• Aston Villa have lost just one of their last 12 games in the Women’s Super League, avoiding defeat in each of their last five since a 3-1 home defeat against Chelsea.
• Villa have kept three clean sheets in their last four Women’s Super League matches, as many shutouts as they recorded across their previous 26 in the competition.
• London City Lionesses have won four of their last six Women’s Super League matches, as many victories as newly promoted sides earned across their previous 51 games in the competition.
• Lionesses have conceded five penalty goals in their opening eight league games, which is behind only Tottenham Hotspur's seven in 2020-21 for the most in an entire WSL season.
• Kosovare Asllani (pictured) has created more chances than any other player in the Women’s Super League this season (23).

Image source, Getty Images

Both of these sides will be quietly grateful for the struggles Liverpool and West Ham have endured so far this campaign.

Brighton are winless in four, seeing them tumble down the table after a promising start, while Leicester only have one win in eight league games this campaign.

A win for either would salve their wounds, but defeat would see the loser start to really look over their shoulder - particularly if the Reds or the Hammers finally earn a victory.

This is the definition of a mid-table clash at Villa Park today, as seventh takes on sixth.

Both sides have greater ambitions though, and have both been in good form following difficult starts to the campaign. Villa are unbeaten in five, while London City have won three of their last four games.

A win today for either side will have them dreaming wistfully of a tilt at the top three.

West Ham picked up their first point of the season last time out at the eighth time of asking – during 2025 the Hammers have only put together a single run of more than one game unbeaten (won two, drawn three between March and April).

Everton remain winless in their last seven league games (drawn two, lost five), after winning their opening fixture of the season – the Toffees last went eight WSL matches without winning in the same campaign when failing to win any of their first eight matches of the 2018-19 season (drawn two, lost six).

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

With just one point from seven Women's Super League matches this season, Liverpool are not where they want to be. The two-time WSL champions have yet to win under new manager Gareth Taylor and find themselves second bottom of the table - ahead of West Ham only on goal difference.

They picked up their first point of the season in a 1-1 draw with Brighton last Sunday, but with defending WSL champions Chelsea and Champions League holders Arsenal their next two opponents, things could look even worse before Christmas.

Their budget is still well below WSL big-hitters Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City, and they have been surpassed by other teams around them in the table.

Liverpool sold key player Olivia Smith to Arsenal for a record £1m this summer, having bought the Canadian forward for a club-record £200,000 in 2024. It followed vice-captain Taylor Hinds' exit, also to the Gunners.

Liverpool will receive payment from Arsenal in instalments and have vowed to spend in January as a result. But the majority of their summer budget went on compensation to appoint Taylor following an issue with a clause in his contract at Manchester City, who sacked him in March.

• Read more on Liverpool's struggles here

Chelsea

Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor has revealed that England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton will be sidelined for “a few weeks”. Hampton missed the midweek Champions League win over St Polten, with Livia Peng stepping in between the sticks.

Bompastor said: “Hannah won’t be here, she picked up a quad injury. She’ll be out for a few weeks so we’ll see if we can see her before the end of the year, but I’m not sure.”

Chelsea are aiming for a seventh successive WSL title and are four points behind leaders Manchester City but with a game in hand.

“We know a lot of teams in this league can compete for the title, the title race has been really tough and Man City is now top of the table, but it doesn’t change anything for us," added Bompastor. “We're still early in the season, we know what we want to achieve and we keep this in mind. We are focused and still in a good position.”

Image source, Getty Images

If Chelsea avoid defeat today they will set a new WSL record of 34 successive unbeaten games. They will overtake their own record set between 2019 and 2021 when Emma Hayes was in charge.

Their last defeat in the competition was on 1 May, 2024 at Liverpool when they went down 4-3 following Gemma Bonner’s stoppage time winner.

First-half goals from Rebecca Knaak, Khadija Shaw and Lauren Hemp secured a comfortable victory for Manchester City against Manchester United in the Women's Super League.

Here's how they did it...

Available to UK users only.

Yesterday's derby day demolition for Manchester City moves them four points clear of Chelsea at the summit, with the champions facing Liverpool shortly.

Manchester United are now seven points behind their neighbours in the title race, and Arsenal can leapfrog them into third with a win in this afternoon's north London derby.

Image source, BBC Sport

As always, we would love to hear your thoughts on everything WSL related today - your comments are often much more insightful than our witterings.

You can have your say through the form at the top of this page, and we'll publish the best in the live feed.

Liverpool name their youngest WSL side of the season. Last time out they drew 1-1 with Brighton. Today they make one change. Gemma Evans is in for Risa Shimizu.

Liverpool XI: Kirby, Fisk, Clark, Evans, Woodham, Nagano, Kerr, Holland, Enderby, Olsson, Kapocs.

Subs: Laws, Borggrafe, Parry, Szymczak, Kiernan, Lundgaard, Maclean, Bonner, Silcock.

