Matildas Abroad Preview: Aussies go head-to-head in England and Sweden

With the international break now over, it's back to club land for our Matildas Abroad. The season kicks off in England and France, with a handful of Aussies set to make their club debuts. 

The 12th season of the Women's Super League (WSL) is scheduled to kick off this weekend, with a formal decision on if the season will begin as planned tomorrow, still yet to be decided following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

 

MAT V SWE Thin Banner

England

Kyah Simon's Tottenham Hotspur will kick off their season against Manchester United. When the two sides met earlier in the year, United walked away with a 3-0 win over the Spurs. 

Tottenham have signed seven players this summer as Rehanne Skinner bids to improve her side, with Spurs finishing the season in fifth place. 


Spurs and Manchester will face off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to open the season.

This game will kick off on Saturday night at 9:30 pm AEST.    

Sam Kerr's Chelsea, who have won the last three WSL championships, will be looking to defend their title against Mackenzie Arnold's West Ham United at home.

Chelsea will be aiming to kick their season off with a win, after finishing last season on a high claiming the Women's FA Cup and the WSL title.


Both sides have a handful of new signings this season, with Chelsea making five new additions and the Hammers making 11 changes to their squad. 

Chelsea and West Ham are set to meet at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea marking the occasion with a mural of Kerr on the side of the stadium.

This game will kick off on Sunday night at 9:30 pm AEST.    

Emily Gielnik's Aston Villa will travel to The People's Pension Stadium to face Brighton & Hove Albion in their season's opening match. 

The opening weekend encounter is an entertaining one, with just five points separating the two sides last season. Villa has bolstered their side with a handful of new signings, most notably Euros 2022 Winner Rachel Daly signing from Houston Dash. 


Villa's pre-season games gave the side some valuable experience, with Gielnik on the scoresheet against Sevilla. 

This game will kick off on Sunday night at 11:00 pm AEST.    

Over in Liverpool, Clare Wheeler could be set to make her debut for Everton in their opening encounter against Leicester City, joining the Toffees on loan from Fortuna Hjørring.

Everton has signed a new head coach after a lacklustre season last year, with Brian Sørensen also joining from Fortuna.


The Toffees finished in 10th last season with five wins, while Leicester finished in 11th with four wins.

This game will kick off on Sunday night at 11:00 pm AEST.    

Moving over to Manchester, Alanna Kennedy, Hayley Raso and Mary Fowler's Manchester City host Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley's Arsenal. 

The two sides finished in third and second, respectively last season, and our Aussies have got off to a flying start in pre-season for their sides with Fowler, Raso and Foord all finding the back of the net. 


Arsenal finished last season just one point behind the eventual title winners Chelsea, and when City and the Gunners met earlier in the year it was a 1-1 draw between the two sides. 

Fowler could be set for her WSL debut, after making her City debut during their UWCL games in early August. 

This game will kick off on Monday morning at 4:00 am AEST.    

USA

Moving over to the USA, Emily van Egmond's San Diego Wave FC take on 11th placed Washington Spirit as they aim to increase their lead at the top of the table. 

Despite being the reigning NWSL champions, Spirit has had an unfortunate season with the club’s winless streak reaching 16 games in their 2-2 draw against Houston Dash. 


On the other hand, Wave secured a 2-0 win over Portland Thorns to claim the top spot before the international break began. 

This game will kick off on Sunday morning at 3:00 am AEST.    

Over in North Carolina, Alex Chidiac's Racing Louisville take on the North Carolina Courage. The Courage has now won three of their last four matches, while Louisville has collected just six points in their last 12 games, the team's longest winless streak in their history.

This game will kick off on Sunday morning at 9:00 am AEST.    

Meanwhile, Chloe Logarzo's Kansas City Current will be looking to extend their unbeaten streak to 13 games against last-placed Gotham FC. 

Gotham FC is yet to find a win against the Current after two draws last season and a 1-0 loss this season.  

This game will kick off on Monday morning at 8:00 am AEST.    

France

Next up, Lydia Williams' Paris Saint-Germain will kick off their Division 1 Féminine against ASJ Soyaux-Charente, where Williams could be set to make her D1 debut for PSG. 

PSG finished last season in second place with 53 points, 11 points behind the eventual champions Lyon, while ASJ finished in ninth with 16 points. 


Marie-Antoinette Katoto, PSG's top goalscorer last season will be sidelined this season due to an injury sustained during the 2022 Euros, Paris has bolstered their side with Lieke Martens, UWCL winner with FC Barcelona. 

This game will kick off on Saturday morning at 5:00 am AEST.    

Sweden

Moving over to Sweden, Aivi Luik's BK Häcken will host Umeå IK, Häcken has ten points to catch up to league leaders FC Rosengård with eight games left to play.

Umeå IK sits in 12th place, with only two wins so far in the season. In contrast, Häcken sits in fourth place with ten wins. This game will kick off on Saturday morning at 2:00 am AEST.

Meanwhile, Remy Siemsen's AIK will be aiming to collect their third win of the season and move out of the relegation zone when they host third-place Kristianstad DFF.

This game will kick off on Saturday night at 11:00 pm AEST.

Aussies will face off in the subsequent encounter when Elise Kellond-Knight, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Courtney Nevin's Hammarby host Teagan Micah's FC Rosengård.


Hammarby, have eight wins and just one loss in their last nine games while Rosengård sits at the top of the table, five points clear of second place. 

This game will kick off on Saturday night at 11:00 pm AEST

Lastly, a midweek match-up will see Clare Polkinghorne, Katrina Gorry and Charli Grant's Vittsjö GIK take on Djurgårdens IF, eight points separate the sides. 

Djurgårdens have faced three consecutive losses since returning from summer break, while Vittsjö has collected a win, a draw and a loss. 

This game will kick off on Tuesday morning at 3:00 am AEST

Norway

Our last stop takes us to Norway, Tameka Yallop's SK Brann Kvinner take on Vålerenga in the first round of the Championship round.

Brann claimed the Toppserien title before the international break started, SK Brann has a busy upcoming week, competing in the Championship rounds, Norwegian Women's Cup semi-finals and the UEFA Women's Champions League. 

This game will kick off on Monday morning at 12:00 am AEST.