Back when I started watching the NWSL there were only 8 teams in the league flash forward to this season and thanks to the latest expansion there are now 16 teams competing in the league which shows the massive growth of women's football within the country. With the addition of more teams we should be seeing an even more competitive league, something that keeps on improving season after season. With some leagues across the globe you see one team constantly running away with the league (Chelsea we are looking at you) however, the NWSL really does have an air of unpredictability around it. We have seen over the years how easily the league can change week after week plus with the NWSL we get the added bonus of once the league ends the play-offs of the top teams starting. Therefore you might win the league but you might not win the Championship, adding even more entertainment for the fans. 

Looking ahead to this season we should be in for another action packed league with teams adding to their roster in the off season whilst also retaining some of the standouts from last season. Unfortunately over the past few years due to timings and licensing I haven't got to watch anywhere near as much of the league as I would have liked but this changes this season. The plan is to really delve into the world of the NWSL this season so what better way to start than to do our predictions before the kick off. With me not knowing much from the past couple of seasons this is a bit of a shot in the dark in terms of where I think teams will be finishing as it is mainly based off highlights I have seen & moves made in the transfer window. So here are my predictions at the start of the season...

As I say with me not following the league as closely these could really be way off but with the start of any season things could go either way as teams need to settle new recruits and get to the correct standard that coaches expect from them. After seeing Gotham in the recent Women's Champions Cup I think they could just about pip the other teams to winning the league but I feel as though it could be a close call with not many points in it. Down at the other end of the table I think the Royals could end up struggling but it really is all to play for.

I am really looking forward to seeing how this season plays out as I should be able to watch so many more games over the course of the season due to the timings being better for us UK fans and the NWSL + showing them all. With the WSL running down to the business end of the season the addition of the NWSL just means women's football is going to be on the TV all year round which is perfect for our household. 

I can't wait to get stuck into the league and create plenty of content around the upcoming season, it really does feel like I am going back to my roots by delving into the league so let's see how it all plays out. Will these predictions be way off or will I have got a few right? I guess we will find out at the start of November before those all important playoffs begin. 

How do you think the league will look by the end of the season?

Here we go the 2026 NWSL is almost ready to kick off and it is safe to say here at Edge of the Area we are excited to delve into the NWSL world once more. What better way to kick off the 2026 coverage than with a post about our top 10 favourite shirts (or jerseys) for the upcoming season. It is no secret that we love a good shirt and the NWSL clubs this year have pulled it out of the bag with some brilliant designs which some may find questionable whilst we actually like how unique they are. What we like is how most of the shirts have meaning behind them not just some random template design you often see these days. 

It was quite difficult to narrow this list down to our final placements and some great shirts have missed out however, here are our top 10 shirts for this season...

10. North Carolina Courage Away

9. Bay FC Third

8. Racing Louisville Third

7. Chicago Stars Home

6. Angel City Home

5. Portland Thorns Home

4. Kansas City Current Third

3. Orlando Pride Home

2. Utah Royals Third

1. Orlando Pride Away

So there you have it those are our top 10 shirts for this seasons NWSL season. What we are loving the most though is that due to Foudy's here in the UK it is much easier to get our hands on the shirts at long last, no paying silly shipping and customs charges like we once had to. I guess this could be a bit of a dangerous thing for us too as we love to grow out football shirt collection with our favourites. At least one of these shirts is going to be purchased to add into the collection but it wouldn't be a surprise if over time even more get added. 

Which shirt is your favourite for this upcoming NWSL season?

 

Last night Arsenal took on AS FAR in their first game of the inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup which just so happened to be the semi-final of the competition, with the winner going on to play Corinthians in the final on Sunday after their earlier 1-0 win over Gotham FC.

This game was one we didn't really know what to expect as we didn't know much about AS FAR but it is safe to say Arsenal showed us just what they were capable of running away with the game finishing 6-0 winners to book their place in Sunday's final.

It took Arsenal just 8 minutes to get their first goal of the night, a brilliantly worked corner found its way back to Blackstenius who headed the ball towards goal. At first it looked like AS FAR managed to defend the header well and clear the ball off the line however, thanks to the technology used in the game it was found that the ball had crossed the line and Arsenal were in the lead.

Just 4 minutes later Maanum doubled the lead with a brilliant strike on the turn from close range. This came from yet another great cross into the box and Smith setting the ball up nicely for Maanum to take the strike with some real power. In the 19th minute it looked like Arsenal were going to get their first however, a deflection left the 'keeper clearing it behind for a corner. This run of play saw VAR in action for the first time though as the corner was then changed to a penalty due to the deflection coming off the AS FAR players arm, this should certainly have been picked up by the referee on the field however, luckily thanks to the addition of VAR it was given correctly as a penalty which Caldentey stepped up to take in the 21st minute and converted nicely to extend Arsenal's lead to 3.

Arsenal didn't sit back even when 3 up and had some great chance which just didn't find the back of the net, AS FAR kept pushing through and created a few chances of their own too however, there were no real threats and Arsenal were on the front foot still. All the pressure paid off in the 41st minute though when Smith extended the lead to 4-0 a great run saw her break through the defence with ease before a low drilled strike shook the back of the net. This rounded off a great first half which saw Arsenal head in to the break with a 4-0 lead through 4 different scorers. 

