Manchester United Women will kick off 2023 with a Women's Super League home game against rivals Liverpool Women on Sunday.
The Red Devils, who occupy third position, are five points adrift of league leaders Chelsea with a game in hand, while the visitors currently sit in ninth place.
Match preview
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The Red Devils will be satisfied with how the first half of the season panned out, with their nine league fixtures yielding seven wins, one draw and one defeat.
United's main target for the season will be to secure Champions League football, although they may be dreaming of much more than just a place in the top three.
Marc Skinner's side are five points adrift of top spot, but they hold the advantage of boasting a game in hand over Chelsea, while they are two points behind second-placed Arsenal.
With the top two set to face off on Sunday lunchtime, United have the chance to close the gap on at least one of the teams above them.
United will hope that they can transfer their impressive home form into the new year, after winning nine of their 10 home league games in 2022, with the Red Devils scoring three goals or more in eight of those matches.
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In their first season back in the top flight since the 2019-20 campaign, Liverpool have experienced mixed results despite beginning the season with a momentous 2-1 win over reigning WSL champions Chelsea.
The Reds followed that win with five straight defeats in the league, before they played out consecutive 3-3 draws against Brighton & Hove Albion and Reading.
Matt Beard's side finally claimed their second win of the WSL season in their final league game of 2022, beating West Ham United 2-0 thanks to goals from Ceri Holland and Katherine Stengel.
Although the Reds currently sit in eighth position, they are comfortably clear of Leicester City, who occupy the one and only relegation place after failing to pick up a point this term.
Having collected just two points from their four away league games, Liverpool will be targeting their first away victory of the WSL season this weekend.
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Team News
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Skinner is expected to have a full squad to choose from for Sunday's contest, although Lucy Staniforth is no longer available after she recently joined Aston Villa on a permanent deal.
Aoife Mannion is expected to be on the bench, and she could be given her first minutes since last February after recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Having scored four goals in her seven WSL appearances this season, Alessia Russo will be given the responsibility of leading the line.
As for the visitors, they will be unable to call upon Gilly Flaherty, who announced her immediate retirement from professional football on Thursday.
Charlotte Wardlaw has returned to her parent club Chelsea after spending a year-and-a-half on loan at Liverpool, while Leanne Kiernan is still sidelined with an ankle injury.
Sofie Lundgaard has recently joined the club from Fortuna Hjorring in Denmark, and she is expected to be on the bench for Sunday's game, but there could be a place in the starting lineup for Gemma Bonner, who has returned to the club for a second spell after winning two WSL titles with Liverpool in 2013 and 2014.
Manchester United Women possible starting lineup:
Earps; Batlle, Le Tissier, Turner, Blundell; Ladd, Zelem; Parris, Toone, Galton, Russo
Liverpool Women possible starting lineup:
Laws; Fahey, Bonner, Campbell; Koivisto, Holland, Matthews, Hinds; Van de Sanden, Lawley, Stengel
We say: Manchester United Women 3-0 Liverpool Women
Manchester United have won three of their four home league games this season, and we think that they will claim another home victory when they face a Liverpool side that has failed to win any of their four away matches in the WSL this term.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
