Stoney took some players with her when she left to become the United manager

The rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool enters a new arena today with their Women’s Super League encounter. Unlike the clashes between the men’s teams, though, the loser at Leigh Sports Village will sit rooted to the bottom of the table.

This game has added spice, as the former Liverpool defender Casey Stoney took some big-name players with her when she left to become the United manager last year, including the England internationals Siobhan Chamberlain and Alex Greenwood. That was part of an exodus of ten first-team players that left Liverpool, a former title-winning side, on its knees.

Vicky Jepson, the manager who was previously assistant to Neil Redfearn in a bizarre one-game spell, is responsible for dragging the club back to where they belong.