Matildas Abroad Preview: Conti Cup group stage begins in England; final regular season games in the NWSL

With the international break just around the corner, our Matildas Abroad are in the thick of club action this weekend with the Conti Cup group stage kicking off in England and the last regular season games being played in the USA.

See where all our Matildas Abroad will be in action in our preview! 

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England

Emily Gielnik's Aston Villa will be aiming to translate their WSL success to the Conti Cup when they start their group stage against Manchester United on Saturday night. 

Villa has been dominant in the WSL so far this season, collecting two wins out of two and beating Manchester City on the opening weekend. 


Gielnik sealed all three points for Villa in their game over the weekend, ensuring a 2-0 win over Leicester City. Villa has been placed in Group A for the Conti Cup group stage, alongside fellow Aussie Clare Wheeler and her Everton side. 

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

Next up, Mackenzie Arnold's West Ham United take on the London City Lionesses in their opening game of the Conti Cup group stage.

The Hammers have a quick turnaround after playing Chelsea in a midweek WSL clash, despite the loss to the reigning champions, West Ham showed promising signs against the Blues. 


West Ham and London City met in last season's Conti Cup group stage, with the Hammers recording a 1-0 win. This game will kick off on Monday morning at 12:00 am AEDT.   

Lastly, Kyah Simon's Tottenham Hotspur take on Reading FC in the Conti Cup, the only WSL clubs in Group E with the other two teams set to face Spurs being Coventry United and Southampton. 

Spurs come into the game off the back of a tough 4-0 defeat in the North London Derby, while Reading FC is yet to record a win this season.

Tottenham's last meeting with Reading in the Conti Cup saw them come from behind to win 3-2. This game will kick off on Monday morning at 12:00 am AEDT.

USA

Moving over to the USA, Emily Van Egmond's San Diego Wave finish off their regular season against the North Carolina Courage. The Wave booked their spot in the playoffs last weekend with a 2-2 draw against Orlando Pride, becoming the first expansion side to advance to the playoffs in the inaugural season.


Wave is still in the race for the shield, currently sitting three points behind the Portland Thorns and will need to ensure a win against the Courage to keep their title hopes alive. While North Carolina needs a win to capture the sixth and final playoff spot. In the lone meeting between the two teams earlier in the year, the Wave secured a 1-0 win over the Courage.

This game will kick off on Saturday at 12:00 pm AEST.

Meanwhile, Alex Chidiac's Racing Louisville close out its season by hosting Chloe Logarzo's Kansas City Current. Although Chidiac's side is already out of playoff contention they have the power to affect Kansas City’s standing in the table with the Shield still in sight.


Louisville won their last match against Angel City, with Chidiac finding the back of the net to help them to a 3-1 win. While Kansas recorded a 3-0 win over Washington to ensure they clinched a playoff spot. 

This game will kick off on Sunday morning at 10:30 am AEDT.

France

Next up, Lydia Williams' Paris Saint-Germain aim to keep their perfect record in this D1 season intact when they take on Le Havre. 

PSG remains tied with Lyon on 9 points, with both sides having won three out of three games. While Le Havre has only recorded one win so far. 

This game will kick off on Sunday night at 9:45 pm AEDT.

Sweden

Moving over to Sweden, Clare Polkinghorne, Katrina Gorry and Charli Grant's Vittsjö GIK will host Umeå IK before the international break.

Vittsjö will be aiming to get back to winning ways after a narrow 3-2 defeat to FC Rosengård last weekend, while Umeå sits second to last on the table with only two wins in the season. 


With only five games left in the season, Vittsjö will be trying to replicate last season's dash to the top 3 that saw them fall just three points short of claiming a UWCL qualifying spot. 

This game will kick off on Sunday night at 10:00 pm AEDT.

Meanwhile, Teagan Micah's FC Rosengård will take on KIF Örebro as they look to increase their two-point lead at the top of the table. 

The last time the two sides met FC Rosengård recorded a 2-0 win, with the reigning champions bringing confidence into this fixture after qualifying for the UWCL group stage throughout the week. 

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

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Aivi Luik's BK Häcken then take on Linköpings FC, with Häcken coming into the game off back-to-back defeats in UWCL qualifying.

Linköpings FC sit in second place, just two points behind Micah's Rosengård. While Häcken sits just outside the top three, four points behind Kristianstads DFF.

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

Lastly, Elise Kellond-Knight, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Courtney Nevin's fifth-place Hammarby take on Piteå IF. 

Hammarby has faced two straight defeats, with Piteå IF sitting just one point behind them in sixth and looking to leapfrog the side from Stockholm. 


When the two sides met earlier in the year Hammarby recorded a 1-0 win. This game will kick off on Monday morning at 12:00 am AEDT.