Key events
17 min: Another chance for the visitors as Baltimore receives the ball on the left and fires a shot directly at Laws, who can parry it away.
15 min: Chelsea look to play forward again as the ball falls to Reiten just outside the box, who looks to make a cross, but Bonner is there to clear the danger again.
12 min: A fantastic pass is sent over the Chelsea defence and through to Kiernan. The forward looks to make a run towards goal but she is forced out wide by Bright and the visitors can nullify the attack.
9 min: Another chance for the visitors as Reiten sends a curling cross in from the right. It runs all the way through to the back post and almost sneaks into the net, but Bonner can make the clearance.
8 min: The ball is sent out wide to Kaneryd on the right, who plays it short to Hamano in the middle. The forward goes for goal but her effort is saved by Laws.
6 min: What a start! Both teams have had a glimpse at goal in the opening five minutes. Surely it’s only a matter of time before the deadlock is broken…
3 min: Chelsea’s clearance goes straight through to Ramírez, who looks to attack the Liverpool net, but Bonner does enough to block her effort.
2 min: Liverpool have a corner and the ball is sent straight into the box. It falls to the feet of Hinds, who goes for goal, but her effort is blocked and it runs out for another corner.
The second set piece, however, is cleared by Chelsea.
1 min: Smith makes a run down the right and into the Chelsea penalty area. She goes to square the ball across goal, but Buchanan deflects it behind for a corner.
Kick-off
We’re under way at St Helens Stadium!
The teams are out at St Helens Stadium. A period of silence will be observed before kick-off to mark Remembrance Sunday.
Ahead of this afternoon’s huge clash with Liverpool, Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor said: “I know Liverpool always find a way to perform against Chelsea. We are prepared for that. From Liverpool’s performances and results from the beginning of the season, I’m expecting a team who is really organised.
“They don’t concede a lot of goals. They will be ready to face us on Sunday, and we will also be focusing on ourselves with the quality of talent in my squad.”
In-form Chelsea forward Johanna Rytting Kaneryd spoke to Suzanne Wrack ahead of today’s match about the season so far and her ultimate “nightmare” – the idea of becoming a predictable player.
Liverpool manager Matt Beard has insisted his team will be playing to win this afternoon. In his programme notes ahead of the match, he wrote: “Chelsea have had a fine start to the season and Sonia Bompastor has come in and done a good job because it was always going to be tough for whoever replaced Emma Hayes.
“If you look at the two squads that Manchester City and Chelsea have, they’ve probably got two XIs that could play and compete for the top three in the WSL. I think if Chelsea put out two XIs they could possibly be placed one and two.
“Even so, we’ve beaten them at home in each of the last two seasons and while, as always, we’ll always respect our opponent, we’re going to be playing to win the game and I do feel that we perform well against the top sides. It’s a game that we’re looking forward to and it’s another opportunity to test ourselves.”
This weekend in the WSL
Arsenal stormed to their biggest WSL victory of the season on Friday with a 5-0 win over Brighton. Meanwhile, Khadija Shaw scored a hat-trick as Manchester City cruised to a 4-0 win over Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium.
Today, Liverpool and Chelsea kick off proceedings at St Helens Stadium before Everton travel to Crystal Palace, West Ham take on Leicester City and Manchester United face Aston Villa.
Team news
Liverpool starting XI: Rachael Laws; Jenna Clark, Gemma Bonner, Gemma Evans; Taylor Hinds (C), Grace Fisk, Jasmine Matthews, Ceri Holland, Marie Höbinger; Olivia Smith, Leanne Kiernan. Substitutes: Teagan Micah, Eva Spencer, Niamh Fahey, Cornelia Kapocs, Mia Enderby, Yana Daniëls, Hannah Silcock, Zara Shaw.
Chelsea starting XI: Hannah Hampton; Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright (C), Kadeisha Buchanan, Sandy Baltimore; Sjoeke Nüsken, Erin Cuthbert, Guro Reiten; Maika Hamano, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Mayra Ramírez. Substitutes: Zećira Mušović, Aggie Beever-Jones, Maelys Mpome, Wieke Kaptein, Ève Périsset, Ashley Lawrence, Oriane Jean-François, Catarina Macario, Nathalie Björn.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to coverage of today’s WSL clash between Liverpool and Chelsea. The last meeting between these two teams was nothing short of thrilling. Against the odds, Liverpool clinched a dramatic 4-3 victory over the reigning league champions at Prenton Park. It was a huge moment in the WSL title race – even though Chelsea went on to lift the trophy on the final day.
This time, however, the circumstances are slightly different. Liverpool have dropped points on four separate occasions so far this season, leaving them sixth in the table. Meanwhile, Chelsea have maintained a perfect record. A win will take Sonia Bompastor’s side to within one point of title rivals City with a game in hand.
Kick-off is at 12:30pm GMT – join me!
