Manchester City Women will look to claim a fourth consecutive victory in all competitions when they travel to Walton Hall Park for Sunday's Women's Super League clash with Everton Women.
The visitors will head into the weekend in second place in the WSL table, while the Toffees are languishing down in 10th position.
Match preview
Everton Women's manager Brian Sorensen on October 6, 2024© Imago
Everton are sitting just one point above the relegation place after winning one, drawing three and losing five of their nine league games this season.
That sole victory took place on November 17 when Katja Snoeijs scored the decisive strike in a Merseyside derby win over Liverpool.
Unfortunately for the Toffees, they have failed to build upon that positive result, losing each of their previous three competitive outings.
They were beaten by Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the Women's League Cup and WSL respectively, before they fell to a heavy 4-0 loss in Wednesday's League Cup clash against rivals Liverpool.
Brian Sorensen's side will have to quickly pick themselves up for their final outing of 2024, with the Toffees hoping to take at least a point off Man City for the first time in the WSL.
Manchester City Women's manager Gareth Taylor on December 13, 2024© Imago
Man City have bounced back from last month's defeat against Chelsea to put together a three-game winning run in all competitions.
They recorded a 2-1 Women's Champions League win over Hammarby, before they returned from the international break with a dominant 4-0 home victory over Leicester in the WSL.
Gareth Taylor's side enjoyed another successful home outing in midweek, with Lily Murphy and Kerstin Casparij finding the net in a 2-0 win over St. Polten, leaving Man City three points clear of Barcelona at the top of Group D.
They will look to secure top spot when they travel to Barcelona for Wednesday's Champions League clash, but first, they will try to stay within five points of WSL leaders Chelsea.
Man City will be the overwhelming favourites to take maximum points from Sunday's fixture, having won each of their previous 16 WSL matches against Everton, including a narrow 2-1 home win in their most recent meeting in March.
Everton Women Women's Super League form:
Everton Women form (all competitions):
L
D
W
L
L
L
Manchester City Women Women's Super League form:
Manchester City Women form (all competitions):
Team News
Manchester City Women's Alex Greenwood on September 22, 2024© Imago
The hosts are unable to call upon the services of Aurora Galli, Inma Gabbaro, Clare Wheeler and Kenzie Weir due to injury.
Issy Hobson is going through the necessary protocols after sustaining a concussion in the midweek defeat to Liverpool, making her unavailable for the final match of 2024.
Midfielder Karen Holmgaard has returned to full training, but the 25-year-old is unlikely to be ready for Sunday's contest.
Meanwhile, Man City remain without the services of Vivianne Miedema, Lauren Hemp, Naomi Layzell Sandy MacIver and Risa Shimizu are all sidelined with knee injuries.
There is considerable concern about the extent of Alex Greenwood's injury after the England defender was stretchered off in Thursday's Women's Champions League victory.
WSL top scorer Bunny Shaw is expected to be out of action until the new year after she sat out the midweek fixture due to injury.
Buoyed from scoring her first Man City goal, Murphy could now be given the chance to make her first WSL start.
Everton Women possible starting lineup:
Brosnan; Payne, Vanhaevermaet, Finnigan, Hope, S. Holmgaard; Olesen, Hayashi, Wheeler, Lawley; Snoeijs
Manchester City Women possible starting lineup:
Yamashita; Casparij, Kennedy, Aleixandri, Ouahabi; Roord, Hasegawa, Park; Fowler, Fujino, Murphy
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We say: Everton Women 1-3 Manchester City Women
Man City will have to cope without a number of key players for Sunday's away contest, but we still believe they have enough quality in their squad to claim a relatively comfortable victory over relegation-threatened Everton.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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