Women’s Super League Preview
by Eliza Kim
The Women’s Super League is BACK!!
We love Fall around here because with the changing colour of the leaves comes the return of European club football. There’s nothing better than waking up on a weekend morning to take in your favourite WSL stars. As usual, there’s lots of Canadian content coming our way. Here’s a quick rundown of our Canucks playing in the WSL in 2024/25:
- Kadeisha Buchanan is no stranger to winning teams. In her two seasons with the Blues, she’s already won the league twice. Despite not always being the first choice CB, she’s played a decent role in those campaigns. Good news is, Jess Carter has moved on and Sonia Bompastor is familiar with Buchanan from their time together at Lyon. Speaking of, with Lucy Bronze joining Chelsea’s backline, these two former Lyon teammates will be combining their wealth of experience to continue to bring trophies to London, especially that elusive UWCL title.
- Ashley Lawrence is expected to be another key piece for Bompastor this season. The versatile defender is widely viewed as one of the best attacking fullbacks in the modern game. She played just under 1000 minutes in the WSL last season in 10 starts and was relied upon heavily in the UWCL, where she started 8 of 9 games.
- Aston Villa’s Canadian duo of Adriana Leon and Sabrina D’Angelo have reason to be hopeful about the 24/25 campaign. A number of solid additions, including D’Angelo who is expected to compete with Leat for the starting spot, should help them push out of their mid-table form from last season. Leon has been consistently good for Villa since joining them last season and had her best club season in years, scoring 5 goals and notching 3 assists in 14 starts.
- Canadian Liverpool fans have been on cloud nine since the Reds signed young forward Olivia Smith in a record-breaking move. The club and fans are no doubt optimistic about her ability to contribute on both sides of the ball, but especially offensively. She may needs some time to re-integrate after being away for the U20 World Cup. Ending last season 4th in the league was a major sign of progress for the club that earned promotion in 2022, and they are looking to keep climbing.
- Shelina Zadorsky has completed a permanent move from the Spurs to West Ham, following her former coach Rehanne Skinner. The Canadian defender's calm presence in the backline will be a boon, but it remains to be seen if they can avoid relegation this season. The veteran defender (65 WSL appearances) was named vice-captain and the photoshoot with Captain Gorry was pretty hilarious due to their height difference.
- Deanne Rose had a very quiet season last year with Leicester City and for Canada. She has yet to truly return to the same level prior to her achilles injury; she remains on the bubble and hopefully the calmer and injury-free off-season will be what brings her all the way back. Leicester only scored 26 times in 22 matches last season, so a 5+ point season (she had 4 goals, 3 assists for Reading in 2021/22) would make a big difference.
- Manchester United is officially in the race to be Canada’s favourite WSL team this year, especially if both our young Canucks can play significant minutes. Jayde Riviere is likely to be one of the first choice full-backs and fingers crossed looks healthy to start the season. With Georges coming back from ACL injury and Blundell out due to pregnancy, it’ll be her job to lose.
- Simi Awujo’s situation will be a little different as the former USC Trojan aims to make the jump to the pros. Competition is stiff in that midfield though, with club legend Ella Toone pulling the strings offensively, Grace Clinton back from her successful loan, Awujo will have to train hard and take her opportunities when they come.
- Rylee Foster is back in the WSL on a short-term deal with Everton. The former Liverpool keeper will hopefully get a chance to prove she can be a first-choice keeper after impressing in Australia last season. Foster has shown great mental strength to return to the pitch following a life-threatening neck injury sustained in a motor-vehicle accident in 2021.
- Last but not least, there’s a Canadian playing in the Championship this season, too. Former YNT winger and low-key social media star Kaila Novak has returned to soccer following a couple years off. She signed with Durham WFC this off-season and has already picked up a pair of assists in their 2 wins to start the season.
A little more about the WSL
The WSL enters its 13th season in 2024/25. It is largely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, women’s leagues in the World. It hasn’t always been that way, but with increased investment since the late 2010s, the excitement around the Lionesses, and better support from Premier League owners, the league has exploded. Sam Kerr, Viv Miedema, Alessia Russo, Leah Williamson, Khadija Shaw, the list of stars goes on and on.
One of the big storylines ahead of this season is the change of ownership from the English FA to “Women’s Professional League” (initially NewCo). It’s seen as an opportunity to help the league grow sustainably into the future, rather than rely on FA subsidies. Chief Executive Officer Nikki Doucet has Canadian connections, having played Usports basketball with St FX back in the late 90s and completing her MBA at U of T. Her recent media interviews have gone over with mixed reviews, and the company has had little time to put their stamp on things, so you can expect the feel of the league to stay the same for 24/25, at least.
The league title came down to the wire (literally!) at the last fixture of the season, where Chelsea managed to salvage their season – the last under Emma Hayes – by winning the League five years in a row on goal differential. With change afoot at Kingsmeadow, usual contenders City, Arsenal, and United will look to end that streak.
Rumours of possible transfers and moves swirled throughout last season with key players being out of contract. But when off-season officially began, some big names made moves that definitely shook up many fans. Below are highlights of some of those moves and what it could mean for the season ahead.