Image source, BBC Sport

Chelsea striker Sam Kerr is not in the Blues' squad having scored twice on her first Chelsea start in almost two years against St Polten on Tuesday.

Chelsea make five changes from their team against St Polten and two changes from the side that beat Arsenal in their last WSL match. From the Arsenal game, Livia Peng and Ellie Carpenter come in for Lucy Bronze and Hannah Hampton.

Chelsea XI: Peng, Carpenter, Bright, Bjorn, Charles, Cuthbert, Walsh, Kaptein, Kaneryd, Thompson, Macario.

Subs: Spencer, Bronze, Girma, Baltimore, Jean-Francois, Nusken, Hamano, James, Beever-Jones.

Image source, BBC Sport

Brighton are without Fran Kirby after the attacking midfielder also missed the midweek's League Cup defeat to Charlton Athletic because of illness.

Maelys Mpome, Nadine Noordam and Madison Haley return to the starting line-up in place of Kirby, Caitlin Hayes and Carla Carnacho as they make three changes from the 1-1 draw at Liverpool.

Brighton XI: Nnadozie, Minami, Mpome, Symonds, Cankovic, Seike, Noordam, Olislagers, Haley, McLauchlan, Rule.

Subs: Baggaley, Poulter, Vanegas, Kafaji, Carabali, Hayes, Auee, Tsunoda, Martin.

Image source, BBC Sport

Leicester City head coach Rick Passmoor has made three changes to the side that rescued a late 1-1 draw against West Ham last weekend.

Shannon O'Brien, who scored the late equaliser against the Hammers, gets a starting spot along with Jutta Rantala and Celeste Boureille as Julie Thibaud and Hlin Eiriksdottir drop to the bench and Noemie Mouchon misses out.

Leicester City XI: Leitzig, Kees, Tierney, Van Egmond, Boureille, Rantala, Ale, Cain, McLoughlin, O'Brien, Swaby.

Subs: Clark, Keane, Wellesley-Smith, Thibaud, Sherwood, Las, Eriksdottir.

Image source, BBC Sport

Aston Villa boss Natalia Arroyo sticks with the same starting line-up which bagged a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the WSL last weekend.

Experienced forward Kirsty Hanson is partnered by 20-year-old Villa Academy graduate Georgia Mullett in attack.

Villa XI: D'Angelo, Deslandes, Patten, Wilms, Maritz, Kendall, Taylor, Kearns, Grant, Hanson, Mullett

Subs: Roebuck, Sallaway, Mayling, Maltby, Salmon, Daly

Image source, BBC Sport

Jocelyn Precheur keeps faith with the same London City Lionesses team which claimed a 4-2 victory over Tottenham a week ago.

Isobel Goodwin starts up front with the attacking triumvirate of Freya Godfrey, Kosovare Asllani and Nikita Parris in behind.

Lionesses XI: Lete, Imuran, Linari, Sangare, Fernández, Geyoro, Kumagai, Parris, Asllani, Godfrey, Goodwin

Subs: Poor, Pattinson, Goldie, Perez, Franssi, Roddar, Lindstrom, Zelem, Kennedy

Image source, BBC Sport

Rehanne Skinner makes just one change from the West Ham side who drew 1-1 with Leicester in their last Women's Super League game.

Defender Verena Hanshaw comes in for Ffion Morgan, who drops ot the bench.

West Ham XI: Szemik, Denton, Endo, Tysiak, Zadorsky, Hanshaw, Siren, Gorry, Asseyi, Ueki, Martinez.

Subs: Walsh, Belloumou, Pavi, Csiki, Brasero, Morgan, Wandeler, Houssein, Cemal.

Hikaru Kitagawa and Katie Robinson are brought into the starting line-up as Brian Sorensen makes two changes from the Everton side who were beaten 2-1 by Manchester City.

They replace Maz Pacheco and Kelly Gago, who are both absent with injuries.

Everton XI: Ramsey, Kitagawa, Fernandez, Ishikawa, Wheeler, Mace, Van Gool, Hayashi, Payne, Vignola, Robinson.

Subs: Brosnan, Hobson, Ladd, Weir, Snoeijs, Holmgaard, Mimiki, Jones.

It's a busy schedule of WSL action this afternoon, with five games coming your way.

These four are kicking off at 12:00 GMT, including champions Chelsea's trip to Merseyside. Then it's the big north London derby at 14:30 GMT.

Image source, BBC Sport

Hopefully you've all dried out after the storms, and are ready for another exciting Sunday of WSL action.

Yesterday, Manchester City extended their lead at the top of the table - now it is up to the chasing pack to react.

Meanwhile at the bottom of the league, Liverpool and West Ham will continue their long search for maiden league victories this campaign.

Plenty to get stuck into, and time is a-wasting...