Reigning Genero Adran Premier champions Cardiff City find themselves in unfamiliar territory ahead of their trip to Aberystwyth Town on Sunday afternoon.
The Bluebirds are without a win in their last two league matches – perhaps not out of the ordinary for many teams – but it is something that the back-to-back champions have not experienced since April 2022.
Iain Darbyshire’s side currently sit third in the table after a 1-0 loss to Swansea City and a 2-2 draw against Briton Ferry Llansawel – when they had to come from two goals down – while they twice trailed against third tier Penclawdd in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup last weekend before turning the tie around to win 6-2.
Aberystwyth are currently bottom of the Genero Adran Premier table with just one point to their name following a goalless draw against Cardiff Met in their last league outing, but earned a confidence-boosting 8-0 win over Rhyl in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup last weekend.
Cardiff and Aber played out a goalless draw in their first league meeting last season, but the Bluebirds would go on to win the next three and also secure a 4-0 victory over the Seasiders in the Genero Adran Trophy semi-finals.
The New Saints and Barry Town United meet at Park Hall with both teams currently sat on 10 points after impressive starts to the campaign.
Both sides finished in the bottom half last season but underwent squad overhauls in the summer and have significantly improved their fortunes.
The Saints’ most impressive result came two weeks ago when they earned a remarkable 5-0 victory away to Swansea City to climb to second in the table. Shauna Duffy’s side followed that up with a 6-0 win over Pwllheli in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup last weekend.
TNS started the season with a 5-0 win away at Barry – with five different goalscorers – but the Linnets have not lost since then and come into this weekend’s game on a run of three consecutive league wins.
The Barry defence has also tightened up since the opening weekend, with last Sunday’s 5-0 cup win over Cardiff Met being their fourth clean sheet in five matches.
Completing this weekend’s schedule is Cardiff Met’s visit to Wrexham, with both sides eager for points following disappointing starts to the campaign.
After a third-place finish last season, Wrexham have lost four of their opening five league matches of 2024/25 – only beating bottom of the table Aberystwyth Town. An 11-0 cup win over third tier Llanystumdwy will have been important for confidence.
Cardiff Met lost just one of their final seven league matches last season, but have picked up only one point from five games in the new campaign to sit seventh in the table. Their woes continued with a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Barry Town United in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup last weekend.
Mari Gibbard scored a late equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw for Wrexham in the last meeting between the two sides, having also scored in a 3-0 win for her side earlier in the season.
The fixture between Briton Ferry Llansawel and Swansea City has been postponed, with both sides playing their rearranged Bute Energy Welsh Cup first round ties which were postponed last weekend.
