Key events
10 min: Liverpool win another free-kick and Ceri Holland plays it short to Fuka Nagano, who spreads play. Eventually the ball comes back to Holland, but her shot is blocked.
5 min: Mariona Caldentey gives away a free-kick in a dangerous position with a rash challenge. Liverpool pump the ball into the box and Gemma Bonner takes a tumble after tangling with McCabe and Olivia Smith but, despite some hopeful appeals, no penalty is forthcoming. There wasn’t much in it really.
4 min: The two sides size each other up, probing the wide areas for an early opening without success. Katie McCabe finds Caitlin Foord with a sweeping cross-field ball and she blasts a shot over the crossbar, though the flag goes up for offside regardless.
Kick-off!
You’ll Never Walk Alone echoes around the stadium, the players shake hands, both sides take the knee to applause and, without further ado, we’re under way on Merseyside.
Elsewhere, Manchester City have lost 2-1 at Everton. With Chelsea dropping points against Leicester yesterday, Arsenal now have an opportunity to make up some ground on the top two.
Speaking to Sky Sports before the match, Beard has given some insight into a tricky few months for Liverpool. “It’s been a good week, a positive week,” he said. “We’ve had a lot thrown at us this first part of the season, we’ve got a small squad, as everyone can see.
“When you have a small squad, it does have an effect on you. If you look through the programme, the team sheet, it’s tough when you have to keep changing the team as you don’t have the consistency.”
Arsenal’s defensive improvement has been one of the most marked improvements under Sleger. In her nine games in charge, they have conceded only three goals. Liverpool, meanwhile, conceded four against Manchester United last weekend. They need a serious reversal of fortune here.
Liverpool’s home form has been particularly dicey this season, with Matt Beard’s side picking up only two points on their own turf. Arsenal, meanwhile, are unbeaten away from home in the league. The omens favour the visitors.
Team news
Liverpool: Micah, Fisk, Clark, Bonner, Matthews, Hinds, Nagano, Shaw, Holland, Enderby, Smith.
Arsenal: Van Domselaar, Fox, Williamson, Catley, Caldentey, Mead, McCabe, Maanum, Foord, Russo, Cooney-Cross.
Preamble
It’s the last round of matches before the WSL’s winter break and Arsenal, the league’s form team after Chelsea, are set to take on Liverpool. Since stepping in as Arsenal’s interim head coach after the departure of Jonas Eidevall, Renée Slegers has presided over a nine-match unbeaten streak in all competitions and will be aiming to extend that run at St Helens Stadium this afternoon.
Liverpool are seventh as things stand and have lost their last three league games on the bounce, failing to score in any of them. They had more luck in the League Cup in midweek, beating Everton 4-0 in the Merseyside derby, and will be hoping to build on that momentum, but lost 2-0 when Arsenal last visited in January.
