WSL derby weekend is here but glut of games could have diluting effect
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<p>Organisers take advantage of no Premier League football but staggering games across season may draw greater focus</p><p>Derby weekend has arrived in the Women’s Super League and WSL2. Not one, not two, but <em>six</em> local rivalries will be reignited as the divisions try to capitalise on the men’s international break.</p><p>Is it clever to schedule so many of these clashes on the same weekend, though, and especially staging three top-flight ones on
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WSL derby weekend is here but glut of games could have diluting effect Organisers take advantage of no Premier League football but staggering games across season may draw greater focus Derby weekend has arrived in the Women’s Super League and WSL2. Not one, not two, but six local rivalries will be reignited as the divisions try to capitalise on the men’s international break. Is it clever to schedule so many of these clashes on the same weekend, though, and especially staging three top-flight ones on the same afternoon? Everton host Liverpool, Manchester United welcome Manchester City and Arsenal entertain Tottenham on Saturday, all within the space of six hours. The answer will probably lie in the attendances. Some of the initial numbers filtering through are encouraging. More than 45,000 tickets have been sold for the north London showdown at the Emirates, including about 500 away supporters, while there could be one of the highest second-tier attendances of the campaign so far with more than 10,000 fans expected at the Stadium of Light for Sunderland’s game against Newcastle on Sunday, including 1,700 travelling supporters. It is anticipated that there could comfortably be more than 100,000 spectators across the 12 games in the top two divisions this weekend, but there remains an argument that staggering these derbies across the season may draw a greater, cumulative focus. Buildup to the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, for example, has felt somewhat low profile this time because there is a natural focus on the Manchester derby at Old Trafford given City are closing in on the title. In any normal weekend of the season, Everton v Liverpool should be the standout fixture of the round. Instead, it is only the third most interesting game on Saturday alone. Part of that problem stems from the fact there is still comparatively little media coverage of the women’s game, and there are still relatively few reporters covering the WSL on a full-time basis. A big priority f...
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