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• Women's Super League predictions: Seagulls' wings to be clipped by perfect Chelsea?

  The Women's Super League returns following the international break, with a super Sunday slate of six games promising plenty more thrills and spills.

  Chelsea remain perfect at the top of the tree as the season hurtles towards Christmas, winning their first eight WSL matches under Sonia Bompastor – and their first 12 across all competitions.

  Brighton and Hove Albion – who are soaring in third after acquiring Chelsea icon Fran Kirby in the off-season – are the next team to attempt to halt their charge.

  The day's action begins with a showdown between rivals Manchester United and Liverpool, while Chelsea's foremost challengers Manchester City take on Leicester City.

  Elsewhere, Arsenal – still unbeaten under interim boss Renee Slegers – welcome Aston Villa and there are tussles between Tottenham and Everton, and West Ham and Crystal Palace.

  But which way will this week's games go? We turned to the trusty Opta supercomputer to get its weekly predictions.

  MAN UTD V LIVERPOOL

  Leigh Sports Village Stadium plays host to Sunday's first game as United look to bounce back from their first defeat of the campaign – against Chelsea last time out. They last suffered successive WSL defeats in the final two matchweeks of 2023-24. Those defeats came against Chelsea and Liverpool.

  However, the Red Devils boast a positive record against Liverpool, winning two of their three at home against them in the WSL (one loss), including a 6-0 win in January 2023, which remains their biggest victory in the competition.

  Liverpool, meanwhile, have lost their last two league games without scoring (0-3 versus Chelsea, 0-1 against Everton); they last lost three in a row in the competition in November 2022 (a run of five).

   

  United will need to step things up in attack, having only managed three shots in their defeat to Chelsea on November 24, their fewest in any of their 110 WSL matches.

  If they can find their shooting boots, they should be confident of victory. The Opta supercomputer gives them a 62% chance of a win, compared to 17.9% for Liverpool and a 20.1% likelihood of a draw.

  TOTTENHAM V EVERTON

  Tottenham suffered comprehensive defeats to both Man City and Arsenal before the international break, and they will attempt to bounce back against an Everton side that finally got their first win on the board last time out, beating Merseyside rivals Liverpool 1-0.

  The Toffees have a 50% win rate against Tottenham in the WSL (five wins, four draws, one loss), only boasting a better ratio against Aston Villa (63%) in the competition.

  Tottenham also have the leakiest defence in the division this term, shipping 21 goals through eight games – their most ever at this stage of a top-flight campaign.

  Yet they are still favoured by the supercomputer, with home advantage surely a key factor given Everton are winless in four away matches this season. Spurs triumphed in 53.3% of our pre-match simulations, with Everton winning 22.8% and 23.9% ending all square.

  MAN CITY V LEICESTER

  Kicking off one hour before the league leaders, Gareth Taylor's Man City have a chance to cut the gap at the summit – even if only temporarily – to two points when they host Leicester. 

  A victory for the hosts would represent Taylor's 72nd in the WSL and take him level with Nick Cushing for the second-most victories by any manager in the competition's history (Emma Hayes has 151).

  The supercomputer certainly fancies his chances of climbing those charts, with City victorious in 89.5% of pre-match simulations, only losing in 3.6% and being held to a draw in 6.8%.

  Though City saw their unbeaten start to the campaign halted by Chelsea last time out, it is easy to see why they are such hefty favourites. They have won 11 of their last 12 home WSL matches (one loss) and have never lost on their own turf in the month of December (eight games, seven wins, one draw).

  Chloe Kelly will be one to watch for struggling Leicester, having scored in each of her last three WSL games against the Foxes. However, she is currently on her longest drought in the competition, failing to net in 13 outings since she last scored in February – against Leicester. 

  CHELSEA V BRIGHTON

  Chelsea coach Bompastor has already made history by winning her first eight WSL games at the helm – a feat no manager had previously achieved.

  On Sunday, her Blues team could equal the best-ever start to a season in competition history, as only Arsenal in 2018-19 have ever started a campaign with nine straight victories.

  Brighton, however, have won five of their eight league matches this campaign to sit third, eight points adrift of the Blues. The Seagulls already have as many victories in 2023-24 as they managed across the whole of last season in the top flight (five).

  Former Chelsea star Kirby has been key to their rise, and she registered a goal and an assist as they beat West Ham 3-2 last time out. That made her just the fourth player to register 100 or more WSL goal involvements, with her total of 101 now only surpassed by Vivianne Miedema (116) and Beth Mead (111). Beth England has 100 exactly.

   

  Despite Brighton's strong start, Chelsea are – as most observers would expect – big favourites. 

  The supercomputer gives the Blues a 90.8% chance of remaining perfect, with Brighton assigned just a 3.1% chance of victory and the likelihood of a draw rated at 6%.

  ARSENAL V ASTON VILLA

  Chelsea are not the only team likely to be cursing the timing of the international break. Arsenal have been on a roll since Slegers took over from Jonas Eidevall, going unbeaten in seven games across all competitions under their interim coach.

  With Aston Villa only winning once in eight matches this term, the Gunners are big favourites (83.3%) for victory with the supercomputer on Sunday. Villa are given just a 6.2% chance of inflicting Slegers' first defeat, and a 10.5% hope of escaping the Emirates Stadium with a point.

  Arsenal have won their last two WSL games without conceding and could now register three straight victories to nil for the first time since October 2022, when they put together a remarkable run of 10 successive wins without conceding.

  They have been boosted by the return to form of Alessia Russo, who is aiming to score in four straight matches in the WSL for the first time. Only Khadija Shaw and Guro Reiten (four) bettered her three WSL goals during the month of November.