Big Names, Big News
Chelsea
The off-season for Chelsea has been a rollercoaster; the departures of Fran Kirby and Maren Mjelde, – both long-time vets with the team – were offset by the splash of shock from the signings of Lucy Bronze and Sandy Baltimore from Barcelona and PSG respectively. With the impending returns of Sam Kerr, Cat Macario and Mia Fishel at some point in the season, the Blues still remain heavily favoured to win trophies this season even with a new manager at the helm.
Arsenal
Arsenal was not without their own shock in the off-season; Dutch legend Vivienne Miedema chose to not re-sign with the Gunners and instead will be suiting up for Manchester City this coming season. The Arsenal took another two big L’s from a Canadian perspective, when they let both Lacasse and D’Angelo depart as well. However, the leadership were not resting on their laurels as they completed the signing of Mariona Caldentey from Barcelona to replenish their depth. Arsenal’s squad quality has always been top tier so there’s plenty of intrigue on what their attack will look like with her in the mix alongside Mead and Russo. The GK position remains interesting as new signing Van Domselaar looks to challenge long-time starter Zinsberger.
Manchester City
The blue side of Manchester was agonizingly edged out of the league title last season by goal differential. Their attacking quality that carried them to the top has always been dangerous, but they have added even more lethality with the signing of Vivienne Miedema to join Khadija “Bunny” Shaw in terrorizing defensive lines throughout the league. Combined with the addition of Aoba Fujino’s youth, playmaking and versatility this season, it may be the key for City to *remain* at the top of the table at the end of the season.
Manchester United
The Red Devils had a disappointing 2023/24 campaign compared to their local rival. Despite the strong start last season, they couldn’t maintain their momentum and ended up fifth in the league. This off-season, Lucia Garcia, Nikita Parris, Mary Earps and Katie Zelem all departed the club; while Earps’ departure wasn’t a shock, Zelem’s move to the NWSL was something that came as a surprise. Dutch defender Dominique Janssen replaced some of that experience, but the rest of their new players are younger than 25. The permanent signing of Melvine Malard is seen as a move to rebuild their depth, but their title hopes may fall heavier on the shoulders of their younger and less battle-tested goalkeeping unit. Phallon Tullis-Joyce is likely to inherit the starting GK job, but their thinner depth at the position may haunt them if Tullis-Joyce needs time to adjust and get back into the form she showed before she left Seattle for Manchester.
Mid Table Madness??!
Liverpool
After pulling out a critical upset against Chelsea at home, Liverpool finished last season 4th in the league, showing promising steps of progress under Matt Beard. There’s a lot of hope in the air this year with the signing of young Canadian forward Olivia Smith, along with 24-yo Swedish forward Cornelia Kapocs, who bagged 28 goals over her last two seasons with Linkoping. The Reds have also added Gemma Evans to strengthen their backline.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Having been able to bring in Lionesses legends like Fran Kirby and Nikita Parris alongside Vicky Losada to the squad is 100% a coup, but also a statement on their seriousness and dedication to growth and desire to compete with the Big 3. They made 12 signings overall, so it may take a little bit of time for the team to gel.
Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs were well-served by Grace Clinton during her loan spell with the North London club, and despite her departure, the club has signed Australians Clare Hunt, from PSG, and Hayley Raso, from Real Madrid, to hopefully help them build up bigger & better and improve on their 6th place finish from last season.
Other key moves
Gabi Nunes to Aston Villa
Katie Stengel to Crystal Palace
Toni Payne to Everton
Chantelle Swaby to Leicester
Predictions?
Although there’s definitely some room for surprise chaos in the table, the likelihood of Chelsea finishing first in the league is relatively high. Despite surprise defeats during parts of last season, Chelsea’s depth and quality showed up at the end to get them over the line for their fifth league title in a row. Their friendly against Arsenal recently in Washington shows that Hayes’ legacy of excellence will certainly be continued by Bompastor.
There are a few clubs that can challenge them though, and overall the parity of the league is improving. Although City looks more dangerous on paper, Arsenal may be able to edge them out. Both teams have strong attackers in their lineups but it’s defence that wins championships, and the presence of Fox, McCabe and Wubben-Moy alongside Williamson in the back offer a strong case for Arsenal. If Ilestedt makes her return this season (having taken off last season pending the birth of her first child), then she could tip the scales further in the favour of the Gunners.
West Ham barely avoided relegation last season and it remains to be seen if they can avoid it this year even with the presence of a newcomer to the league like Crystal Palace, who has been promoted to the WSL this season for the first time. Although their manager Rehanne Skinner isn’t new to the league, her record losing streak with the Spurs last season led to her dismissal from the club. Combined with significant roster turnover, they still remain teetering on the edge.
How to Watch
Sportsnet continues to hold the rights to TV games (often the Chelsea, Arsenal, City, United games) and shows them on their channels, typically on weekend mornings to mid-day. The remainder of the matches have moved from the FA Player to Youtube which has unfortunately ruined lives around here. The only way to watch the games that aren’t on SN is via a VPN which allows you to change your location to country it isn’t blocked in.
Play Fantasy WSL
If you like Fantasy Leagues, check out www.fantasywsl.net/ and the Northern Lights’ league (code: 99H0WX1)