Liverpool have endured a mixed start to their WSL1 campaign, with a win and a defeat from their two matches. They took part in the first fixture of the new winter schedule, winning against Everton thanks to goals from Natasha Harding and Niamh Charles, but their first designated home fixture – Liverpool's Select Security Stadium is also home to the Toffees – was against Reading last weekend and they fell to a 3-0 defeat. Beth England, who is on loan at the club from Chelsea, played in both matches but she is ineligible to face her parent club on Saturday.



VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM

Katie Chapman (pictured top) was at the heart of a gritty Chelsea performance on Wednesday against Bayern. The skipper looks back on that night and ahead to another tricky match against Liverpool on Saturday.

‘We wanted to put on a great performance for the crowd,’ she said of our 1-0 victory. ‘Our team spirit is brilliant, confidence is high, and I think that showed going into the game.

‘Now I’m looking forward to the match against Liverpool. It’s another competition we want to do well in and it’s important we put the Bayern Munich game aside and we just focus on Liverpool. It’s going to be another tough game for us.

‘We’ve got a big squad and as you can see with the players who have been on the bench or in the stands, Emma has got plenty of choices to make. She can make changes for Saturday and that’s the great thing about our squad.’



PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Chelsea have won each of our past five matches against Liverpool in the WSL1, three of which have come at home. The Reds were our last-ever opponents at our former Wheatsheaf Park home and at the time of our meeting at the end of May they topped the Spring Series standings, but Scott Rogers' side had no match for our attacking prowess. Flaherty gave us the perfect start with a glanced header after only two minutes, and a pair of quick-fire strikes on the stroke of half-time from Kirby and Ji secured the lead our dominance deserved. After the interval it was one-way traffic, as Mjelde, Karen Carney, Cuthbert and Spence all found the back of the net to ensure the perfect ending to our five-year stay at Wheatsheaf Park.

There were even more goals in the previous meeting between the sides at Staines, which finished 6-3 to Chelsea (highlights available below). Spence and Kirby were the heroes with two goals apiece in a topsy-turvy match, with the latter’s first effort earning her the Ladies’ Goal of the Season award.