Women's Super League

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea have signed goalkeeper Becky Spencer on emergency loan from Tottenham until the end of the season.

Spencer will provide cover for Zecira Musovic and Femke Liefting.

Musovic announced in January that she would miss the remainder of the season due to pregnancy, while Femke Liefting, signed during the January transfer window from AZ Alkmaar, suffered a foot injury ahead of Chelsea's meeting with Everton on February 16. The club has described her injury as "long-term".

Spencer, 34, previously played for Chelsea between 2016 and 2018, winning the WSL and the FA Cup during her time at the club.

The Jamaica international was previously first-choice goalkeeper at Tottenham but has fallen behind Eleanor Heeps and January signing Lize Kop in the pecking order.

Image source, Getty Images

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish said "it was an extremely difficult decision" to sack boss Laura Kaminski.

Kaminski joined Palace in 2023 and oversaw the club's promotion to the Women's Super League for the first time in the club's history.

Her departure has been confirmed with Palace sitting bottom of the WSL on six points, four points from safety.

"This has been an extremely difficult decision for the club to take," Parish said. Laura has made a fantastic impact since arriving.

"Laura has given her all, on and off the pitch, and she leaves here with all of our thanks and best wishes for the future."

The club say they will provide an update on Kaminski's replacement in due course.

Ellie Thomason
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Boss Renee Slegers said Arsenal must keep believing the Women's League Super League title is still in reach for her side.

The Gunners return from the international break sitting third in the WSL, 10 points behind leaders Chelsea with eight games to play.

"We need to believe that, and I do," Slegers said on her side's title chances. "All we can do is: we're in the position we're in at the moment. We have a very exciting block, full of opportunities ahead of us, and we're going to try and take those opportunities, and that's within our control.

"Everything that the others do, we can't control. But we're going to try what we can do in these games."

Here are more key lines from Slegers before Sunday's game against West Ham (kick-off 17:30 GMT)

• Beth Mead has returned to training and it in contention, but Lotte Wubben-Moy remains sidelined.

• On being named WSL manager of the month for the second time: "nything we win is shared between people that are working here, so both players and staff, because I think you can't do anything by yourself."

• She was full of praise for Mariona Caldentey, who won the WSL player of the month award for February: "There are so many things to say about Mariona, because she does so many things so well. Technically and tactically - her intelligence is really high level. Her work ethic is unbelievable."

• On pushing for the Champions League, FA Cup and the WSL: "It's very exciting. This is where we want to be."

The Women's Super League game between Manchester United and Everton will be broadcast live on the BBC.

The match is on Sunday, 30 March, with kick-off at 12:00 BST.

Marc Skinner's side won the reverse fixture in September, with Grace Clinton scoring the only goal of the game.

Adam Millington
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham boss Robert Vilahamn wants his side to adapt in Sunday's Women's Super League game (14:00 GMT) to be able to compete with Manchester City, but does not want them to divert from their style too much.

Spurs were defeated 5-0 by rivals Arsenal before the international break and lost 4-0 to City in the league in November.

Speaking in his pre-match news conference, Vilahamn said: "I think we have had some big losses against the top teams this season. We thought we were ready to compete the way that we want to play and go for it.

"In most of those games actually we have conceded goals early and haven't really nailed both in and out of possession.

"We don't want to lose 5-0, we don't want big numbers, but we still want to push the team forwards because in the end we will have that identity, that's the whole part of why we're here. It's a mixture of it."

Here are some more key lines from his news conference:

• Eveliina Summananen has returned and is in contention for Sunday's match.

• Vilahamn was "very happy" to see Rebecca Spencer play for Jamaica, as she is a "top goalkeeper with high quality competing here every day."

• Spurs had a good international break, which included a friendly against Championship side London City Lionesses.

• He would rather be playing every week than have games being spread out, with Spurs having to wait two weeks for their next fixture after playing City.

Ellie Thomason
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool interim boss Amber Whiteley praised the response of players after Matt Beard's departure on Thursday.

Whiteley starts her second spell in temporary charge against Crystal Palace on Sunday and she expects to lead the team until at least the end of the season, though she wants the job on a permanent basis.

"I saw Matt on Wednesday evening so I wanted to let the players know that he is good, he is ok and then we moved on to the Palace prep," she said.

"There are always mixed emotions when a manager leaves a club. It's never an easy thing to go through. The players have been absolutely brilliant in the way they responded and turned their focus to Palace for the weekend.

"I'm so grateful to Matt for everything that he has given to me personally over the last three and a bit years. I'm going to miss him."