   

  The Gunners had better beware Villa's strong record in London, though. Only Man City (55%) and Man Utd (35%) have a better WSL win rate in the capital than Villa (29%) among clubs hailing from outside London.

  WEST HAM V CRYSTAL PALACE

  Sunday's action ends with a London derby between West Ham and Crystal Palace, with the two teams occupying the bottom two places in the league with five points apiece.

  The supercomputer sees this game as the most difficult to call across the division on matchday nine. West Ham won 45.7% of our pre-match simulations, with 26.8% finishing level and 27.5% going Palace's way.

  Since the start of last season, West Ham have lost the most games (18), won the fewest points (20), conceded the joint-most goals (59) and scored the fewest goals (26) of any ever-present team in the WSL.

  However, they did beat Leicester in their last home match and will have noted Palace's tendency to throw points away.

  Only Villa (eight) have dropped more points from winning positions than Palace (seven) in the WSL this term, with the Eagles going 1-0 ahead in three of their last four league matches but failing to win any.

• Mac Allister hoping to spend 'a lot of years' with Salah at Liverpool

  Alexis Mac Allister has urged Liverpool to reach an agreement with out-of-contract star Mohamed Salah, who he hopes to "share a lot of years with".

  Salah is one of three key first-team players, alongside Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose current deals expire at the end of the 2024-25 campaign at Anfield. 

  The Egyptian has made a flying start to the season for Arne Slot's side, registering 24 goal involvements (13 goals, 11 assists) in 20 games in all competitions already this term. 

  Salah scored from the penalty spot and set-up Cody Gakpo's opener in the Reds' 2-0 win over reigning champions Manchester City last time out. 

  He has now scored and assisted in a Premier League game for the 36th time, the joint-most by a player in the competition’s history, equalling Wayne Rooney’s record (36).

  Afterwards, Salah suggested that Sunday's win could be his final home game against Pep Guardiola's side, with doubts around his future on Merseyside continuing to circulate. 

  And Mac Allister, who joined Liverpool in 2023 from Brighton, said he wants the out-of-contract trio to put pen to paper on fresh terms, none more so than Salah. 

  "I think that shows a little bit of who Mo is, his mentality," Mac Allister told ESPN Argentina, in response to Salah’s statement.

  "Obviously, we want to share a lot of years with him [Salah], but that's a personal decision," Mac Allister said. "The club has to make a decision, and we can't get involved.

  "Hopefully they can come to an agreement because we want him and Virgil and Trent to continue with us. Hopefully that will be the case."

  Salah left Chelsea on a permanent basis in 2016 but has been a revelation since he returned to the Premier League a year later with Liverpool.

  In 369 appearances in all competitions, the Egyptian has scored 224 goals while also laying on 100 assists, winning eight major honours in the process. 

  This season, Salah has taken his Premier League goals tally to 168 goals, surpassing Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler (163) to go eighth on the all-time list.

  "When you see him every day, he's a person who works very hard, who is tireless," Mac Allister added. "He's the first to arrive and the last to leave. 

  "[He is] always prepared for whatever may come. He carries that to the pitch and he always helps us in decisive moments when big players get tougher, he's there."

  With Newcastle up next for Liverpool, Salah will be confident of continuing his fine start to the season against one of his favoured opponents in the top-flight. 

  He has been involved in 14 Premier League goals against Newcastle (eight goals, six assists), with these coming in his last 13 appearances against them.

  Only against Manchester United (18) and Brighton (16) has Salah registered more goal involvements against in the Premier League than the Magpies. 

• 'Privilege' of coaching Messi key to Inter Miami decision, says Mascherano

  Javier Mascherano said the "privilege" of coaching former Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi was a key factor in his decision to join Inter Miami as their new head coach.

  Mascherano was appointed as the club's new boss days after Gerardo Martino resigned from his position following the Herons' early exit from the MLS playoffs.

  Martino cited "personal reasons" after leaving the team, which he led to Leagues Cup glory shortly after his arrival last year, while also helping Miami set a new single-season MLS points record of 74 as they clinched the 2024 Supporters' Shield. 

  Mascherano played alongside Messi at Barcelona for eight years, winning 19 major honours including two Champions League titles, with the former midfielder citing a reunion with the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner as key to his decision.

  “The privilege of coaching Messi," Mascherano said when asked why he had joined the club. 

  "Obviously, players of the calibre of my former team-mates like Luis (Suarez), (Sergio) Busquets, Jordi (Alba), and others I’ve had the chance to know, especially the Argentines. 

  "And some young academy players like Noah Allen and David Ruiz, who have potential. Having worked with young players for a long time, I enjoy continuing to have this opportunity." 

  The 40-year-old, however, embarks on his first senior management role having only taken charge of Argentina's youth teams, most recently at the Paris Olympics when he led them to the quarter-finals of the competition before losing to beaten finalists France. 

  Many supporters have put Mascherano's arrival down to the influence of Messi, but the new boss is ready to silence the sceptics as he takes the reins with little managerial experience under his belt. 

  "People in the world can have their opinion, and it is valid, clearly, but I am convinced that I am capable of coaching the team," said Mascherano. 

  "I am very excited to be able to do it. I can do it. I have no doubt. Sometimes, in football, [talk of] 'experience' doesn't make much sense. 

  "Beyond the fact that I have been coaching for three years, coaching the youth teams of the Argentine national team, [where] I have always been under pressure.

  "I am also supported by a playing career of almost 20 years and everything I’ve experienced."