Arsenal's Women's Super League title aspirations appear to be fading after a difficult run of form. Following an initial win against Brighton and Chelsea's draw, which briefly made them narrow favourites, Renée Slegers' side has since collected just two points from four games.
A key factor in Arsenal's slump is a persistent issue with converting chances, a trend that began last season. They have recorded positive expected goal margins in recent home draws against Crystal Palace (0-0) and Manchester United (1-1), indicating missed opportunities.
Meanwhile, two promoted teams are defying typical correlations. Crystal Palace ranks third for shot-ending high turnovers, with 12, and boasts the highest percentage (33.3%) of possession regains in the final 40m leading to shots. Fellow promoted side Birmingham is close behind at 28.6%.
Birmingham is tied with Tottenham for the most goals from high turnovers, with three, all scored by Océane Hurtré. Hurtré's five goals place her joint-first in the golden boot race, with two of her high-turnover goals coming from her winning the ball.
Brighton, despite being ninth in the table, is another team to watch. Underlying data suggests they should be third, just 0.1 expected points behind leaders Manchester City, indicating a significant underperformance of their results compared to their play.