Here are more lines from Whiteley's news conference before Sunday's game (kick-off 14:00 GMT)

• On what she will look to change, she said: "The dilemma is always how much have you changed. There will be some changes but nothing too drastic."

• On what she wants to achieve between now and the end of the season, she said: "We would like to be more consistent, that's for definite. We have eight league games remaining and an FA Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Lots to play for. It's important we put the work in on the training pitch and give some performances that the fans are going to be proud of."

• She added: "We have got so much talent in this group. We have been inconsistent up until the Christmas break. We have had a decent run since but we really want a really strong finish to the season now."

• Leanne Kiernan will miss Sunday's game

Adam Millington
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor says it is going to be "really" tough for his side to get the results they want during a very busy March.

City have reached the League Cup final, FA Cup quarter-finals and Champions League quarter-finals and now have eight games in the month.

They have a calmer April, but Taylor said he wants that to be busier and that happens by "being successful in this period" - a task which will not be easy.

City's cramped month begins on Sunday, when they travel to take on Tottenham in the Women's Super League at 14:00 GMT.

Speaking in his pre-match news conference, Taylor said: "There's a lot going on in this month and I think the conversation will certainly be 'attack the next game, don't try and give too much thought to what's further down the road'.

"We've worked really hard to get to that final, that's great and it's difficult not to have one eye on that.

"But, we have priorities with two tough fixtures against Spurs and West Ham both away and back after an international break so everything's thrown into the mix a little bit in terms of a challenge."

Here are some more key lines from his news conference before Sunday's Women's Super League game:

• Rebecca Knaak will be out for "a few weeks" after sustaining a hamstring injury on international duty

• Laura Coombs is nearing a return from injury - "if not Sunday, then it will be definitely be Wednesday [against West Ham in the league]"

• He hopes that Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood will be able to return in March, with their being "plenty of games" for them to be "brought back gradually"

• He thought Jess Park did "really well" on international duty for England and has been a "top player, a top person to work with" who people are starting to see "the real quality" of.

Ellie Thomason
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Rehanne Skinner hopes her West Ham side can pick up from where they left off before the international break when they face Arsenal on Sunday (kick-off 17:30 GMT).

The Hammers beat Brighton 3-1 in their last game before the break and Skinner is keen to continue the momentum into this next block of games.

"We get used to these stoppages but you want to try and get a bit of momentum and keep the flow going when you are in that headspace," she said.

"The narrative hasn't changed in terms of what we are trying to achieve as a team. That is the bit everyone is going to sink back into at the weekend.

"It's a London derby and we want to make sure we give it everything we can. It's going to be a tough test for us but on our day and in this league you can get results from anybody in the league."

Here are the more lines from Skinner's news conference:

• On the potential restructure of the WSL and scrapping relegation, she said: "If the league were to be closed, given the number of teams in it at the moment, I don't think that is appropriate. The league has got to be bigger to be able to do that. I don't see it as a bad thing. The game is evolving, things need to be reviewed as to what happens next but it comes with criteria."

• The Gunners won 2-0 when the sides last met in what was Renee Slegers' first WSL game in charge. On Slegers, Skinner said: "She has done a fantastic job since she came in. That has got to be acknowledged by everybody."

• On Arsenal, she added: "They have got good quality and they will be a handful for sure. It's going to be a real tough test for us."

Adam Millington
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa boss Natalia Arroyo said she doesn't want to "push any player to stay" after the departure of forward Adriana Leon earlier this week.

Canada international Leon, 32, joined the San Diego Wave for an undisclosed fee on Monday.

Arroyo said Leon had been wanting to move closer to her home country and to be able to play again in the USA's National Women's Soccer League.

"Where a player is thinking other things, in my experience it doesn't help to force them to stay even if they are very good," Arroyo said, speaking in her pre-match news conference before Aston Villa host Everton on Sunday (14:00 GMT).

"We have the skills to still be an attacking team and whatever we lack we will find in the next window."

"Today, in the women's game, we are starting to see these kind of movements when players are out of contract in the summer, [moving in] the window in the winter - with some markets being very, very aggressive.

"It's an opportunity for the clubs and we've got to accept that."

Here are some more key lines from her news conference before Sunday's Women's Super League game:

• Everybody is "fine" and "fit" after the international break, with the same players being available as before the break.

• Rachel Corsie, Lucy Staniforth and Maz Pachecho are "close" to returning from injury, but still a few weeks from being fully fit.

• Arroyo said Everton will be a "tough" opponent who are "one of the most creative and dynamic teams in this league."

• She wants her side to replicate the "feeling, energy and passion" they had out of possession against Chelsea and Brighton.

