Chelsea begin the defence of their WSL title on Sunday with a trip to newly promoted Liverpool.
The Blues are vying to be crowned champions of England for an unprecedented fourth consecutive season, and open their campaign against their former manager Matt Beard.
Beard spent three years with the Blues during the early seasons of the WSL, and comfortably guided Liverpool to promotion from the notoriously tight Championship last term. It will be interesting to see how the Reds fare in the top flight following a two-year absence.
When is kick off? Sunday 18 September, 17:00 (BST)
Where is the match being played? Prenton Park
TV channel/livestream? Sky Sports Main Event/Football (UK), FA Player (international)
What time does coverage start? 16:45 (BST)
Referee? Emily Heaslip
Loan signing Charlotte Wardlaw is unavailable for Liverpool on Sunday as she is ineligible to play against her parent club Chelsea. Rhiannon Roberts is a doubt after sustaining a hip injury earlier this week, but the defender returned to training on Friday.
Chelsea could hand debuts to up to five new signings following a busy transfer window – although youngster Lucy Watson, who signed from Sheffield United in the summer, is a long term absentee after rupturing her ACL.
Liverpool (3-4-3): Laws; Fahey, Flaherty, Robe; Daniels, Holland, Kearns, Koivisto; Keirnan, Stengel, Van de Sanden.
Chelsea (3-4-3): Musovic; Bright, Eriksson, Buchanan; Carter, Cuthbert, Fleming, Reiten; Harder, Kerr, Rytting Kaneryd.
Newly promoted teams have traditionally struggled during their first season back in the top flight, although Liverpool did win the Championship with unusual ease and have vast WSL experience both on the pitch and in the dugout.
However, they couldn’t have asked for a tougher opening fixture in the shape of WSL champions Chelsea – who look even stronger than last year following their summer recruitment.
Credit: 90min.com
