadium. Arsenal started strong, thrashing newly-promoted London City Lionesses 4-1 in their opening match. Olivia Smith justified her hefty price tag with a stunning goal that sparked Arsenal’s comeback after conceding a penalty to Kosovare Asllani.
West Ham, however, suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Tottenham, with Beth England’s late penalty sealing their fate. The Opta supercomputer doesn’t foresee much improvement for the Hammers in this upcoming match, giving Rehanne Skinner’s side only a 15.1% chance of winning. Arsenal, on the other hand, have a commanding 66.9% chance of securing victory, with an 18% chance of a draw.
Arsenal’s historical dominance over West Ham in the WSL further supports this prediction. The Gunners have won 11 of their 13 league encounters against West Ham, with their sole loss occurring at home in February 2024. Only Chelsea has inflicted more defeats on West Ham in the WSL than Arsenal, who also boast the highest average goals per game against the Hammers in the competition.
A win for Arsenal would mark their first time winning their opening two games of a WSL season since 2022-23, continuing a streak they maintained for the five seasons prior.
MANCHESTER CITY V BRIGHTON
The other Friday fixture sees Manchester City host Brighton at Joie Stadium, with both teams keen to register their first win of the season. Andree Jeglertz faced a challenging debut in the WSL, but his City side delivered a commendable performance despite a 2-1 loss to reigning champions Chelsea.
Brighton was held to a goalless draw by Aston Villa, despite firing 18 shots at Sabrina D’Angelo’s net. While the Seagulls have won two of their last four away games in the WSL, their chances of upsetting City are slim.
The Opta supercomputer gives Dario Vidosic’s team just a 7% chance of victory, the lowest win probability of any team this weekend. Manchester City, conversely, are heavily favored with an 81.6% chance of winning.
Manchester City has historically dominated Brighton, winning 11 of their 13 WSL meetings. A win here could be crucial for Jeglertz’s side to keep pace at the top of the league table.
LONDON CITY LIONESSES V MANCHESTER UNITED
On Sunday, London City Lionesses will host Manchester United at Copperjax Community Stadium. The WSL newcomers suffered a 4-1 defeat against Arsenal, while Manchester United began their campaign with a resounding 4-0 victory against Leicester City.
This will be the first league meeting between London City and United since the 2018-19 WSL2 campaign, where United triumphed convincingly in both encounters. Manchester United has an unblemished record against newly-promoted opposition in the WSL, winning all 12 previous matches and keeping 10 clean sheets.
The Opta supercomputer predicts a continuation of this trend, giving Marc Skinner’s side a 76.2% chance of victory, compared to the Lionesses’ 10.4%. The likelihood of a draw is slightly higher at 13.5%.
Ella Toone, fresh from her heroics with England at Euro 2025, started the new WSL season with a goal and an assist against Leicester and is expected to play a significant role in this match.
LEICESTER CITY V LIVERPOOL
Both Leicester and Liverpool, who suffered defeats in their opening matches, will clash at King Power Stadium. Leicester was defeated by Manchester United, while Liverpool fell to Everton in a Merseyside derby rout, highlighted by Ornella Vignola’s hat-trick.
Leicester previously achieved a double over Liverpool in their debut WSL campaign in 2022-23, but have since won only one of four league meetings with the Reds. Liverpool has struggled with trips to Leicester, losing three of their last four away games against the Foxes in all competitions, save for a 4-0 victory on the final day of the 2023-24 season.
Leicester’s main challenge has been in attack. Since the beginning of last season, they have scored fewer goals than any other ever-present side in the WSL, managing just four shots in their opening weekend defeat.
The Opta supercomputer predicts this will hinder them against Liverpool, with Leicester winning 31.6% of the data-led simulations to Liverpool’s 43.1%.
ASTON VILLA V CHELSEA
Defending champions Chelsea will face Aston Villa, aiming to build on their victory over Manchester City. Chelsea’s chances of making it two wins from two are high at 77.5%, while Villa is given a 9.8% chance of victory. Chelsea has dominated their WSL away games against Villa, winning each of their five encounters by an aggregate score of 15-0.
Chelsea has lost just one of their last 18 matches away from home in the WSL. However, despite their strong record, Chelsea managed just eight shots in their 2-1 win on MD1, their lowest number of attempts in a WSL game since February 2021 vs Arsenal.
Villa, meanwhile, is unbeaten in their last six matches in the WSL. Ellie Carpenter also had a productive debut for the Blues, assisting Aggie Beever-Jones against City.
EVERTON V TOTTENHAM
After an eighth-place finish in 2024-25, Everton began the new season impressively with a 4-1 victory against Liverpool and will aim to build on this momentum in their Goodison Park debut against Tottenham.
Tottenham also started the season with a win, but Everton is predicted to capitalize on their Merseyside derby performance, according to the Opta supercomputer. Everton emerged victorious in 48.4% of the pre-match simulations, while Spurs were given a 25.8% probability.
Everton is unbeaten in each of their six previous WSL home games against Spurs, while Tottenham is unbeaten in each of their last four league meetings with Everton. This will be Everton’s sixth WSL game played at Goodison Park but the first as their new permanent home.
One player to watch is Vignola, who became only the second player in WSL history to score a hat-trick on their debut. She scored with each of her three shots and could become only the second player to net in each of her first two outings for Everton in the competition after Natasha Dowie in 2011.
3 – Everton’s Ornella Vignola became only the second player to score a hat-trick on their WSL debut after Kiko Seike, and the first ever player to score a hat-trick at Anfield in the competition. Blue. #OptaOnWSL pic.twitter.com/pGbjcNwPPU
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 7, 2025