This week will feature the start of the UEFA Women's Champions League group stages, while OL Reign star Megan Rapinoe will hope to conclude her decades-long career on a high note as her team feature in the NWSL Championship final this weekend.
Here's all you need to know ahead of another exciting week in women's football.
What to watch in women's football: November 9th through November 12th
FA Women's League Cup
The 2023/24 FA Women's League Cup resumes action this week, with defending champions Arsenal seeking to pick up their first points in the competition as they prepare to face struggling Bristol City. Another key game involves Liverpool, who lost their first match 2-1 to Leicester, taking on Manchester City, who won their first League Cup match against Everton by a score of 2-1. Meanwhile, Manchester United and Everton will both be aiming for a good result in their tournament opener when they square off on Thursday, November 9th.
Liga F
Matchday eight in Liga F starts on Friday as Real Madrid, who sit in second place, take on ninth-placed Real Sociedad. Las Blancas are three points behind current league leaders Barcelona, but could pull level on points should they pick up a crucial win before the Blaugrana, who once again have made a perfect start to the season, travel to face Villarreal on Saturday, November 11th.
NWSL
The 2023 NWSL Championship gets underway this weekend as OL Reign and NY/NJ Gotham battle for the chance to lift the coveted trophy. Both teams have overcome some serious odds to get this far, as many pundits and observers had expected the final to feature the more-heavily favored Portland Thorns and San Diego Wave.
However, both the Reign and Gotham were able to beat their higher-ranked opponents by identical scorelines of 1-0, and now, all eyes will be on Saturday's game. It will be a special one for USWNT veteran Megan Rapinoe, who retired from the national team earlier this year and the 38-year-old will certainly be eager to add another trophy to her cabinet in what will be her last game as an OL Reign players.
Top news in women's football
USWNT finally settle on new manager...
...and her name is Emma Hayes. The 47-year-old, who is a well-known figure in the women's game due to her impressive work with Chelsea, will become the new manager of the Stars and Stripes in 2024. The USWNT will be hoping that Hayes will be able to help turn their fortunes around, especially as they prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games and following a horrible showing at this summer's World Cup, which saw them crash out in the round of 16 after being beaten on penalties by Sweden.
Hayes will certainly have a lot of work to do to get the USWNT up and running quickly - from team selection to tactics as the former number one side in women's football looks to get back on track after a poor showing in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Serie A thrown into chaos after side threatens to withdraw from league
It is only a few games into the 2023/24 Serie A season, but there is already plenty of drama. Pomigliano, who were only founded in 2019 and only became a fully-professional outfit during the 2022/23 campaign, have had a torrid time in the top flight this season.
Prior to last weekend's games, the Granata had yet to win a single game, and were certainly hoping that their fortunes would improve when they took on fellow strugglers Sampdoria. However, they lost that game 1-0 due to what the club felt was a questionable penalty against them.
Normally, many teams and their managers would express their frustration after a call didn't go their way - but Pomigliano decided to go even further. As of November 5th, the club have decided to withdraw from Serie A entirely. Yes, that is right. They have decided to throw in the towel and leave the league, which means that Serie A could be thrown into flummox if the league is reduced to an odd number of teams. At the moment, there are ten teams featuring in Italian women's football's top flight, so with Pomigliano's threatened departure, there would be nine teams playing in the league instead.
There are plenty more great games coming up this week, namely with the conclusion of the latest round of Frauen-Bundesliga ties plus the start of the UEFA Women's Champions League group stage.
Here is all you need to know.
What to watch in women's football: November 13th through November 15th
Frauen-Bundesliga
The bulk of Frauen-Bundesliga games will be played over the weekend, but the latest round of games will end with an intriguing tie between Cologne and Hoffenheim. Although Bayern Munich have moved on top of the table, Hoffenheim are still in close pursuit and will hope to rebound after a disappointing loss last round when they travel to face a Cologne side who are also looking to build up some positive momentum after a poor start to the season.
UEFA Women's Champions League
The 2023/24 UEFA Women's Champions League is now set to get even more interesting as the tournament proper gets underway this week. A total of 16 teams will be taking part in four groups of four, but there are some surprising absentees from this year's competition.
While teams like Barcelona, Lyon, Chelsea, and Eintracht Frankfurt are all predictably involved in the group stage, there is no room for Arsenal or Manchester United after both teams were beaten by French opposition - Paris and Paris Saint-Germain respectively - to deny the English duo a chance to compete in European club football's premier competition.
The group stages get underway on Tuesday, November 14th and continue on Wednesday, November 15th. Some of the biggest games taking place on matchday one include: Rosengård vs Eintracht Frankfurt; Barcelona vs SL Benfica; Slavia Praha vs Olympique Lyonnais; Bayern München vs Roma; and Real Madrid vs Chelsea.
Top news in women's football
USWNT's Catarina Macario excluded from Chelsea's UWCL squad...
...but it's not a snub. Rather, the 24-year-old, who was signed from Lyon last season, is still not fully recovered from an ACL injury that has kept her on the sidelines for well over a year. Indeed, Macario has not played competitive football since June 2022, yet Chelsea decided to take a chance on her and signed her to a three year deal this past June.
Given that there is no definite timeline as to when she will be able to play again, Chelsea boss Emma Hayes had no choice to to leave her out of her 24-player squad for the upcoming UEFA Women's Champions League. However, if Macario does recover before the knockout rounds - should the Blues get there - she may be able to get back into the squad, but only if she is able to force her way back into contention.
For now, the player will surely be focused on getting back on the pitch as quickly as possible, especially with the 2024 Olympic Games for the USWNT looming just around the corner.
Didn't find your favorite women's league on this list? No worries, as this is just a highlight of some of the exciting games coming up this week. Make sure to check out our special Women's Football Page here at LiveSoccerTV.com for full broadcast info, match updates, news, and more.
