Everton W vs Leicester City WFC: FA WSL Showdown on May 16
Goodison Park sets the stage on 16 May 2026 as Everton W host Leicester City WFC in the final stretch of the FA WSL regular season. The stakes are sharply contrasted: Everton sit 8th with 20 points, safe but under scrutiny after a wildly inconsistent campaign, while bottom‑placed Leicester (12th, 9 points, in the “Relegation Playoffs” zone) are fighting simply to stay in touch.
Both sides come into this with bruised records, but the context is very different. Everton’s league form line of “LLLLW” hints at a late attempt to stop the slide; Leicester’s “LLLLL” is a stark picture of a side in freefall.
Form, momentum and home/away split
Across all phases, Everton’s season has been streaky. Their form string “WLLLDLDLLWLLLWWWWLLLL” shows a four‑match winning run earlier in the campaign, but also a current tailspin of four straight defeats. In the league, they have taken 20 points from 21 matches, scoring 24 and conceding 37. The goal difference of -13 underlines the defensive fragility that has dogged them.
At Goodison Park, the numbers are even more revealing. In the league, Everton’s home record reads:
- Played 10 – Won 2, Drawn 0, Lost 8
- Goals for 10 (1.0 per game), goals against 22 (2.2 per game)
Only one home clean sheet across all phases, and eight home defeats in 10 league games, is a serious concern. Yet their “biggest wins” metric shows a home 2-1 as their best result, suggesting that when they do click in front of their own fans, it tends to be in tight, hard‑fought contests.
Leicester’s away numbers are even more alarming. In the league:
- Played 10 – Won 0, Drawn 2, Lost 8
- Goals for 3 (0.3 per game), goals against 31 (3.1 per game)
Across all phases, they have failed to score in seven away fixtures and conceded at a rate that has dragged their overall goal difference to -40 (11 scored, 51 conceded). Their “biggest away loss” is a 7-0, underlining just how quickly games can run away from them on the road.
With Leicester winless away and Everton so brittle at home, this fixture becomes a test of whose weakness blinks first.
Tactical tendencies and key figures
Everton’s season statistics hint at a side that has searched for balance but often come up short. They have used a 4-4-2 more than any other system (8 times), with 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-4-1 also featuring regularly. That flexibility suggests a coaching staff willing to adjust shape, but the defensive record (37 conceded in 21 league matches) shows they have not yet found a consistently secure structure.
Their average of 1.1 goals scored and 1.8 conceded per match across all phases paints them as a mid‑table attack with a bottom‑half defence. Three clean sheets in total, and five matches where they failed to score, underline their volatility.
Within that, Honoka Hayashi has emerged as a central figure. The Japanese midfielder is Everton’s top scorer in the league this season with 4 goals in 17 appearances. Her data profile is quietly impressive:
- 4 goals from 8 total shots, 4 on target
- 335 passes with 86% accuracy, plus 3 key passes
- 11 tackles, 11 interceptions, and 4 blocks
This blend of end product and ball security makes her a key reference point between the lines. In a 4-4-2 she can arrive late from midfield; in a 4-2-3-1 she can operate as a more advanced playmaker, linking midfield to attack. Given Leicester’s vulnerability in central areas away from home, Everton may look to build patterns that free Hayashi to shoot from the edge of the box or combine with the forwards.
Everton’s penalty record is clean at team level this season (1 taken, 1 scored, 0 missed), removing some jeopardy from set‑piece situations if a spot‑kick arises.
Leicester, by contrast, look like a side built first to survive. Their most‑used formation is 5-4-1 (4 times), with a suite of back‑three and back‑four systems also deployed: 3-4-3, 3-4-1-2, 3-4-2-1, 3-5-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2, 4-1-4-1. That tactical churn speaks to a search for solutions amid a relegation fight. The numbers, though, are brutal: just 0.5 goals scored per match across all phases, and 2.4 conceded.
Their “cleanSheet” tally (3 in total, one away) shows they can occasionally shut games down, but with 10 matches where they have failed to score, their primary issue is clear: they struggle badly to threaten the opposition goal, especially away from home.
Discipline may also be a factor. Leicester’s yellow cards are heavily clustered late in games (29.03% between minutes 76-90), and they have one red card in the 46-60 range, hinting at fatigue and stress under pressure. Everton, by comparison, spread their cautions more evenly across the match.
Head-to-head: recent history
Looking at the last five competitive meetings between these sides (excluding friendlies), Leicester have actually had the better of the rivalry, especially in cup play, though Everton have landed the most emphatic league win.
- 05 October 2025 – FA WSL, King Power Stadium
Leicester City WFC 1-1 Everton W (draw) - 02 February 2025 – FA WSL, Walton Hall Park
Everton W 4-1 Leicester City WFC (Everton win) - 20 October 2024 – FA WSL, King Power Stadium
Leicester City WFC 1-0 Everton W (Leicester win) - 28 January 2024 – FA WSL, Walton Hall Park
Everton W 0-1 Leicester City WFC (Leicester win) - 24 January 2024 – WSL Cup group stage, Pirelli Stadium
Leicester City WFC 5-1 Everton W (Leicester win)
Across these five competitive fixtures, the record stands at:
- Leicester City WFC wins: 3
- Everton W wins: 1
- Draws: 1
The standout result from an Everton perspective is the 4-1 home victory in February 2025, which shows they can open Leicester up decisively at home when their attacking game clicks. Leicester, though, can point to a 5-1 cup win and back‑to‑back away and home league victories in early 2024 as proof that they know how to hurt Everton when chances arise.
Psychological and situational factors
League position frames the mindset. Everton, in 8th, are not mathematically in the relegation playoff spot but have endured a run of “LLLLW” that keeps anxiety close. Their goal difference of -13 and eight home defeats suggest the Goodison crowd has seen more frustration than joy this season.
Leicester’s situation is more desperate. Bottom of the table, nine points from 21 matches, and a -40 goal difference place them in a must‑improve scenario. Their form string “LWLLDDLDLLWLLLLLLLLLL” across all phases shows a campaign that began with occasional resistance but has deteriorated into a long sequence of defeats.
There are no listed injuries or suspensions in the data, so both coaches should, in theory, have close to full squads to select from. That increases the tactical onus: Leicester may lean again on a back five and compact midfield, trying to keep the game goalless for as long as possible, while Everton will be expected to take the initiative, particularly through Hayashi’s creativity and shooting threat.
The verdict
On paper, this is a meeting of two flawed teams, but Leicester’s issues are deeper and more structural. They score too rarely (11 goals in 21 league matches), concede heavily (51 against), and have yet to win away. Everton, for all their home struggles, at least possess a functioning attacking platform and a midfield leader in Honoka Hayashi who can tilt tight matches.
Everton’s 4-1 home win over Leicester in February 2025 is a relevant reference point: it shows that when they impose themselves, they can stretch Leicester’s defensive shape and punish them repeatedly. Leicester’s own heavy 7-0 away defeat elsewhere this season underlines how badly things can unravel on the road.
Given the data, Everton should be considered favourites to edge this, especially if they score first and force Leicester out of their defensive shell. Leicester’s best route to a result likely lies in a conservative 5-4-1, aiming for their fourth clean sheet of the season and hoping to nick a goal from a rare counter or set piece.
Logic points towards an Everton win, with Leicester’s attacking limitations and away record making anything more than a point feel like an upset.
