Matildas Abroad Preview: Title race heats up in England

Before the second international break of the year kicks off next week, our Matildas Abroad are in action in England, the USA, Sweden, Norway and France before departing for London to face Scotland and England. 

Find out how to catch our Matildas Abroad in action in our preview.

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England

Kicking off in East Sussex, Lydia Williams' Brighton & Hove Albion looks to move out of the relegation zone when they host ladder-leaders Manchester United. 

The Seagulls will have their work cut out for them when they face the Red Devils, their last outing ending in a 4-0 win to Manchester. This game will kick off on Saturday night at 9:30 pm AEDT.

Meanwhile, Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley's Arsenal will host Mary Fowler, Hayley Raso and Alanna Kennedy's Manchester City, with both sides battling to stay inside the top four. 

Alanna Kennedy and Hayley Raso of Manchester City speak with Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley of Arsenal after the FA Women's Continental Tyres League Cup Semi Final match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Meadow Park on February 08, 2023 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Alanna Kennedy and Hayley Raso of Manchester City speak with Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley of Arsenal after the FA Women's Continental Tyres League Cup Semi Final match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Meadow Park on February 08, 2023, in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

Both sides recorded big wins last weekend, the Gunners beating Spurs 5-1 in the North London derby, with Foord scoring a double, while City beat Chelsea 2-0. 

This game will kick off on Sunday night at 9:30 pm AEST.

Meanwhile, Clare Wheeler's Everton will look to pick up all three points after back-to-back draws when they host Kyah Simon's Tottenham Hotspur.

The Toffees recorded a 1-1 draw in the Merseyside derby last weekend, while Spurs faced a heavy 5-1 defeat in the North London derby. This game will kick off on Sunday night at 10:00 pm AEST.

Courtney Nevin and Remy Siemsen's Leicester City are aiming to get off the bottom of the table and out of the relegation zone when they host 10th-placed Reading FC.

Their last meeting in the WSL ended in a 2-1 victory for the Royals, with the Foxes having only recorded two wins this season. This game will kick off on Monday morning at 12:00 am AEST.

Mackenzie Arnold's West Ham United will be looking to bounce back from three consecutive defeats when they host Liverpool. 

Only one point divides the two sides at the moment, with the Hammers sitting in 7th place on 16 points, while Liverpool are in 8th on 15 points. 

Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold (1 West Ham) holding ball during the Barclays FA Womens Super League game between West Ham United v Arsenal at Dagenham and Redbridge s Chigwell Construction Stadium.England. (K Hodgson/SPP)
Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold holding the ball during the Barclays FA Womens Super League game between West Ham United v Arsenal at Dagenham and Redbridge s Chigwell Construction Stadium in England. (K Hodgson/SPP)

This game will kick off on Monday morning at 2:00 am AEST.

Lastly, Sam Kerr's Chelsea will be trying to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat last weekend when they take on Emily Gielnik's Aston Villa. 

The Villans recorded a dominant 5-0 victory over the weekend, while Chelsea recorded a big win in the UWCL throughout the week to book their spot in the semi-finals. 

This game will kick off on Monday morning at 3:45 am AEST.

USA

Moving over to the USA, Alex Chidiac's Racing Louisville will be looking to pick up their first win of the season when they host the Washington Spirit in their home opener. 

Racing held on to record a 0-0 draw against Houston Dash last weekend to start their season. This game will kick off on Sunday morning at 5:00 am AEST.

Meanwhile, Emily Van Egmond's San Diego Wave FC will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins when they host the North Carolina Courage.

Cari Roccaro (4 Chicago Red Stars) and Emily van Egmond (5 San Diego Wave FC) in action during the National Women™s Soccer League game between San Diego Wave FC and Chicago Red Stars at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, United States (Xavier Hernandez /SPP)
Cari Roccaro and Emily van Egmond in action during the National Women™s Soccer League game between San Diego Wave FC and Chicago Red Stars at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, United States (Photo: Xavier Hernandez /SPP)

Wave FC started their season with an emphatic 3-2 win over the Chicago Red Stars last weekend, doing so in front of 30,000 fans. This game will kick off on Sunday at 12:00 pm AEST.

France

In France, Ellie Carpenter's Lyon will be looking to get back to winning ways after their defeat in the UWCL when they take on Le Havre. 

Lyon sits at the top of the table with a one-point gap between them and PSG, looking to increase their lead against 7th-placed Le Havre. 

This game will kick off on Sunday night at 8:45 pm AEST.

Sweden

In Sweden, Teagan Micah's FC Rosengård will be in search of their first win of the season when they face Linköpings. 

Rosengård opened their season with a 1-1 draw against Piteå IF, with Micah not appearing in the game. This game will kick off on Saturday morning at 3:00 am AEDT.

Meanwhile, Kyra Cooney-Cross' Hammarby will be trying to make it back-to-back wins when they take on newly-promoted IK Uppsala. 

Cooney-Cross was named Player of the Match in Hammarby's 2-0 win last weekend to start their season. This game will kick off on Sunday morning at 12:00 am AEDT.

Next up, Aivi Luik's BK Häcken will also be in search of their first win of the season when they take on Växjö DFF. This game will kick off on Sunday night at 11:00 pm AEST.

Vittsjös Clare Polkinghorn during Sundays match, premiere in the womens league, between Hammarby IF and Vittsjö GIK
Vittsjö GIK's Clare Polkinghorne during Sunday's match, premiere in the women's league, between Hammarby IF and Vittsjö GIK

Lastly, Clare Polkinghorne, Katrina Gorry and Charli Grant's Vittsjö GIK will be trying to find their first win of the season when they host Brommapojkarna.

Vittsjö GIK Aussie trio all played the full 90 minutes into their opener last weekend, going down 2-0 to Hammarby. This game will kick off on Sunday night at 11:00 pm AEST.

Norway

Lastly, Tameka Yallop and Larissa Crummer's SK Brann will be trying to make it back-to-back wins to start their Toppserien season when they host Åsane.

Crummer could be in line to make her debut for her new side after joining the Norwegian side throughout the week from Brisbane Roar. This game will kick off on Sunday morning at 12:00 am AEDT.