Women's Super League

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Everton have announced that Karoline Olesen, Rikke Madsen, Maren Mjelde and Lauren Thomas will leave the club when their contracts expire at the end of June.

Danish midfielder Olesen, 20, is the longest serving of the quartet having joined from Fortuna Hjorring in the summer of 2023.

Madsen, 27, joined from US side North Carolina Courage in January 2024 and made her return to the side in March after giving birth.

Veteran former Chelsea defender Mjelde and ex-Blackburn winger Thomas arrived this season and have had limited playing time.

"I would like to thank all four players for their service throughout their time at Everton," said head coach Brian Sorensen.

"Karo, Ri, Maren and Thommo all immersed themselves into the culture at the club and were popular members of the squad.

"All four have contributed to our progress this season and leave with the best wishes of everyone at Everton."

Elizabeth Botcherby
BBC Sport journalist

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The identity of Manchester City's next permanent manager remains up in the air, with interim Nick Cushing stating there have been "no conversations" between himself and club about the role.

Cushing previously served as manager from 2013 to 2020, winning five trophies, and returned in March following the sacking of Gareth Taylor.

But while Saturday's meeting with Crystal Palace could be his final WSL game in charge of City, Cushing is determined to have a coaching role lined up before next season.

"There's be no conversations about post this season. As it stands, this is the last game," Cushing confirmed.

"I've really enjoyed this period. It's been challenging but it's also been really enjoyable. I spent December [to] February without a team and one thing I've learned about myself is I'm happy in a team. I'm really motivated to continue to be successful, coaching and being around players, planning big games – I've been at home in that moment.

"Post this, who knows. But my desire and intention is to be with a team from pre-season."

In April, City women's director of football Therese Sjogran told BBC she has not ruled out the possibility Cushing staying on, but the 40-year-old said talks have not yet been had.

"There has been no conversations about me continuing here," he said. "I have no concrete move but I have a desire. This has only fuelled it – playing in League Cup finals, chasing Champions League semi-finals.

"I have a huge desire to take some time with my family post World Sevens and then be back at it, hopefully with a team that matches my ambitions and my hunger to compete for trophies."

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Arsenal boss Renee Slegers said her side "want to show ourselves at our best again" and bounce back from successive heavy defeats.

The Gunners face Manchester United on Saturday in a shootout to secure second place in the Women's Super League, which Arsenal will do if they avoid defeat.

"It's very important," Slegers said. "We want to secure second place in the table.

"There is so much motivation for us from different directions. We are going to put everything into that game tomorrow.

"From a table perspective it's very important, we will have so many fans backing us and we want to deliver our best for them. We want to show ourselves at our best again."

As well as the battle for second, the golden boot award is still to be decided, with Gunners forward Alessia Russo currently in the driving seat.

On Friday, Russo won the Football Writers' Association award for women's player of the season and Slegers said "it's a privilege to work with her."

"The obvious one is her goalscoring contributions which have been great and very important, she added.

"Also it is the things you see in the background, the way she trains, the way she treats people. She is very humble and respectful and always wants to learn.

"I believe when players and people are like that, you are more likely to get the best out of yourself and that's what she has been doing consistently."

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

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Aston Villa manager Natalia Arroyo said they need to "work as hard as possible" to bring the club back to where it wants to be next season.

Villa were just a point above the relegation spot in March but four successive victories have seen them jump up to ninth in the table.

They hope to extend their strong finish to the season when they face Brighton in their final match on Saturday (12:30 BST kick-off).

"We are step-by-step, with good results, building our identity and that is important," said Arroyo.

"We are happy at the moment but we need to do some bigger analysis of the season, and the season before, at what these inconsistent results are showing us.

"We will look to add different types of players and we are still in this process. I don't expect big signings or big decisions to be tomorrow.

"We need to be ready to bring the right players in to build the best project possible. We need to first rest, take the right analysis and then from then on work as hard as possible to bring Villa where we want to be - which is not suffering at the end, with the risk of being relegated."

Elizabeth Botcherby
BBC Sport journalist

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On Saturday, West Ham could secure a top-six finish in the WSL for only the second time in their history.

Victory over 11th-placed Leicester, combined with Liverpool failing to pick up three points against Chelsea, would see West Ham snatch sixth place from the Reds and equal their previous best finish (2021-22).

However, while manager Rehanne Skinner says it would be a "fantastic" achievement, she is keen for her squad to "keep our feet on the ground".

"Where we end up at the end of the season is where we'll deserve to be. You can't cheat the table," she said.

"Equalling [2021-22] will be fantastic, especially given the way the game's evolved. That's really hard to do now given the teams in the league.

"We've got to keep our feet on the ground for one more game. We can't be thinking about the end result before we've played the game. If we set our sights on that, we'll miss the game in front of us."

Though keen to manage expectations ahead of the Leicester game, Skinner did praise the progress her side has made, particularly during the second half of the season.

West Ham won just two of their opening 10 games and began 2025 just three points clear of the relegation zone, but have picked up 15 points in their past 11 matches.

"This season it's probably evolved even more than we might have hoped. Our performances in the second half of the season have been a significant uplift. I'm really proud," she said.

"Every year is about evolving the team. We want to keep bringing in players who fit the culture and we want to make sure we've got more depth across every position.

"It's no secret our away form needs to improve if we're going to be really competitive. We've got several things right this year but it doesn't ever stop."