WSL: Will Chelsea finally leapfrog Arsenal to take charge of Women's Super League title race?

Follow live coverage of Manchester United vs Everton from 11.30am on Sunday live on Sky Sports Premier League, kick-off at 12.30pm, followed by Leicester City vs Chelsea live on Sky Sports Premier League from 2.45pm, kick-off at 3pm

By Ron Walker, Digital Football Journalist @Ronnabe

After having their chance to topple leaders Arsenal called off in midweek due to a Covid outbreak at Tottenham, will Chelsea finally leap to the WSL summit this weekend?

Chelsea's WSL title hopes have been in their own hands since early February, when Arsenal stumbled at Manchester United - leaving the Blues five points behind but with two games in hand - before the title rivals' goalless draw at Kingsmeadow later that month kept the race for the trophy on a knife-edge.

The Gunners had previously proved a different force under new manager Jonas Eidevall this season, leading from the front since beating Chelsea 3-2 at the Emirates in the opening game of the campaign, in a near faultless start to the campaign where they won eight of their first nine games.

It was not something they could keep up indefinitely - and a 2-0 defeat to Birmingham in January marked the start of a decline which would see them win only one of their next five matches, opening the door for Chelsea in the process.

This weekend, Chelsea can finally take advantage as they bid to top the table for the first time this season when they play second-bottom Leicester, live on Sky Sports Premier League, with Arsenal's north London derby with Tottenham also postponed due to Covid.

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"They have the title mathematically in their hands, if they win all their games there's nothing Arsenal can do about it. It's all on Chelsea - it's going to be a close one," Daily Telegraph women's football reporter Tom Garry told Inside the WSL.

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"Arsenal won't read too much into it if Chelsea do go top, both teams know where they are. They just have to keep on winning - they know Chelsea have a tougher run-in, they know Chelsea have to play Tottenham twice, and host Manchester United on the final day of the season.

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"Both teams will be quite happy with where they are, but it's in Chelsea's hands and we have seen them go on winning runs - they have got the experience to finish the job. I think you would rather be where Chelsea are."

Highlights of the Women's Super League match between Everton and Chelsea

Reiten: To pip Arsenal to title 'would mean everything'

Chelsea's all-action versatile midfielder Guro Reiten, who has featured in all but one of their 16 WSL games so far, will make her 50th appearance in the competition on Sunday if she features in Emma Hayes' line-up at Leicester.

If she does, and Chelsea go on to win, she will become the joint-most successful player in WSL history from their first 50 games, with 39 wins. No other Blues player has achieved this feat, with the current record holders, Lia Walti and Vivianne Miedema, both of an Arsenal persuasion.

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says she is enjoying being behind Arsenal in the WSL title race

That success could still count for nothing on the domestic front this season should Chelsea lose out in the title race, and the Norwegian is desperate to make sure she completes a hat-trick of WSL winners' medals come the end of the season.

She told Sky Sports: "It would mean everything after the season we have had, with the Champions League which we don't talk much about but we want to win the league title, there's the FA Cup too, and we lost the Continental Cup final.

"Sometimes when you lose, you realise how much you want to make sure it doesn't happen again. We've had that feeling twice this year, and we've got to show we've learned from it and win the rest of the games this season."

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Who has the tougher run-in?

Aside from a rearranged north London derby, Arsenal do not come up against another side in the top five in the final four games of the season - with a trip to West Ham on the final day of the campaign their toughest game on paper.

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Although Chelsea face a Birmingham side who have only picked up four points all season among their remaining six matches, they also have to host Manchester United in their last game, with Marc Skinner's team still in the hunt, as things stand, for a place in next season's Champions League.

Should that remain the case come May 8, it may make the Blues' challenge all the tougher in such a tightly fought race at the top.

Carney: Hayes 'constantly evolving' as a manager

Karen Carney and Kelly Smith joined Caroline Barker for an in-depth look at the managerial trailblazers in the WSL

Chelsea have switched from a 4-2-3-1 formation which saw them to the 2020/21 WSL title to a 3-4-3 for this season, in the process keeping their destiny in their own hands despite their tactical shift.

Former Blues midfielder Karen Carney told a WSL Special this month the move had showcased Hayes' evolution as a manager, as she looked to adapt Chelsea's style to best cope with the challenges of retaining the league title.

She said: "She's constantly evolving, and usually takes trends from the men's game into her own teams. They have evolved from a four to a three at the back, pushing players a lot further forward.

"Their possession has been a lot better than last season. They are giving the ball away seven times fewer per game, which might not seem a lot but when the margins are so small, that can lose you points.

"It's bodies going forward, and their style has changed. They have had to change; when you are the champions, teams defend differently, and want to stop you differently."

The Manchester battle for third?

Highlights of the Women's Super League match between Manchester City and Reading

Manchester City endured a tough start to the season, losing four of their opening seven games, including a 5-0 pummelling by Arsenal, and dropping as low as ninth in the WSL table in the early weeks of the campaign.

That marked a far cry from last season's WSL, where City ended a single point off winners Chelsea in the final standings and went into the last weekend of the season knowing a favourable set of results would see them crowned champions.

But despite their early setbacks, the club has stuck by Gareth Taylor and seen him lead his side to eight wins from their last 10 league games, lifting them back up to fourth and only behind city-rivals Manchester United in third on goal difference.

United have enjoyed less of a dramatic season, briefly dropping to sixth in the early weeks of the campaign but rebounding to sit third with six wins from nine keeping them ahead of the chasing pack - just.

Both are in action on Sunday, with Manchester United hosting Everton live on Sky Sports Premier League from 11.30am, and kick-off at 12.30pm, before Manchester City host bottom side Birmingham City at 2pm.

There is a chance the final Champions League place may not end up in Manchester at all. Tottenham are four points off the two North-West sides in fifth, but with a game in hand on both - which will stretch to two this weekend because of the north London derby postponement.

Rheanne Skinner's side dropped out of the top three after picking up only a point against Reading and Manchester City in their last two games, a frustration made all the worse by the fact their run-in includes two games with Chelsea as well as the rearranged Arsenal derby.

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