Matildas Abroad Preview: Season begins in Denmark and Sweden

The domestic season kicks off in Denmark and Sweden; while Emily van Egmond's San Diego Wave go in search of their first NWSL win against Portland Thorns.

After a week of midweek UWCL action for our Matildas Abroad, it's back to domestic clubland.

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Starting off in England, Emily Gielnik's Aston Villa will be looking to break their three-game unbeaten streak when they host Reading FC. 

Three consecutive 1-0 losses, their last coming at the hands of defending champions Chelsea, has seen Carla Ward's side last collect three points in mid-February. 


Villa has the chance to move into ninth on the ladder with a win over Reading, as the Royals are also looking to break an unbeaten streak of their own. 

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

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Alanna Kennedy and Hayley Raso's Manchester City collected their 100th win in the WSL in a midweek 3-0 win over Everton. 

City has turned their fortunes around after a lacklustre start to the season, currently sitting in fourth just behind their rivals Manchester United. 

Manchester will take on bottom of the table Birmingham City, who are coming off a 5-0 drubbing last weekend at the hands of Chelsea in the Women's FA Cup. 


Ellen White’s close-range strike earned City a late victory away to Birmingham in the FA WSL in December.

Their opposition come into the game having only won one game this season, however, the win came against Arsenal, the only time in the WSL this season to beat the Gunners. 

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

Sam Kerr's Chelsea will travel to take on eleventh place Leicester City as they look to overtake ladder leaders Arsenal. 

The Blues missed out on midweek WSL action due to COVID-19 cases in their opposition Spurs' camp, meaning they have had a week to recover after their 5-0 win over Birmingham City in the Women's FA Cup quarter-final.


Leicester and the Blues met earlier in the season, with the WSL newcomers almost holding Chelsea to a 0-0 draw if it wasn't for late goals to Pernille Harder and Fran Kirby. 

A three-game winning streak in the WSL has kept Chelsea's title hopes alive, just two points behind Arsenal with a game in hand. 

Emma Hayes opted to rest Kerr on the bench in Chelsea's Women's FA Cup win, coming off the back of a busy schedule. 

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

Mackenzie Arnold and Tameka Yallop's West Ham United will host Brighton & Hove Albion in the last game of the WSL round. 

The Hammers 1-1 draw with Manchester United in their last WSL game saw Olli Harder's side achieve their highest points total in a WSL season, sitting on 24 points. 

Harder will be hoping his side can build on this momentum when they take on the Seagulls. 

The two sides met in the opening round of the WSL season, where Brighton walked away 2-0 winners. 

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

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have the weekend off, after positive COVID-19 cases in Spurs' camp has postponed the North London derby. 

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Over in America, Emily van Egmond's San Diego Wave FC will be looking to collect their first win in the NWSL when they host Portland Thorns in the Challenge Cup.

The midfielder is still waiting to make her debut, after missing Wave's inaugural NWSL game against fellow newcomers Angel City. 


Wave and Thorns both collected 1-1 draws in their opening match of the Cup, San Diego coming from behind to clinch a late draw. 

This game kicks off on Sunday at 1:00 pm AEDT.

Moving over to Scandinavia, Fortuna Hjørring kicks off their Danish Women's League. Fortuna plays their first match in the playoffs as they attempt to seal one of two spots up for grabs in next season's UWCL. 

HB Køge has a five-point lead over Angela Beard, Clare Wheeler and Indi-Paige Riley's Fortuna.


Hjørring takes on FC Nordsjælland, who are at the bottom of the playoff table after finishing in sixth last season. 

This game kicks off on Saturday night at 11:00 pm AEDT.

In Sweden, Clare Polkinghorne and Katrina Gorry's Vittsjö GIK begin their Damallsvenskan season against Linköpings FC. 

Vittsjö played several club friendlies in the lead up to the start of the season, collecting wins in all four and continuing on from the late success they found at the end of last year's season.


Polkinghorne's side last season made a late run to claim a UWCL spot but fell just short. The new signing of midfielder Katrina Gorry will hopefully bolster Vittsjö's attempts at vying for a UWCL spot. 

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

Tuesday morning will see reigning champions FC Rosengård host newly-promoted IF Brommapojkarna in their first game of the Damallsvenskan season.

Teagan Micah and Charli Grant have both been regular starters in Rosengård's run to the Swedish Women's Cup final, starting in their last two wins.

Rosengård's opposition BP earned a promotion to the Damallsvenskan after finishing first in the second tier Elitettan. 

This game kicks off on Tuesday morning at 4:00 am AEDT.

Our last stop takes us to Norway as Karly Roestbakken's LSK Kvinner take on last-placed Avaldsnes IL. 

LSK collected a late 3-2 win over Kolbotn to kick off their Toppserien season with a victory. 

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