Women's Super League

Adam Millington
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United boss Marc Skinner says his side need to both be more clinical in front of goal and supply their forwards with better service against Everton.

United have not scored in their past three games and were held to a 0-0 draw by West Ham in midweek.

They were beaten by Chelsea in the Women's League Cup final last weekend.

"With the ball, we did more than enough to win the game against West Ham but we have to convert those little bits of chances at the end," Skinner said in a news conference previewing Saturday's match (12:00 GMT).

"That's how the game is decided. I'm sure Everton will try to put their energy on us but if we can get the control and quality, we can win the game."

He added that United need to take advantage of the width their pitch provides to create better opportunities.

"We need to use the spaces we have, our pitch is bigger and has those spaces so we need to utilise them effectively. Hopefully we can change that around," he said.

"We should have scored against Chelsea and we should have scored against West Ham. I am happy with the places we are getting into, we just now need that final bit. I am sure it's coming."

Skinner also suggested that Jayde Riviere might be back for the match, but, if not, she is likely to return from injury against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manager Martin Ho says Tottenham's performance in their defeat by Everton was "uncharacteristic" and he expects a response against Manchester City.

Spurs fell to a 2-1 defeat by Everton on Sunday - just their sixth loss of the season - meaning they sit three points adrift of the Women's Super League's top four.

Asked if he expects a reaction from his players, Ho said: "I hope so. We should get a response. It's uncharacteristic of ourselves to be the way we were.

"You can have those games in football and have an off day. We can't have too many of them but I don't think we have.

"It's about making sure we go into this game [against Manchester City] with confidence and belief so we can put it right."

Tottenham face league leaders City on Saturday (12:00 GMT) with the hosts recording an emphatic 5-1 win when they last met in September.

City are seven points clear at the top of the table and Ho believes that is largely down to the "flexibility and freedom" manager Andree Jeglertz has instilled.

"They are so much more dynamic and versatile tactically. If you look at their goalscorers, they have had eight or nine different ones this season," said Ho.

"Their goals are coming from an array of areas on the pitch and they have a very dangerous frontline. The midfield backs it up and depth in the squad supports it.

"But it's more about their tactical flexibility and the freedom in their play. You can definitely see that."

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Everton interim manager Scott Phelan is "not surprised" by the upturn in results for his side in the Women's Super League.

Phelan took over for the rest of the season on Wednesday, 4 February following Brian Sorensen's sacking and a day after the transfer window shut.

The Toffees were four points off the bottom of the table then, but have jumped up to sixth place with three successive wins since Phelan's appointment.

Asked if the speed by which his side have turned around their fortunes was unexpected, Phelan said: "I'm not really surprised. One thing I've always said was that there was a lot of quality in the squad.

"Maybe the results earlier in the season hadn't reflected that, but there was certainly a lot of quality and that was evident from the first session we had.

"I'm just really happy that the players have been able to show that consistently over the last few league games.

"That has helped us build a little bit more confidence earlier than maybe normal after a change of manager or coach."

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City are not distracted by talk of winning the Women's Super League title, says manager Andree Jeglertz.

City have a seven-point lead over defending champions Chelsea with five games remaining in the league.

They have not won the WSL title for a decade and if they were to be successful, it would end Chelsea's six-year stranglehold on the league.

"So far, no distraction I would say. I don't know how much our players are reading. Inside our group we don't speak much about it," said Jeglertz.

"I haven't seen any players being stressed or anything about it. It's pretty calm. This is also what we want. We can't be nervous or stressed by this.

"This is what every day has been fighting for from the first day we got here - to be able to win the league. Now we are in a great position, so it's handling that pressure in a good way. It has to be something that we deal with."

City dropped points on Sunday in a goalless draw with Aston Villa, just the third match they have not won in the WSL this season.

They welcome Tottenham to the Joie Stadium on Saturday (12:00 GMT), before facing rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on 28 March.

"If you're not present for each game from the first minute, the opponent is too good no matter who you are playing. We have been very good in that," added Jeglertz.

"I think this [against Villa] was the first time we were not at that level. It's going back to whatever we need to do to make sure we win.

"We have to think it's a final for us on Saturday. It's just about Tottenham and nothing else; not the league, just Tottenham."

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

London City Lionesses manager Eder Maestre says recent games against top-level opposition has been "a very good learning process" for the squad.

The Women's Super League side have faced leaders Manchester City, European champions Arsenal and League Cup runners-up Manchester United in their past five matches, picking up just one win against Brighton.

Next, they welcome defending champions Chelsea at The Den in Millwall on Saturday (12:00 GMT).

"We have learned a lot of things. Trying to adapt to a new coach, a new way of training and to face every action every day," said Maestre.

"I think we're moving forward in the way we're understanding the new way to play and to train. We think about our mini goals.

"It's a very good learning process for me as well and I'm very pleased with what has happened. We're ready to face all the challenges that is in front of us."

Before the Chelsea game, Maestre hopes his experienced players can help maintain "energy" in training and build confidence.

"If we look backwards, and we can see the way we weren't able to bring the results, the margins were so tight," he added. "It's something that the players need to improve on, be more clinical and more experienced to cope in those moments that appear in every game.

"It's about bringing in that working culture and training hard to improve their levels. They are young players. The margins with them aren't too big."

Goals from Alyssa Thompson and teenager Lexi Potter gave Chelsea a narrow win against Brighton on Wednesday night to move them up to second in the table.

Carla Camacho's deflected strike had briefly hauled Albion level but 19-year-old Potter's first goal on her maiden Women's Super League start for the club proved enough.

Chelsea were helped by a slip-up across London where Manchester United, who started the night in second place, were held to a goalless draw by struggling West Ham.

The Women's Super League was back after a four-week break at the weekend - and storylines continued.

Watch all the highlights below, starting with leaders Manchester City, who missed the chance to extend their advantage at the top to 11 points with a goalless draw at Aston Villa.

Champions League quarter-finalists Arsenal have been racking up games in hand on those above them.

In their first opportunity to close the gap on Chelsea and Manchester United, they took advantage, beating London City Lionesses 2-0 on the road.

At the other end of the table, Liverpool claimed a vital three points to pull four clear of bottom-placed Leicester.

There was joy for the blue half of Merseyside too, as Everton went to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and won 2-1 thanks to a late strike from Kelly Gago.

That is four straight wins for the Blues.

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham manager Martin Ho says they have "pushed boundaries" this season as they remain on course to set a club record points tally.

Spurs currently sit fifth in the Women’s Super League table, four points off defending champions Chelsea in third.

Ho took over from Robert Vilahamn in the summer and has had an impressive debut campaign as manager.

Tottenham need just one more win in the WSL to match their best ever league campaign (32 points in 2021-22).

"This year it is about building foundations. Going into the third year, it’s the growth of the team, sustaining it and becoming part of that top three," said Ho.

"We’ve done well. We've pushed boundaries that maybe we didn't think we could. We have to make the players believe.

"There's other parts of our objectives that we're looking at in terms of goals scored, clean sheets kept, and so on.

"I'm proud of the players and staff. They've done exceptionally well."