It was very much more of the same in the second half for Arsenal, they came out hunting for more goals not looking like they were just going to just sit back and hold their lead. In the 66th minute just 6 minutes after entering the game Russo put Arsenal 5 goals ahead. Again though they didn't sit back and 10 minutes later in the 76th minute Russo doubled her tally for the evening scoring Arsenal's last goal of the night giving them a huge 6-0 win to reach the finals on Sunday. In the second half the game seemed to flow more in the favour of it being all Arsenal as they showed everyone just what they were capable of.

Whilst this was a great win for Arsenal it also feels like it highlighted the gap in the leagues around the work and how growth is still needed for the game in some places as with it being a Champions Cup you would really have liked to see a bit of a closer contest. AS FAR did look good though when passing the ball around in some passages of play and in the first half they continued to hunt for a goal even when 4-0 down, it just seemed like they sat back a bit in the second half. 

The game really did highlight the depth in the squad for Arsenal though as they made some changes going into the game but still had a positive first half and game overall even after making changes which can sometimes disrupt the flow of the game whereas these changes just took them from strength to strength. Arsenal really used this game though to show just what they were capable of as they didn't sit back once and kept pushing to get themselves more goals rather than just defending their lead which we have seen from them in the past.

Arsenal will face Corinthians on Sunday after their win over Gotham, who is going to win the inaugural competition? We don't have long to wait.

Are we finally seeing the rise of Manchester City after watching them struggle last season?

The WSL this week saw the gap at the top close in on Chelsea with both Manchester clubs picking up all three points from their games. We also saw Arsenal get back to winning ways after a tough battle against a strong looking Brighton side. London City picked up another three points to see them move up the league table. Elsewhere the hunt for the first points of the season continue for both West Ham United & Liverpool. 

This weekend all the WSL games were played on Sunday with four of the games being 12 o'clock kickoffs, seemingly a strange move from the league with it being the men's international break, imagine the attendances and viewership on TV if those four games were spread out across the weekend, it actually took us a while to decide which 12 o'clock game to watch and I am sure a lot of other people will have faced that same struggle. 

Anyway here is a look at the games this weekend...

Aston Villa 0-0 Leicester City

The only goalless game of the weekend came in the game between Aston Villa & Leicester City. Unfortunately this was one of the games that we didn't get the chance to watch due to it clashing with others however, it seems like Villa were on top throughout the game with just over 60% of possession and 17 shots throughout the game for Villa it is hard to believe there were no goals in this one. 

Chelsea 1-0 Tottenham 

Tottenham managed to keep league leaders Chelsea to a 1-0 result where the goal came from a Keira Walsh wonder strike, the only type of goals that Walsh seems to score. Chelsea dominated this game with a total of 27 shots however, only 4 of these recorded as on target. This loss is only Tottenham's second of the season after 6 games, which is definitely an improvement on last season.

London City 1-0 West Ham

West Ham are yet to win a game this season and you can't help but wonder when that first win is actually going to happen for the club. After a rough start to life in the WSL London City Lionesses seem to be finding their feet and those new signings are gelling to help the club get those much needed results. This game was a close one in terms of possession but Asllani's 68th minute goal secured the 3 points for London City Lionesses.

Everton 1 - 4 Manchester United

This game really was a tale of two halves. In the first half Everton were all over United and took the lead in the 16th minute, throughout the whole of the first half and the opening 10 minutes of the second half Everton looked the biggest threat... things then changed though after Malard equalized for United. The pressure was applied from United after the equalizer and we saw the United we are used to seeing, the pressure paid off in the 70th minute when Park forced an own goal from Kitagawa. The second goal seemed to spur United on even more with Park adding two goals of her own in the 84th & 89th minute taking the score line to 4-1 to United, a score we certainly didn't expect after watching the first half.

Arsenal 1 - 0 Brighton Hove Albion

Arsenal managed to end their losing streak this weekend with a 1-0 victory over Brighton Hove Albion. A 15th minute own goal from Olislagers is what sealed the win for Arsenal however, Brighton put up a good fight in this game and had some chances of their own. Things just seem a bit disjointed for Arsenal at the moment and this honestly showed during this game as they were nowhere near their best. Unfortunately this game saw Brighton's Mpome stretchered off after a ball to the head from close range so fingers crossed for a speedy recovery for Mpome.

Liverpool 1- 2 Manchester City 

The final WSL game of the weekend saw Liverpool take on Manchester City at Anfield in a game that didn't disappoint. The first half was pretty end to end at times with neither team able to convert their chances. Kapocs opened the scoring for Liverpool with a fantastic header in the 52nd minute. Man City then realised they needed to get back into the game and applied plenty of pressure which eventually broke through Liverpool's back line in the 64th minute. Beney found herself on the score sheet once again for City after pouncing on a loose ball from the Liverpool 'keeper. It looked like the game was heading to a stalemate until City found the break through goal in the minute with Fujino finding the back of the net with a great goal. There was late drama though with Liverpool finding the back of the net with one of the finally kicks of the game however, scorer Bonner was in an offside position and the goal was cancelled out leaving Liverpool still looking for their first points of the season.

Al round it has been a great weekend in the WSL and it is already looking like it could be a tightly contested league at both ends of the table. We are now heading into the Subway cup games & the international break so the WSL is not back in action until the beginning of November. Let's see what the cup games & international break have in store for us...