When the ticker tape has settled, the WSL trophy handed out and we find out who will be competing in the league next season, this weekend of WSL football in late January will be earmarked as the most pivotal of the 2025/26 campaign.
While nothing has been decided, it is a strong indicator of how the next three-and-a-half months could go, and what those outcomes might be.
Let’s start at the top, where Manchester City have opened up a nine-point lead in first place.
It is going to take one almighty collapse from Andree Jeglertz’s side – unlikely given they only have two competitions to focus on now – and a huge boost in form from either Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester United to stop them from winning the WSL title for the first time since 2016.
London City gave them a stern test too in their 2-1 win and – in a world without goalposts – could have scored a couple more. But Man City showed their courage and mentality as winners – unmatched by any other team this season – to take the three points late on. Those snatched victories and small margins are vital in any title-winning campaign.
“It says something about strong teams that even though it’s not a beautiful game, we still find a way to win,” Man City boss Jeglertz told Sky Sports.
“There are a lot of games left. We’ll play Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd, Spurs – all these teams will find ways to challenge us.
“But it’s great to be in this situation because we deserve it. It’s been a great season so far, we need to keep on going and being humble and take it one game at a time.”
It came 24 hours after Sonia Bompastor conceded that the title race was likely over following Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Arsenal.
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Highlights of the Women’s Super League match between Chelsea and Arsenal
“Today we understand the situation, we know the title race is probably gone, but our mentality is to fight until the very end. We will never give up,” she told BBC Sport. “Now we have to focus on getting points and staying in that second position and doing the best we can.”
The Blues are now in a fight just to stay in the top three. Man Utd, who swept past Aston Villa on Sunday – are just two points behind, Arsenal just one.
Any more big slips, especially against the teams around them, and Chelsea could find themselves in the unfathomable position of not earning a Champions League place. It has been well over a decade since the Blues found themselves below third, but that is becoming an increasing reality now.
For Arsenal and Man Utd, they will want to maintain their own momentum to keep up that pressure and capitalise on any more slips. It will be interesting to see how the return of the Champions League in February affects that, with both teams playing in the knockout play-off rounds.
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Highlights from the Women’s Super League clash between Aston Villa and Manchester United
Then we turn towards the bottom of the WSL table. Both Liverpool and West Ham showed their fight as they bid to avoid relegation, beating Spurs and Leicester respectively.
They have been boosted in January too. Gareth Taylor has kept his job, and made six new signings – much needed as injuries have decimated the Reds’ squad.
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Highlights from the Women’s Super League clash between Liverpool and Tottenham
West Ham decided to change their manager, bringing in Rita Guarino, and with two wins in her first three games across all competitions, the Italian is certainly having an impact.
“It’s really satisfying,” Taylor said after their first WSL victory of the season. “We had a lot of good chances in the second half, we had a lot of box entries and we hadn’t had that this season. Today, we looked more like we want to be and we’ve got players who can make a big difference for us.”
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Highlights from the Women’s Super League clash between Leicester City and West Ham
While Liverpool still remain at the bottom, themselves and the Hammers have now dragged Everton and Leicester into the relegation quagmire.
The Toffees were beaten by Brighton on Friday evening, and are yet to win at Goodison Park this season. It is an incredibly worrying run that could yet condemn them to the drop.
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Highlights of the Women’s Super League match between Everton and Brighton and Hove Albion
Much like Liverpool, Leicester have made some marquee signings this month in Alisha Lehmann, Ashleigh Neville and Rachel Williams, and will be hoping they can help steer the Foxes away from danger.
And let’s not forget, this season, a relegation play-off awaits the 12th-placed finisher in the WSL. They will play the WSL2’s third-place team for a place in the top league next season.
While it gives teams hope of still maintaining their WSL status, no one will want the lottery of a play-off to do so.
Could this be the weekend that sparked Liverpool and West Ham’s charge up the table? A few more wins under their belt and they would sit comfortably in mid-table. Time will tell.
What we do know is there are unmissable storylines across the WSL this season – ones that will continue to intrigue and excite as Sky Sports brings you all of the twists and turns as we head towards the final day of the season.
