After suffering a disappointing elimination from the League Cup in midweek, Arsenal Women will turn their attention to the Women's Super League title race as they aim to clinch their first victory of 2022 when they face Manchester City Women on Sunday.
The hosts, meanwhile, are hunting down the top three and enter the weekend in fifth place, two points adrift of the Champions League qualification places.
Match preview
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Man City are currently enjoying a six-game winning run in all competitions, and in their first four outings in 2022, they have swept past each opponent with consummate ease.
In their four competitive fixtures of the new year, the Citizens have scored 16 goals, while they have only conceded on one occasion.
Last weekend, they eased aside a struggling Aston Villa side, with Georgia Stanway grabbing a brace and Victoria Losada adding her name to the scoresheet in a comfortable 3-0 victory.
A League Cup quarter-final followed in midweek, with Man City once again prevailing as they saw off Championship side Bristol City courtesy of a 3-0 scoreline thanks to a Khadija Shaw double and a Losada effort.
Sunday's encounter will be the first time that Gareth Taylor's side have played a WSL home game since November, and they will be aiming to improve on a home league record that reads as one victory and three defeats.
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As for Arsenal, they are currently experiencing a poor run of form that has seen them collect just one victory from their previous six competitive games.
A 1-0 defeat in midweek at home to Manchester United not only ended Arsenal's league cup campaign, but it also resulted in their third consecutive defeat.
Despite experiencing a downward turn in form, the Gunners sit four points clear of Chelsea in the WSL table, although Emma Hayes's side do possess a game in hand.
Arsenal's title charge takes them to the Academy Stadium on Sunday, and Jonas Eidevall's side are aiming to complete a league double over their opponents after claiming an impressive 5-0 victory against Manchester City in September.
Having kept three clean sheets from their five away league fixtures, the Gunners will be looking for another shutout in their quest for victory on Sunday.
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Team News
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Man City are still without the services of goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck, but there was some positive news with the 22-year-old taking part in a couple of training sessions this week.
The goalkeeping department has been an issue for Taylor's side, with Karen Bardsley still out injured, while Karima Taieb is a doubt, which could mean that Khiara Keating starts for a fourth consecutive game.
Despite making a number of changes for the midweek cup fixture, Taylor could opt to name the same side that started last weekend's league encounter with Aston Villa.
Arsenal have been busy in the transfer window and after making her debut in midweek, Laura Wienroither could come into the lineup for her first start for the club.
Stina Blackstenius also made her debut against Manchester United, but the Sweden international may once again have to settle for a place on the bench.
Arsenal's latest signing is Brazil international Rafaelle Souza, and the defender is expected to be among the substitutes on Sunday.
Manchester City Women possible starting lineup:
Keating; Bronze, Houghton, Greenwood, Stokes; Losada, Walsh, Stanway; Park, Hemp, White
Arsenal Women possible starting lineup:
Zinsberger; Wienroither, Williamson, Beattie, McCabe; Maanum, Little, Nobbs; Mead, Parris, Miedema
We say: Manchester City Women 2-1 Arsenal Women
Despite a number of new additions, the Gunners are a side low on confidence, which leaves them vulnerable against a Man City team that are currently enjoying a positive run of form.
Although we expect the contest to be close, we think the momentum is with the hosts and that Taylor's side will edge out Arsenal to claim the three points.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Arsenal Women win with a probability of 43.01%. A win for Manchester City Women had a probability of 32.79% and a draw had a probability of 24.2%.
The most likely scoreline for an Arsenal Women win was 1-2 with a probability of 9%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.14%) and 0-2 (6.55%). The likeliest Manchester City Women win was 2-1 (7.7%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.19%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 11.2% likelihood.
