Manchester City Women will attempt to claim a fifth consecutive victory in the Women's Supr League when they play host to Liverpool Women on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the visitors will be looking to continue their fine run of form, having avoided defeat in each of their last five competitive matches.
Match preview
After winning seven, drawing one and losing two of their 10 league matches, Man City start 2024 in second place and three points adrift of leaders Chelsea.
The Citizens certainly went into the winter break in a confident mood after winning three consecutive games by a combined 12-2 scoreline.
Man City continued their free-scoring form in their first outing of the new year, easing to a 4-0 FA Cup win over Durham thanks to a Jill Roord brace as well as goals from Laura Coombs and Mary Fowler.
With a place in the fifth round secured, Man City will now turn their focus to Sunday's league outing, and they will fancy their chances of adding to their points tally, having lost just one of their previous 24 home WSL matches (W19, D4).
They can also take confidence from the fact they have already beaten Liverpool this season, recording a 4-3 victory when the two sides met at Prenton Park in November's League Cup contest.
After finishing in seventh position last term, Liverpool are currently on course to achieve a top-half finish this time around.
Having won five, drawn three and lost two of their 10 league games, the Reds currently sit in fifth place and four points adrift of the top three.
Impressively, Matt Beard's side have won four of their previous five competitive matches (D1), including a narrow 1-0 victory in last Sunday's FA Cup fourth-round tie against fellow WSL side, Bristol City.
With the contest heading towards extra time, Gemma Bonner proved to be Liverpool's hero, netting an 85th-minute winner to send her side through the fifth round where they will face second-tier London City Lionesses.
Liverpool will now turn their attention to a difficult game against Man City, but they do have the chance to record a second straight league win over the Citizens after winning 2-1 when the sides last met in the WSL in May 2023.
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Team News
Man City boss Gareth Taylor has revealed that Alanna Kennedy is "really close" to a return, but they will decide on Saturday whether she will be available for Sunday's home clash.
After seeing his side cruise to a comfortable win over Durham, Taylor could be tempted to name an unchanged lineup for Man City's first WSL match of 2024.
Bunny Shaw begins the new year as the WSL's top scorer, having netted nine goals in as many league appearances this season.
As for the visitors, Leanne Kiernan will miss out due to a hip injury, while Ceri Holland will serve a one-match suspension after being sent off against Bristol City.
Yana Daniels has returned to contact training following a knee issue and could feature among the substitutes for Sunday's contest.
Norway international Sophie Roman Haug will also come back into the fold after missing last weekend's FA Cup win due to an ankle problem.
Manchester City Women possible starting lineup:
Keating; Casparij, Aleixandri, Greenwood, Ouahabi; Hasegawa, Coombs; Kelly, Roord, Hemp; Shaw
Liverpool Women possible starting lineup:
Micah; Clark, Bonner, Fisk; Koivisto, Hobinger, Nagano, Hinds; Lawley, Van de Sanden, Haug
We say: Manchester City Women 2-2 Liverpool Women
Although Man City will enter Sunday's contest as the favourites, Liverpool have proven to be a tough team to beat this season, and having lost just one of their five away league games, we think the Reds could do enough to hold the Citizens to a point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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