The matchday consists of five midweek games and one on the weekend. The FA WSL action will begin on Wednesday, starting with Birmingham City hosting Aston Villa at 1 p.m. ET. West Ham will travel to Brighton to take on the Seagulls and Chelsea will face Arsenal at Kingsmeadow, both at 2 p.m. ET. Wednesday's final game will see Tottenham host bottom of the table Bristol City at 2:30 p.m. The Manchester Derby will be the most sought-after game of the week and will take place at Academy Stadium on Friday at 2 p.m. ET. And on Sunday, Reading and Everton will skirmish for the fifth position on the table as both sides arrive at the matchup with 18 points.
In addition to all the Matchday 15 action, two postponed matches from matchdays 11 and 13 will take place on Sunday. Aston Villa will host Arsenal at 9 a.m. ET and Chelsea will visit Bristol City at 10 a.m. ET.
All the games will be available via stream on the FA Players. American Women's Super League fans will be able to catch the Manchester Derby and London Derby live on ATA Football. All broadcast information will be found at the end of the article.
Game of the Week: Manchester City vs. Manchester United
The Manchester Derby in the women's game has never been more meaningful than the upcoming one on Friday. Manchester United is in second place and tied in points with Chelsea due to goal differential after 14 games. On the other hand, Manchester City capitalized from Chelsea and Man Utd's losses by defeating Arsenal 2-1 last weekend, which allowed them to creep up on the top two positions with 30 points after 13 games.
Despite the Red Devils holding the second position on the table, the Citizens will be favorites to win on Friday. Manchester City has won six consecutive league games since its 2-2 draw to Manchester United. That time out, Man City were the more dominant side in the first half, but they let the game slip in the second half when their rivals scored two goals to equalize.
Both sides have several U.S. Women's National Team players at their disposal. Man City midfielder Sam Mewis has been dealing with an ankle problem that kept her out of the squad that faced Arsenal on Sunday. However, defender Abby Dahlkemper made her FA WSL debut on Sunday, and midfielder Rose Lavelle joined her as a substitute later in the game. As for American players in Manchester United, winger Tobin Heath will remain out for at least 10 more weeks following her ankle injury. On the other hand, Christen Press will be available despite struggling to shine this season. These players – except for Heath – are set to return to the U.S. on Saturday to represent the U.S. in the upcoming SheBelieves Cup.
One cannot talk about the Manchester Derby without bringing up the importance that the London Derby holds for both Manchester sides. Man City and Man Utd will hope that the Gunners can upset the Blues on Wednesday. But what are the chances that Arsenal rob Chelsea from two or even all three points?
Chelsea has won two of its last three WSL meetings against Arsenal with the remaining ending in a one-all draw in November 2020. Joe Montemurro's side bounced back from the 2019/20 season, where they fell to the Blues twice by score lines of 2-1 and 4-1. Arsenal has picked up just four points from its last four games but can capitalize against Chelsea after its 2-1 loss to Brighton on the weekend. A draw would be enough to make the Manchester Derby on Friday even more important than what it originally is.
Kickoff dates, times, broadcast channels and streams for FA WSL Matchday 15 & postponed fixtures