• The starting point has been "good" since she took over as manager but she is not trying to "set the bar a bit higher."

Image source, Getty Images

It was a clean sweep for Arsenal in the Women's Super League's awards for February, with Mariona Caldentey being voted player of the month and boss Renee Slegers taking the manager of the month award.

The Gunners won both of their WSL games this month, beating Manchester City 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller before thrashing north London rivals Tottenham 5-0 at Emirates Stadium.

Caldentey scored in both fixtures, as well as providing an assist against City. She beat Mary Fowler, Kelly Gago, Toni Payne, Elisabeth Terland and teammate Frida Maanum to take the award.

Slegers was voted above Sonia Bompastor and Marc Skinner.

Adam Millington
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton boss Dario Vidosic says his side still have "belief" and want to use Sunday's game against Women's Super League leaders Chelsea (15:00 GMT kick-off) to show their quality.

The Seagulls are fifth in the division but have not won in their past six league games, while Chelsea are unbeaten.

"It's still a process," he said in his pre-match news conference. "We're still learning a lot, working on new things, new details.

"If it was perfect, we would probably be in a title race with Chelsea but that's just how it goes. We're still in a great position."

Vidosic wants his side to be persistent with his brand of football and not let standards slip against difficult opponents.

He added: "I don't really want to just sit back and hope. We want to go there, we want to try to play our football. It's hard to sometimes build something when if Chelsea come we go 'we're going to play a different style of football.'"

Here are more key lines from his news conference:

• Jorelyn Carabali will be absent "for a while" after getting injured on international duty with Colombia, but her injury is not as serious as first feared.

• It was a "proud moment" to see Nikita Parris play for England against Spain and he hopes she can push herself to be in contention for the Euros squad.

• Fran Kirby, who used to play for Chelsea, will be "massive" on Sunday with the qualities and knowledge she brings to his side.

• The international break was a "good opportunity" to train closely with the remaining players and involve the academy.

Adam Millington
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton's Fran Kirby says she is "really excited" to play against her former club when her side take on Chelsea in the Women's Super League on Sunday (15:00 GMT).

The 31-year-old won eight league titles in a nine-year stint with Chelsea and moved to Brighton after her contract expired in the summer.

Kirby made an 18-minute cameo from the bench in Brighton's previous match after recovering from a calf injury which had kept her out since November and is looking forward to this weekend's game.

"Ultimately they are the best team in the league," she said. "For me, I had the luxury of training with them last year and seasons before. I know what they're all about.

"I'm always wanting to put myself against the best and I'm really excited for the game."

With leaders Chelsea being the only team in the division who are still unbeaten, Kirby said Brighton's players will need to be at their best and "do a little more".

She added: "They've gone unbeaten and there's a reason for that. They get injuries and they can go and buy one of the world's most expensive defenders. They'll make these decisions, spend the money they have to spend.

"We'll go in with belief. The last game against Chelsea was probably one of the best performances of the season. Hopefully we can learn from that game. It's going to be a case of every player doing their job - and a half."

Adam Millington
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Manager Sonia Bompastor says she is expecting a "tough" game against Brighton in the Women's Super League on Sunday (kick-off 15:00 GMT) as "every team wants to beat" Chelsea.

The Blues are currently seven points clear at the top of the table and are still unbeaten in the league after 14 games, having only drawn once.

Chelsea won 4-2 in the reverse fixture in December, taking an early 2-0 lead and preventing a Brighton fightback.

Bompastor said: "They have had two weeks to prepare for the game, I think if you reflect on the game we played against them it was a difficult game for us.

"They have this philosophy to play and put trouble to the opposition. They have a lot of quality in the squad with some individuals and collectively so we are expecting a tough game."

Here are more key lines from Bompastor's news conference before Sunday's match:

• World record signing Naomi Girma should be in the squad, it is too early for striker Sam Kerr to return and Bompastor was not yet sure whether Erin Cuthbert would feature.

• It is a "quick turnaround" after the international break for Chelsea, with three players coming from the SheBelieves Cup only arriving back with the club on Friday.

• Bompastor said it is "always good" for the league to have a system which includes relegation. There have been reports the WSL is considering scrapping it., external

• She was "really surprised" in a "positive way" to be named manager of the year at the London Football Awards.

Ellie Thomason
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

There is "no ceiling" for Everton forward Kelly Gago, according to boss Brian Sorensen.

The 26-year-old France international has scored three goals in six games since joining for an undisclosed fee from Nantes in December.

She was in the France squad for their Nations League games against Norway and Iceland and while she did not get any minutes, Sorensen believes those will come.

