Matildas Abroad Preview: Arsenal look to make it six wins in a row against West Ham; season wraps up in Sweden

Another weekend of blockbuster games are in store for our Matildas Abroad; Arsenal tries to make it six wins in a row against West Ham while the season wraps up in Sweden. 

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Sam Kerr's Chelsea will be looking to make it five straight wins in the league when they travel to face Emily Gielnik's Aston Villa for the opening game of Round 6. 

Victory against Villa could send Chelsea to the top of the table, albeit temporarily as current ladder leaders Arsenal play early Monday morning. 

Emma Hayes' side struggled to find the back of the net against Leicester in their last WSL game, with both goals coming after the 80th minute for the Blues. 

Emily Gielnik celebrating her goal against Brighton. (Photo: GettyImages)
Emily Gielnik celebrating her goal against Brighton. (Photo: GettyImages)

Gielnik's side has made a strong start to the season, taking seven points from their opening three games.

However, back-to-back losses, both without scoring a single goal, will have coach Carla Ward worried about welcoming the reigning WSL champions.

As for Gielnik, the striker's last appearance for Villa came in their 1-0 win over Brighton where Gielnik scored the lone goal in the win, she will be looking to make an impact against the Blues. 

The game kicks off on Saturday night at 11:30 pm AEDT

Kyah Simon's Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester United, a much-anticipated battle with the sides sitting in third and fourth place respectively. 


Spurs faced their first defeat of the WSL before the international break, going down 2-1 to Brighton. While their opposition played out a thrilling 2-2 draw against rivals Manchester City. 

Simon will be looking to make her third appearance for Spurs, after an injury in her first game for the club kept her sidelined.

The game kicks off on Sunday night at 11:15 pm AEDT

Manchester City is coming off a 3-0 Conti Cup win against Durham on Friday morning, and have a quick turnaround to take on WSL newcomers Leicester City. 

Alanna Kennedy made the start and played 90 minutes for City in their win over Durham, while Hayley Raso made her return from injury in the win. 

Their opponent Leicester are yet to pick up a win so far in the WSL season, however, they were unlucky to be beaten 2-0 by reigning champions Chelsea, after almost holding them to a 0-0 all draw in the last round of the WSL.   

Head coach Gareth Taylor hopes the win against Durham can be the catalyst for a run of positive results.

Injury woes to Manchester City's side have seen them only claim one win so far in the WSL this season, that win coming against Everton in the opening round. 

The game kicks off on Monday morning at 1:00 am AEDT

The final game of the WSL round sees current ladder leaders Arsenal welcome West Ham United. The Gunners go into the match with a five-game unbeaten streak in the WSL this season, having only conceded two goals in those five wins. 

Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley and Lydia Williams Arsenal go into the fixture having won six of the last meetings between the two sides, including a 9-1 showing last season that saw Foord on the scoresheet. 

Arsenal before the Women's FA Cup match against Gillingham (Photo: GettyImages)
Arsenal before the Women's FA Cup match against Gillingham (Photo: GettyImages)

For West Ham, their only defeat so far this season came in the first round against Brighton. New coach Olli Harder has steered the Hammers to a memorable start to the season, making history by beating Manchester City for the first time ever.

New signing Tameka Yallop has made an immediate impact at her new club, scoring two goals on debut. 

This match-up will be an interesting one for fans, given the history between the two sides in the WSL and having Australians on both sides. 

The game kicks off on Monday morning at 5:45 am AEDT

Moving over to Sweden, the final round of the Damallsvenskan season sees the champions FC Rosengård play their final game against Djurgårdens. 

With the top spot already secured for the season, Rosengård will be looking to close out their season with a win. 

Teagan Micah and Charli Grant have been crowned Damallsvenskan champions for the first time, with this season being a first in Sweden for the Australian pair. 

Rosengård has secured another chance at the UEFA Women's Champions League next season with a first-place finish in the Swedish league, after being knocked out in the qualifying rounds this year by Hoffenheim, the side will be out to go one better next year. 

The game kicks off on Sunday morning at 12:00 am AEDT. 

Dylan Holmes' BK Häcken have also secured their spot in second, unable to catch Rosengård in first and 15 points clear of third place. 

Like Rosengård, Häcken will be looking to finish off the Damallsvenskan season with a win against Eskilstuna. 

Häcken is the lone survivor from Sweden still in this season's UWCL, however, have not recorded a win yet in the group stage. This final game against Eskilstuna will be perfect to build confidence going into their next UWCL game next week. 

The game kicks off on Sunday morning at 12:00 am AEDT. 

Clare Polkinghorne's Vittsjö GIK looked promising towards the end of the season and looked to clinch third place and seal a UWCL spot for next season. However, a loss last weekend against AIK has made climbing to third place on the ladder almost impossible. 


Polkinghorne will be back next season for Vittsjö with unfinished business, recently signing a two-year contract extension for the side. 

Vittsjö will be looking to close out with a win against KIF Örebro DFF on Sunday morning at 12:00 am AEDT. 

Over in Denmark, Fortuna Hjørring has four matches left to hang on to second place and seal a UWCL spot for next season. 

After a convincing win last weekend, that saw Fortuna walk away with a 5-0 victory and Clare Wheeler on the scoresheet, Fortuna will be looking to repeat the same result when they welcome FC Thy-Thisted Q. 


Angela Beard and Alex Huynh both made appearances last week for Fortuna and will be needed in defence to stop fourth place Thisted from scoring.

The game kicks off on Saturday morning at 4:00 am AEDT. 

Jenna McCormick's AGF is five games without a win in the Elitedivisionen and will have a hard challenge when they host third-place Brøndby IF. 

The last time the two sides met AGF held Brøndby to a 2-2 all draw.

The game kicks off on Saturday night at 11:00 pm AEDT. 

Our last stop in Scandinavia is Norway, where Karly Roestbakken's LSK Kvinner take on Lyn. With only two games left in the Toppserien season, LSK is unable to reach second place and thus can't qualify for next season's UWCL. 


Roestbakken made her first appearance of the season in LSK last game, with injury ruling the defender out for six months.

The game kicks off on Sunday night at 11:00 pm AEDT. 

Our final destination takes us to Japan, where Alex Chidiac's JEF United take on Albirex Niigata. After back-to-back wins for JEF, Chidiac's side sit in fifth place in the WE League. 

The game kicks off on Saturday at 4:00 pm AEDT.