We return from the international break with a Women's Super League clash against Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, December 6, with kick-off scheduled for 12pm in north London.
Before the international break, we got back to winning ways, coming from behind to beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the UEFA Women's Champions League thanks to a double from Alessia Russo.
But with back-to-back draws in the WSL against Tottenham and Chelsea, we'll be looking to take all three points against Liverpool this weekend.
reds turning corner after tough start
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Liverpool have endured a difficult start to the season, recording just two points from their opening eight league matches.
The season began with a 4-1 loss to Everton at Anfield in the Merseyside Derby, before the Reds were beaten 1-0 at the King Power Stadium by 10-player Leicester.
Despite a 5-0 victory over Sunderland in the Subway Women's League Cup, the dismal league form continued for Gareth Taylor's side, with three straight defeats to Manchester United, London City and Manchester City.
Once again, the League Cup provided some solace as the Reds beat Durham 2-1 away from home, but that was followed with another defeat in the league, this time a 2-1 loss away to Tottenham.
From there however, things have picked up for Liverpool. The Reds earned a very credible point against league leaders Chelsea in a 1-1 draw, before finishing with the same scoreline against Brighton the following week.
Most recently, the Reds thrashed Sheffield United 4-1 in the League Cup to make it three games unbeaten and take a more positive mood into the international break.
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
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**Renee Slegers:** "They've had close results; you see in the way they play, how they put Chelsea under pressure, I think Chelsea had a hard time getting out of their own half. So I think they'll probably pride themselves on their defensive structure and putting even the top teams under pressure, and I think they do that well.
"So they will really put questions to us, especially in their defensive structure, what they can do when they get a little bit lower on the pitch, how they will try to counter attack us, we will have to manage those moments well."
**Gareth Taylor:** "At the moment, when you’ve got a striker like Beata (Olsson) scoring goals, that’s always going to give you a chance of being successful in games. We know the challenge ahead of us against Arsenal is a really tough one but I think it's one to be really excited about.
"I don’t really have an issue when we play against the best teams in the WSL with what we have because you know that probably the pressure is all on Arsenal, not on us."
TEAM NEWS
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Renee confirmed that both Kim Little and Leah Williamson will make a welcomed return to the matchday squad for Saturday's game, although Leah's minutes will likely be limited given her long-term absence.
Leah's England teammate Chloe Kelly suffered a minor knee injury on international duty and will miss be absent, while Daphne van Domselaar misses out due to a quad issue.
FACTS AND STATS
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Only ourselves and Chelsea (30) have played each other more times than ourselves and Liverpool (25) in the Women's Super League.
We have won 11 of our last 12 league games against Liverpool, and have beaten the Reds more times (19) than any WSL side has beaten any other in the competition's history, apart from ourselves against Everton (also 19 wins).
Having drawn their last two league games, Liverpool could go three games without defeat in the league for the first time since their first three games of last season.
The Reds could be the first team to fail to win any of their opening nine games since Leicester in 2022/2023, although the Foxes were not relegated that season.
Olivia Smith is averaging 2.8 carries per 90 minutes this season; only Rosa Kafaji (3.3), who is on loan at Brighton from us, has averaged more.
Liverpool's Beata Olsson has scored in each of her last three WSL starts and each of her last four in all competitions.
match officials
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Kirsty Dowle will be in charge on Saturday, taking charge of us for the third time this season. We're yet to concede a goal with Dowle in charge, having drawn 0-0 with Manchester United and beat Brighton 1-0 with Dowle in the middle.
Dowle was also the referee for the 2023 League Cup final, awarding us a penalty in a 3-1 win over Chelsea.
**Referee:** Kirsty Dowle
**Assistant referees:** Georgia Ball, Sophie Dennington
**Fourth official:** Joanne Horwood
LAST TIME WE MET
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Last season's victory over Liverpool at Emirates Stadium was a comfortable one, with goals from Caitlin Foord and Mariona Caldentey as well as an own goal putting us 3-0 up before half-time.
A second own goal for Reds defender Jasmine Matthews wrapped up the win in the second half and narrowed the gap at the top of the WSL table.
HOW TO WATCH
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Tickets are still available for Saturday's game at Emirates Stadium, [and you can get yours here.](https://www.arsenal.com/tickets?field_arsenal_team_target_id=5&revision_information=)
For those who can't make it to Emirates Stadium, the game is available to watch on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Mix in the UK, as well as a host of other international broadcasters, [which can be seen here.](https://www.arsenal.com/news/how-watch-arsenal-women-v-liverpool-tv)
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