The Women's Super League returns this weekend after a long break for international week and cup action, with gameweek nine being kicked off by Reading Women and Chelsea Women.
Reading will be desperate to get back on the pitch having not played since 21 November and they had started to pick up their form after a slow start, while Chelsea enter Saturday's fixture as new FA Cup champions.
Match preview
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Kelly Chambers's side most probably did not want the international break to fall when it did, as it may have interrupted the momentum that Reading were building having won four out of six matches in all competitions.
Their last outing was against high-flying Brighton & