1) Skinner sees consistent Birmingham within sight of Europe

Birmingham’s win over Liverpool provided another demonstration of Marc Skinner’s coaching acumen. Skinner’s side have made a steady rise into third place, putting them in an excellent position to challenge for Champions League qualification, and their latest victory underlined their efficiency. Even though injuries deprived them of Ellen White and Rachel Williams, Birmingham showed that they know how to keep going. Skinner has been in the job for almost two years, allowing him to create a sense of continuity, and it is impressive to see how everyone in the squad knows what to do in every situation. That sets them apart from a lot of their rivals. There is a real sense of tactical awareness – good luck creating chances against them – and Birmingham are even starting to improve in front of goal, scoring five in their past two games. It just goes to show the value of long-term consistency. There are no huge names; the team is the star.

WSL players at risk of the sack if injured for more than three months Read more

2) Miedema’s movement keeps Arsenal up and away

There is no doubt that Arsenal have found the right way to play with Vivianne Miedema. Last season she struggled to set the league alight after impressing for the Netherlands at the European Championship, but maybe that was because she was being played out of position. That’s changed with Joe Montemurro in charge. Arsenal’s manager is using Miedema as a poacher and the Dutch striker has gone to another level, hitting 14 goals for the runaway leaders. Her movement in the box is brilliant. It’s casual, casual, casual – and then comes that dynamic burst. She goes past a defender with a two-yard check and it helps that Montemurro has made sure to surround her with creative players who can get the ball into dangerous areas. With Miedema in this form, stopping Arsenal will be incredibly difficult. Yes, they briefly looked human against Brighton – but they still won 4-1 after conceding first.

• Arsenal 4-1 Brighton – as it happened

3) City see off Yeovil but leaders lie in wait

Manchester City know they are going to have to produce a faultless performance to stand any chance of beating Arsenal on Sunday. Although they are back in second place after seeing off Yeovil, who put up a good fight until fading late on to go down 4-0, they will be concerned by their wastefulness in front of goal. Nikita Parris, second in the goalscoring charts to Miedema after her 10th of the season, has to become even more ruthless. Nice play simply won’t be enough against a side as forceful and unforgiving as Arsenal. Arsenal will be nine points clear if they leave Manchester with a win, whereas City will spy a chance to close the gap given their opponents will be without Kim Little and Jordan Nobbs. But while City are still unbeaten, it is debatable whether they have evolved enough. Arsenal are playing much better football, with pace and dynamism, and are blowing teams away with a scintillating tempo. That should give them the edge as they chase their 10th consecutive win.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nikita Parris scored her 10th goal of the season in opening the scoring against Yeovil. Photograph: Lynne Cameron for The FA/Rex/Shutterstock

4) Chaplen returns to leave Everton in big trouble

The clock is ticking for Everton after two goals from their former striker Brooke Chaplen saw them lose 2-1 to Reading. The league’s bottom side urgently need to find a new manager before crucial games against Liverpool and Bristol City, the position having been vacant since Andy Spencer’s sacking. The squad is strong enough to be doing better but they have to stop conceding so many cheap goals. Having chatted to people at the club last week, I thought it would already have been done. Yet the longer this goes on, the less chance they will have of staying up. The transfer window opens soon and they have to give a new manager time to make changes.

5) Hammers haul themselves back to winning ways

After missing loads of chances against Birmingham last week, West Ham got back to winning way after finding a cutting edge against Bristol City. Alisha Lehmann and Jane Ross, two key signings, got the goals for Matt Beard’s side, who are doing well in their first season as a new outfit. West Ham deserved the win. The statistics were strongly in their favour and this is a worrying period for Bristol City. They raised a few eyebrows with draws against Chelsea and City in September, but they have won one and lost three of their last four games.

• Match report: West Ham 2-0 Bristol City



• BT Sport has coverage of FA Women’s Super League all season. Watch Manchester City v Birmingham City on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 4K UHD on Sunday, 9 December, kick off 12.15pm.