"With Kelly it is not long ago that she played Serie B and was not on anyone's radar," he said. "Now she is probably on a lot of radars in terms of her performances here for us.

"There is still a lot of learning she needs to do and adapt to different situations. We have patience with her but we are already seeing early on that she can score goals and she is a threat.

"There is no ceiling for her in terms of improvement in the near future. We will work hard with her to make sure we get her even better. She is already in the France squad and next time [the goal] is to try and get playing time and showcase yourself."

Here are more lines from Sorensen's news conference before Sunday's game against Aston Villa (kick-off 14:00 GMT)

• He is taking confidence from the narrow 2-1 defeat by Chelsea before the international break: "It brings confidence that we matched the best team in Europe at the minute, we matched them all the way."

• He said the international break came at an unfortunate time and he wants to gather momentum: "For my team to be better, we just need games. We didn't have a pre-season with six new players. You have to build while you are flying."

• Sorensen expects a tough test against an Aston Villa side with a point to prove after their 3-0 defeat last time out: "They have something to prove after their last result and will be doing everything in their power against us."

• On offering his Goodison Park season tickets to a fan with terminal bone cancer, Sorensen said: "I was a couple of minutes late, there was someone else who already offered his ticket. I just saw it and can't go to that game because we have training that day. I was just trying to be kind."

Ellie Thomason
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United boss Marc Skinner said goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce can become the best goalkeeper in the world.

United have conceded fewer goals than any other Women's Super League side and Leicester manager Amandine Miquel, who worked with the 28-year-old at French side Reims, said Tullis-Joyce is the best keeper in the division.

"I have been fortunate enough in my time to work with some incredible goalkeepers," Skinner added. "For me, she has an agility and an athleticism that I don't think many can match.

"She comes up big in the moments we need her, she is dominant, she gives confidence to all of the defenders behind her and more importantly she is a student of the game. She is constantly trying to get better and she has a fantastic attitude.

"I'm incredibly proud of her because she has come through some challenging times to get to where she is. She is an incredible goalkeeper and somebody who I think can be the world's very best."

Here is more from Skinner before Sunday's game, which you can watch live on BBC iPlayer.

• On Grace Clinton being an option for the number eight role after her peformance with England: "Grace is for sure growing in the eight role. She still wants to develop box-to-box because she has all those qualities to give. It's about trying to put her in the team in the best space to give us the best chance of winning because she is a fantastic player."

• Skinner feels the reverse 2-0 win over Leicester in November was "the turning point" for United's season "when we were like 'this is who we want to be again'."

• On Elisabeth Terland's growth at United, Skinner said: "Her attitude has stayed the same, nothing has really changed. She is such a young, tender age, there is so much growth still, I wouldn't be surprised to see a big evolution in Liz in the next few years too."

• With a two day turnaround for every team Skinner expects "you might see a bit of rustiness from most teams" and added "that is our challenge, we have to find a way to win this game even if we aren't at our very best".

• Players return from international duty later on Friday and will be assessed. Skinner confirmed Lisa Naalsund is "not quite there" and is unavailable.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce has been called the best goalkeeper in the Women's Super League by Leicester manager Amandine Miquel.

Second-placed United have conceded only six goals in 14 matches, the best defensive record in the WSL, with 28-year-old American Tullis-Joyce an ever-present.

Tullis-Joyce played under Miquel at French side Reims and the pair will be reunited on Sunday as United host the Foxes at Leigh Sports Village.

"United have a great goalkeeper," said Miquel in her news conference on Thursday. "It's a goalkeeper I know very well, because she was my goalkeeper for three seasons in France.

"Congratulations to her, I think she is the best goalkeeper in this league and she is proving it. We will work on her weaknesses because we know her well.

"We know we're able to score against all the teams, we have done it against Chelsea, scored against Manchester City in the cup and we're getting better offensively. We know our threats can come from any player and we will do our best to cause them trouble when we attack."

Here are more key lines from Miquel's news conference before Sunday's Women's Super League game against Manchester United (kick-off 12:30 GMT).

• Miquel's side won 3-0 at home to Aston Villa in their last match, to move up to 10th, six points clear of bottom side Crystal Palace. "I've had that confidence [of staying up] since day one, even when we struggled," said Miquel. "A lot of people seemed to panic around us, but I felt no panicking. We had challenges for many different reasons and that's why we struggled, now things are looking better for us. I'm quite confident if we continue in this rhythm we should be able to stay in the league."

• Miquel felt Liverpool's sacking of manager Matt Beard on Thursday showed how difficult the WSL was. "It is a hard league and ruthless league towards managers and also players," added Miquel. "It is one of the best leagues and where everyone wants to be now."