What Chelsea must do to win WSL title as Man City reality clear

Chelsea can deliver manager Emma Hayes her fairytale ending by winning their fifth consecutive Women's Super League (WSL) title this weekend.

Hayes - who is set to leave the club to become manager of the US Women's National Team this summer - is on the brink of winning her seventh league title as Chelsea boss, with the Blues currently top of the WSL on goal difference. It has been some turnaround from the reigning champions, with Hayes going as far as to relinquish the title after her team's shock defeat to Liverpool only a fortnight ago.

However, with challengers Manchester City losing to Arsenal four days later, Chelsea were handed a lifeline and the Blues have managed to claw themselves back to the summit of the WSL table with back-to-back victories over Bristol City and Tottenham Hotspur.

Both Chelsea and City are now level on 52 points but it is Hayes' side who have the superior goal difference (+47 compared to City's +45) and therefore they simply need to match City’s result on Saturday afternoon in order to get their hands on the trophy.

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Chelsea arguably have the tougher fixture as they will take on fifth-place Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Blues have never lost to United in the WSL but Marc Skinner's side did knock them out of the FA Cup last month before going on to beat Tottenham Hotspur in the final.

City, meanwhile, will face Aston Villa at Villa Park, with Gareth Taylor's side having won the reverse fixture 2-1 back in December. If both teams win, City need to better Chelsea’s margin of victory by at least three goals. If both teams lose, City will have to lose by three goals less than Chelsea.

If both teams are level on goal difference by the end of play, the title will be settled by who scored the most goals, with Chelsea currently having scored six more. If there is still nothing to separate the two sides, then the title will be settled by head-to-head record, where City have the edge after winning 1-0 away at Chelsea in February and drawing 1-1 at home to the Blues in October.