FA Women's Super League preview: Chelsea's title to lose?
If you're not excited by the fact the FA Women's Super League is back this weekend - you're nuts. Why? Because the league is STACKED with some of the best Aussie talent.
The WSL gets underway with a classic as well, as Sam Kerr's Chelsea take on local rivals Arsenal. An Arsenal team with three Aussies no less!
Expect our Matildas players to come alive this season now they will be playing in front of packed crowds. With the World Cup coming up on home soil soon, it's time for you to start paying attention to all club games.
We thought we'd look at the teams our players represent - starting with the favourites.
Chelsea
Sam Kerr is very happy to be back at Cobham 😁 pic.twitter.com/ppaCaLC074
— ChelseaFCBlogs (@ChelseaFCBlogs_) September 2, 2021
What can we say about Sam Kerr you haven't already heard? She is a phenom who is going to explode this season once again. She's already one of the best players on the planet. Feeding off the crowd energy is going to elevate her game even higher this season you feel though.
Last season Chelsea dominated in the UK with a League-Cup double. Kerr top scored last campaign with the Blues losing only one game along the way. They also gave the UEFA Women’s Champions League a massive go, only to come up short against Barcelona in the Final.
Chelsea will be looking to dominate the league and go one better in Europe this season. Emma Hayes is an outstanding coach and will take the side close to winning everything again. To do so they've added Lauren James and Aniek Nouwen to the already outstanding squad.
Will they win it again this season? We're certainly not going to bet against the attacking trio of Kerr, Kirby and Harder.
For Arsenal we had to get thoughts from Gunners expert, Michelle Morris. Michelle is part of The Ladies League crew who you should check out if you haven't already!
While the Arsenal season didn't end the way they would have liked last season, 2021/22 brings a new season, new players, and most importantly; a new manager. Jonas Eidevall takes on the gig as the new head man of the Arsenal Women's football team after Australian coach, Joe Montemurro, left the club at the end of the season.
Eidevall has currently taken the girls through to the second round of the UEFA Women’s Champions League and will begin the start of the FA Women’s Super League this weekend.
Current Matildas players, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, and goalkeeper Lydia Williams, will all return to Arsenal squad this season. After a lengthy injury, Steph Catley is back to action as seen in the Tokyo Olympics, and it will be very exciting to see how she performs for the Arsenal. Lydia Williams continues to fight for that Number 1 goalkeeping spot against Austrian international, Manuela Zinsberger, who has been the starting goalkeeper for about two seasons. Caitlin Foord, or as I like to call her, Foordihno, continues to be (in my completely biased opinion) one of the best players in this league. With 5 assists, and 10 goals last season, it’ll be no doubt that Foord will continue to strive to be the best, and with a player like Vivianne Miedema to partner with, I have no doubt that she will add her tally of goals and assists.
This season will be the first time that women will play in the Emirates Stadium for a league match, and more importantly it’ll be the home opener against rivals in blue, Chelsea.
I have all faith in the world for these girls, but as they say “It’s the hope that kills you.” At least they can’t be any worse than their mens side.
Tottenham
Now for the Gunners local rivals - Tottenham. Spurs have added Matildas gun Kyah Simon which we are buzzing about. Simon putting pen to paper with Spurs means the big teams have an Aussie representation.
Tottenham have a decent squad on paper but it's a new one after a big overhaul. Alanna Kennedy's move to Man City will definitely hurt and leave a gap at the back as well. Her leadership, experience and set piece threat will be hard to replace, especially with the side struggling defensively last season.
Spurs were caught in no-mans land last season, never really looked in danger of relegation but finished well behind the title contenders. They'll be hoping the addition of Simon will help fire them up the league table to at least a top-half finish.
Manchester City
City finished two points behind Chelsea last season and will hope to go one better this time around. They've made some super signings which might be enough to close the gap.
Who's Australia's biggest Man City fan? Look no further than Tanya Davis. We got her thoughts ahead of City's opening game.
It has never been more exciting to be an Australian Man City fan after the signings of Matildas players Alanna Kennedy and Hayley Raso announced in August. There has not been an Australian player in a senior squad at Man City for almost 17 years and we were all definitely Danny Tiatto tragics back then.
The City Women’s side has always had a sharp squad but we hope the Australian injection will bring us more success this year because we’ve been held at 2nd every season since our league last win back in 2016. At our Official Supporter Branch here in Sydney some of our other favourite City players to watch are Janine Beckie and Caroline Weir.
Finally we go back to London where two more Aussies will be lining up for the Hammers - Tameka Yallop and Mackenzie Arnold.
Much like their rivals Spurs, West Ham have undergone an overhaul of players. Key stars such as Emily van Egmond, Kenza Dali and Alisha Lehmann (who joins Emily Gielnik at Aston Villa) have left.
After narrowly avoiding relegation last season, the club will be hoping their new signings can help push them up the table with a much stronger showing on the pitch. After losing key players though, it could be a tough season for the Hammers, but for the sake of Yallop and Arnold we've got our fingers crossed!
Catch all the action over on Optus Sport.
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