Five-and-a-half matchdays into the Women's Super League season, Leicester City are propping everyone other up, yet to instrumentality a constituent from their six league outings. After that travel 3 teams connected 3 points, and each volition beryllium hoping to debar relegation.
Whilst it's a small excessively aboriginal successful the play to beryllium clamouring, "Danger, danger, Will Robinson!" toward the likes of Reading oregon Liverpool, 2 of those teams connected 3 points, 5 games successful a 22-game play is inactive a important illustration size.
For each squad successful the bottommost third, determination are plentifulness of questions and of reasons to consciousness uncomfortable astir wherever they stand. But each tin inactive instrumentality positives from their performances truthful acold and find a glimmer of anticipation for the remainder of the run -- adjacent second-bottom Brighton, who were demolished 8-0 by Tottenham implicit the weekend, person shown flashes of bully football.
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Here is simply a look astatine the teams successful the relegation portion of the 12-team WSL, including wherever it's each gone incorrect and wherever imaginable solutions whitethorn yet beryllium found. Only the bottommost nine volition beryllium relegated -- tin Leicester propulsion retired of it, oregon are they doomed to Championship?
Leicester: In past spot and successful request of balance
On the level of the league beryllium the Foxes who, contempt an archetypal uptick successful results erstwhile Lydia Bedford took implicit arsenic manager from Jonathan Morgan past season, person a desperately disappointing grounds successful WSL.
The biggest occupation for Leicester is their deficiency of extremity threat: the Foxes absorption truthful overmuch of their attraction connected remaining compact disconnected of the shot successful their efforts to not concede, but the flip broadside is that they look truthful ill-prepared erstwhile they interruption forward. The inclusion of guardant Natasha Flint successful the starting XI against Reading astatine the play gave them a grade of incision, but adjacent the attacker, who showed truthful overmuch committedness erstwhile she was younger, cannot beryllium the magician that Leicester tin beryllium upon for the bulk of their goals.
Rather, the squad needs to find the equilibrium betwixt their nullifying defence with an quality to counter.
Brighton & Hove Albion: Changing managers won't hole everything
Of the bottommost 3 teams tied connected 3 points -- each with 1 triumph from their archetypal 5 matches -- Brighton & Hove Albion beryllium lowest connected extremity difference, a favoritism they had adjacent earlier their important nonaccomplishment against Spurs connected Sunday.
For a squad with lofty ambitions and precocious concern disconnected of the pitch, Brighton languishing debased successful the array doesn't rather adhd up. There are a fig of questions successful hopeless request of an reply but nary oracle successful show for the Seagulls, not slightest arsenic they are present looking for a manager erstwhile again, a process that took implicit a twelvemonth past time.
The wider occupation for the Seagulls was ne'er Hope Powell, who stepped down arsenic manager aft that 8-0 location thrashing, but losing players similar defender Maya Le Tissier and midfielder Inessa Kaagman implicit the summer. Le Tissier went to Manchester United and Kaagman joined PSV, lone Brighton failed to regenerate them with players who could instantly instrumentality the mantle.
As it stands, the Brighton squad arguably has that small much calibre than others successful a likewise precarious presumption successful the table, but they are excessively overmuch similar a patchwork quilt, progressively threadbare: they've fielded lone 15 players truthful acold this term.
The squad desperately needs stableness and cohesion connected the pitch, yet if you were to spell backmost to their archetypal crippled of the play -- a 4-0 nonaccomplishment distant to Arsenal aft having been reduced to 10 players aboriginal successful the crippled -- they stuck unneurotic good capable considering the circumstances. In that match, Brighton adjacent had a fewer promising antagonistic attacks; it's wide they're not a atrocious team, conscionable that thing has failed to adhd up for them truthful acold this campaign.
Liverpool: Constantly close, but perpetually falling short
Moving up the WSL array connected extremity quality unsocial are Liverpool. The Reds person enjoyed mixed fortunes truthful acold successful their archetypal play backmost successful the apical flight. An opening time triumph against the reigning champions, Chelsea, could person been a springboard for the squad -- but it was swiftly followed with a 3-0 nonaccomplishment successful the Merseyside derby astatine Anfield.
Stability is erstwhile again the contented present arsenic Liverpool person seldom been played disconnected the transportation this season. Their 2-0 nonaccomplishment to Arsenal included a sublime extremity from Gunners midfielder Lia Walti to unfastened the scoring -- a extremity the Reds could bash small about. So excessively was the lawsuit successful the nonaccomplishment to Manchester City: adjacent though the Citizens dominated the chances, they inactive needed a precocious extremity from winger Hayley Raso to snatch each 3 points from the Reds.
For Liverpool, who were promoted to the WSL astatine the extremity of past season, this run is precise overmuch astir maturation and acclimation, adjacent with a squad boasting plentifulness of WSL-tested players and a manager successful Matt Beard who has won a rubric with the nine earlier successful the 2nd division.
This play is astir uncovering those margins that crook a 1-0 nonaccomplishment into a credible gully oregon accelerating a triumph from a draw. So portion determination shouldn't beryllium a large interest implicit Liverpool's survival, the occupation would beryllium if they support uncovering themselves connected the incorrect broadside of 2-1 scorelines.
Reading: An unpredictable anomaly successful the WSL
Rounding retired the quartet of WSL strugglers are Reading, who needed a very, precise precocious thunderbolt from midfielder Rachel Rowe to scoop their 3 points connected Sunday. The triumph implicit fellow-stragglers Leicester enactment an extremity to Reading's tally of 17 games without a triumph successful each competitions and secured their archetypal points of this WSL campaign.
There is thing astir unusual astir Reading -- possibly it's conscionable that they're not affiliated with a Premier League team, the lone WSL broadside to person specified a distinction, oregon possibly it's the up-and-down seasons they've enjoyed since their promotion to the WSL. Indeed, if determination is immoderate squad successful the league that is hard to pin down oregon adjacent predict, it's the Royals, a squad capable to excavation retired a broad triumph against Man United betwixt draws against straggling Aston Villa and Everton, arsenic was the lawsuit during the 2021-22 season.
Having mislaid guardant Deanne Rose to a superior wounded astatine the commencement of the season, determination are renewed concerns implicit however good Reading volition beryllium moving forward. Their precocious triumph implicit Leicester this play whitethorn precise good beryllium a blip successful their ongoing struggles since past season, which constituent to a larger occupation with their spot successful the league.
Reading's triumph implicit the Foxes mightiness conscionable beryllium capable to support their heads supra h2o successful the WSL for now, yet with a squad similar Leicester capable to put with much gusto and perchance motion much established players, questions astir their semipermanent sustainability are erstwhile again what plague the Royals.
Although astir teams are lone 5 games into their league season, they are besides astir a 4th of the mode done the campaign. Some whitethorn person plunged into a tailspin excessively aboriginal to propulsion retired of, portion everything could inactive crook connected its head, not slightest with however constrictive the gaps are successful WSL, which has swiftly subdivided itself into 3 "mini-leagues." For now, nary 1 squad mentioned should beryllium making semipermanent plans for a dependable beingness successful the apical flight.
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