The last time that Tottenham Hotspur faced their arch-rivals, they walked away with a surprise victory and a huge three points. ‘Ausenal’ will have their chance for revenge this weekend in front of over 50,000 fans at Emirates Stadium.
Read our preview of all of the Matildas Abroad action below.
England
The WSL fixtures get back underway on Saturday, with Manchester City taking on Everton at 11pm AEDT. City are now equal on points with Chelsea at the top of the table and will be hoping to continue their momentum against an Everton side who have only won once – against West Ham – in their past five league matches.
Mary Fowler and Alanna Kennedy will both be available for Gareth Taylor’s side but may have to settle for starting on the bench. On the other side of the equation, Clare Wheeler will be hoping to start the match, and help put a dent in City’s title aspirations.
Sunday sees the biggest match of the round, with Arsenal hosting arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur at an Emirates Stadium that is expected to be heaving with fans at 11.30pm AEDT. With over 50,000 tickets already sold, it is the perfect stage for Arsenal to enact their revenge for the reverse fixture, and to keep themselves within touching distance of the top two.
The Gunners will have Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley and Kyra Cooney-Cross at their disposal. Facing off at the other end of the pitch will be Charli Grant, a mainstay at right-back for Spurs since making the move to North London, and may find herself directly marking Foord.
Bottom-of-the-table Bristol City will host Brighton & Hove Albion in a potential relegation six-pointer on Monday, 1am AEDT. While things are looking bleak for Bristol now, a win would see them within two points of safety. In their way is a Brighton side one place and five points above them who will be hoping that a win would be enough to catapult them away from the relegation conversation.
There is no word yet from the club on whether Charlie Rule has recovered from injury to be available for the Seagulls in this game.
Aston Villa take on Liverpool on Monday, 1am AEDT. A win for Liverpool would see them maintain an outside chance of cracking the top three, while Villa will be hoping to build up a run of form in the latter stages of the season. Teagan Micah will be available for Liverpool.
Katrina Gorry and Mackenzie Arnold’s West Ham host Manchester United on Monday, 2am AEDT. United currently sit in fourth, but have fallen seven points behind Arsenal in third. Meanwhile, despite a blip against Brighton last game, the Hammers are in their best form of the season. Gorry and Arnold are expected to start the match and will hope to continue to increase the distance between them and the relegation zone with a win.
Finally, Leicester City take on league leaders Chelsea on Monday, 5am AEDT. Chelsea will be hoping to bounce back after defeat to Manchester City last time out. They will need to maintain a near-perfect record to stave off City’s title challenge and send coach Emma Hayes off with a championship. Courtney Nevin and Remy Siemsen will be available for the Foxes as they plot how to take down the biggest fish in the competition.
You can watch all of the WSL live on Optus Sport.
France
PSG take on Le Havre on Sunday, 12.30am AEDT. After two clean sheets in the international window, Clare Hunt will be hoping for another in clubland on the weekend. PSG are only seven points away from Lyon after becoming the first team to take points off the champions, but it remains an uphill battle to chase them down.
Sarah Hunter’s Paris FC host Saint-Étienne on Sunday, 5.30am AEDT. A win would see them keep in touch with city rivals PSG – they currently sit only five points away. Hunter’s performances have been earning her increasing minutes throughout the season and the 20-year-old will be hoping to be involved on the weekend.
Lyon will travel to Dijon to take on the ninth-place side on Monday, 7am AEDT. The French giants have not yet been defeated – if they keep it that way, they will very likely walk away with the title for the 17th occasion. Ellie Carpenter is available and likely to feature at right-back for Lyon.
Spain
Real Madrid have no fixtures scheduled this weekend, allowing Hayley Raso time to recover after the international break.
Sweden
Clare Polkinghorne and Amy Sayer will be involved in another preseason friendly this weekend, with Kristianstads DFF taking on KID Orebro DFF on Sunday, 12am AEDT.