The winner takes all in the Aldi Women’s Premier North as Loughborough and Nottingham face each other on the final day, with the victors claiming top spot.
The teams currently sit joint top, both with 22 points. They boast identical records, having both won seven, drawn one, and lost one of their nine games.
They cannot even be separated on goals scored, with Nottingham and Loughborough both having found the net 22 times throughout the season.
Loughborough hold the slight advantage
It is Loughborough who currently occupy the top spot, due to BUCS determining such circumstances based on head-to-head records, rather than goal difference.
When the two sides met for the reverse fixture in the Aldi Women’s Premier North, played at Loughborough’s Holywell Pitch, the home side came out on top in a 2-0 victory.
This result put an end to Nottingham’s four-game winning streak at the start of the season. However, the loss did not massively impact them, as they picked up ten out of the possible 12 points from that game to now.
Loughborough need to avoid a loss to ensure they lift the Aldi Women’s Premier North title, whereas for Nottingham, a win is essential.
The East Midlands side will be inspired by the fact Loughborough’s one loss this season was a 8-1 thrashing at the hands of third-placed Northumbria. The game resulted in two-thirds of the goals conceded by Loughborough this season.
Nottingham also hold the home advantage, with the side winning all four home matches so far this season.
Northumbria all but secure in third in Aldi Women’s Premier North
Nottingham and Loughborough have been the two dominant forces in this league, with Northumbria and Durham both forced to settle for mid-table mediocrity in their 2022-23 campaigns.
Both teams have shown promise, with Northumbria’s 8-1 victory over potential champions Loughborough undoubtedly the result of the season. Moreover, Durham managed to hold both of the top teams to draws.
Having scored an impressive 30 goals in eight games so far, Northumbria are by far the top scorers in the Aldi Women’s Premier North this season. They have picked up five wins in eight games, sitting with a total of 15 points.
Durham have lost the same amount of games as Northumbria (three), but have struggled to find the required end product, drawing twice. They sit on 11 points, four points behind third with two games left.
It is possible that Durham could leapfrog Northumbria, but the north-eastern side would have to win their remaining two games, including a showdown against Northumbria. This would also rely on Northumbria losing their final game of the season, against fifth-place Stirling.
Nine games, nine defeats for Leeds Beckett
The 2022-23 Aldi Women’s Premier North season will not be one that lives on for long in the heads of Leeds Beckett players, coaches, and fans. They are yet to pick up a point this season, having scored three goals, and conceded 32.
Stirling have not performed much better, and sit in fifth-placed thanks to the fact the only side in the league they are better than is Leeds Beckett.
The team from Scotland have picked up two wins this season, against Leeds Beckett home and away. Their goalscoring exploits is much better than the bottom-placed side, having found the net 14 times.
Both teams have one game remaining, with nothing to play for as they cannot either gain or loss any position in the table.
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