Matildas Abroad Preview: Chelsea and Manchester City look for redemption in the WSL

Chelsea and Manchester City look for redemption in the WSL, while two players could make their club debuts this weekend.

Check out our preview of all the upcoming Matildas Abroad action! 

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England

Kicking off in Manchester, Mary Fowler, Hayley Raso and Alanna Kennedy's Manchester City will host Emily Gielnik's Aston Villa, with both sides collecting wins in their first games of the year last week. 

City's last WSL outing ended in a narrow 1-0 win over West Ham to start 2023, with Kennedy named Player of the Match in the win in what was her first start of the season. Gielnik's side recorded a come-from-behind victory over Spurs last weekend, with the Australian coming off the bench in the win. 

Mary Fowler making her Barclays Women's Super League debut for Manchester City against Aston Villa in September 2022.
Mary Fowler during her Barclays Women's Super League debut for Manchester City against Aston Villa in September 2022.

Manchester will be looking to get redemption over Aston Villa, with the Citizens going down 4-3 in the opening weekend of the WSL season to the Villans. 

Gareth Taylor's side since then has a 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions, most recently beating Leicester City 1-0 to secure their spot in the Conti Cup quarter-finals. 

This game will kick off on Saturday night at 10:30 pm AEDT. 

Meanwhile, Sam Kerr's Chelsea will also be looking to defeat the side that beat them in the WSL opening weekend, with the Blues hosting Liverpool. 

The defending WSL champions went down 2-1 to the Reds during the opening weekend of the season, with two penalties to American Katie Stengel sealing the win for the newly promoted side. 

Sam Kerr of Chelsea looks on during the FA Women's Super League match between Liverpool FC Women and Chelsea FC Women at Prenton Park on September 18, 2022 in Birkenhead, England. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
Sam Kerr of Chelsea looks on during the FA Women's Super League match between Liverpool FC Women and Chelsea FC Women at Prenton Park on September 18, 2022, in Birkenhead, England. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

Emma Hayes' side currently sits at the top of the table with a late equaliser from Sam Kerr in their last WSL game seeing them hold on to first place, with Manchester United and Arsenal only three points behind them. 

Liverpool has only collected two wins so far in the season, going down 6-0 to Manchester United in their last game. This game will kick off on Sunday night at 11:30 pm AEDT. 

Clare Wheeler's Everton will host Mackenzie Arnold's West Ham United with both sides equal on 15 points, with Everton sitting in fifth place with the better goal difference. 

The Toffees recorded their fifth win of the season last weekend, beating Reading FC 3-2. While West Ham United narrowly went down 1-0 to Manchester City. 


West Ham nabbed bragging rights the last time the two sides played, with Lisa Evans scoring the matchwinner in their 1-0 win in September. 

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

Kyah Simon's Spurs will be aiming to get back in the winner's circle when they host Remy Siemsen's Leicester City, with the Spurs going down 2-1 last weekend and the Foxes collecting their first win of the season. 

Siemsen is awaiting her debut for her new side, not named in the matchday squad for their 3-0 win over Brighton. 

This game will kick off on Monday morning at 1:00 am AEDT. 

Meanwhile, newly signed Lydia Williams' Brighton & Hove Albion will host her former side in Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord's Arsenal.

The Seagulls will aim to bounce back from a loss, after being the first team Leicester City has beaten in the WSL this season.


While Arsenal will be looking to stay in touch with Chelsea at the top of the table, with the last meeting between Brighton and the Gunners ending with a 4-0 win to the North London side. 

Williams has returned to the WSL after making the move from Arsenal to PSG at the start of the season, signing with Brighton until the summer of 2024.

This game will kick off on Monday morning at 5:45 am AEDT

France

Our final stop takes us to France, where Ellie Carpenter's Lyon faces Montpellier HSC, with Lyon looking to return to the top of the table in the D1 after being dethroned by PSG.

Carpenter is yet to feature for Lyon since rupturing her ACL in last year's UWCL final, but is back training with OL and looking to give Sonia Bompastor's side a defensive boost. 

Ellie Carpenter during training with Olympique Lyonnais in January 2023. (Photo: OLfeminin/Twitter)
Ellie Carpenter during training with Olympique Lyonnais in January 2023. (Photo: OLfeminin/Twitter)

Lyon recorded a 3-0 win over ASJ in their game last weekend, moving to within one point of PSG. This game will kick off on Sunday morning at 7:00 am AEDT