Matildas Abroad Preview: NWSL quarter-finals start for two Aussies

With the international break now over, it's back to clubland for our Matildas Abroad. The NWSL playoffs kick-off for two teams featuring Aussies aiming to book their spot in the semi-finals. 

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 make it continue their perfect start to the season and make it three consecutive wins when they host Mackenzie Arnold's West Ham United. 


Before the international break began both sides were in action, with Villa with a shootout victory over Manchester United in the Conti Cup while the Hammers also won a thrilling penalty shootout in their victory over the London City Lionesses in their Conti Cup group stage game. 

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

Meanwhile, Clare Wheeler could be set for her Everton debut when the Toffees host Sam Kerr's Chelsea. Both teams have the same record so far this WSL season, collecting two wins and starting their season with a narrow defeat. 


When the two sides met on matchday 16 last season, the Blues recorded a 3-0 win with Kerr opening the scoring just 7 minutes into the game. 

A knee injury has kept Wheeler from making her WSL debut, with the Toffees set for a sold-out crowd when they host the reigning WSL champions. 

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

Next up, Alanna Kennedy, Hayley Raso and Mary Fowler's Manchester City will host Leicester City. Both sides are yet to record a win so far in the season and will be aiming to record their first points of the WSL season.

Manchester won both of their WSL meetings with the Foxes last season, scoring four goals in each victory. 

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

Lastly, Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley's Arsenal will look to increase their lead at the top of the ladder when they travel to take on Reading. 


The Gunners have had a perfect start to the season, collecting two wins and having not conceded a goal so far in the competition. Arsenal's Aussies come back from the international break in form, with Catley and Foord being named Player of the Match in our win over South Africa and Denmark, respectively. 

Reading currently sits at the bottom of the table, facing two defeats to start their season. This game will kick off on Monday morning at 4:45 am AEDT.

USA

Moving over to the USA, Chloe Logarzo's Kansas City Current is aiming to book their spot in the semi-finals when they take on Houston Dash in the quarter-finals of the NWSL. 

Kansas has won just one of their final four matches, a 3-0 win over Washington which saw them qualify for the playoffs. While Houston enters with the better momentum, having won two of their final three outings. 


Logarzo is yet to feature for the Current this season, and at the end of the season is set to join Western United for their inaugural Liberty A-League Women's season on loan. This game will kick off on Monday morning at 8:00 am AEDT.

Emily van Egmond's Wave FC enters the 2022 NWSL Playoffs as the first-ever expansion to book a spot in the postseason in their inaugural season, with San Diego hosting the Chicago Red Stars. 

Wave FC fell just short of claiming the shield, with back-to-back draws seeing them drop to third on the ladder. While the Red Stars just slipped into the playoffs after a win over Angel City in their final regular season game of the season. 


Alex Morgan won the NWSL Golden Boot this season, scoring 15 goals for the Wave, however, has been sidelined with an injury for Wave's last two games. 

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

France

Next up, Lydia Williams' Paris Saint-Germain will be back in action, hosting Dijon in their fifth game of the D1 season. PSG dropped their first points of the season before the international break, being held to a 2-2 draw with Le Havre. 

This game will kick off on Saturday night at 11:30 pm AEDT.

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Sweden

Moving over to Sweden, Teagan Micah's  FC Rosengård will be aiming to increase their lead at the top of the table when they host Eskilstuna. 

With only four games remaining in the OBOS Damallsvenskan season, Rosengård is looking to claim back-to-back titles with five points separating them from second place.

This game will kick off on Saturday morning at 3:00 am AEDT.

Next up, Clare Polkinghorne, Katrina Gorry and Charli Grant's Vittsjö GIK will take on IF Brommapojkarna. 

Vittsjö GIK produced a dominant 5-0 victory over Umeå IK before the international break, with Polkinghorne finding the back of the net from a corner. 

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

Aivi Luik's BK Häcken will take on IFK Kalmar early on Monday morning, with Häcken just two points behind moving into the top three and securing their spot in next season's UWCL. 

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

Lastly in Sweden, Elise Kellond-Knight, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Courtney Nevin's fifth-place Hammarby will be looking to collect their 13th win of the season when they take on Remy Siemsen's AIK. 


Hammarby have now gone three league games without a win, collecting a 1-1 draw before the international break where Cooney-Cross found the back of the net. 

This game will kick off on Tuesday morning at 4:00 am AEDT

Norway

Our last stop takes us to Norway, Tameka Yallop's SK Brann Kvinner take on Stabæk in their fourth game of the Championship round. 

An ankle injury saw the midfielder miss the October international window and saw her not named in the matchday squad for Brann's previous Championship win over Stabæk. This game will kick off on Monday morning at 1:00 am AEDT.