Leicester and Reading battle for title of WSL’s great escape artists

A dramatic final day of the WSL season awaits with all eyes focused on the action at both ends of the table. Describing relegation battles as a “great escape” seems cliched but it is an accurate representation in these circumstances – for whoever survives between Leicester and Reading, the achievement will be remarkable. The stakes could not be higher – Leicester travel to Brighton having to match Reading’s result; Reading must beat Chelsea and hope the Foxes falter.

That Leicester are in a position to stay up is one of the stories of this season. They looked down and out by the winter break, seven points adrift after seven defeats and a managerial shake-up. “We want to be history makers,” their manager, Willie Kirk, said on Thursday. “No team has ever turned around a seven-point deficit at the bottom in WSL history. We want to be the first to do that.”

Significant backing from the owners – from the provision of top-class facilities to player recruitment – has added to the pressure. Relegation would symbolise a huge step back in the direction of a club striving to establish its status in women’s football.

Fortunes have changed dramatically in recent months. Kirk’s arrival, after the dismissal of Lydia Bedford, has turned things around. Confidence has seeped through a squad playing a developing brand of possession-based football. They have also been boosted by strong recruitment in January, bringing in the quality of players such as Janina Leitzig and Courtney Nevin.

Last weekend’s home defeat by an out-of-form West Ham presented a missed opportunity. A win would have ensured safety. “We had got to a stage where we were proving everybody wrong,” Kirk says. “It had almost flipped on its head and last week we were almost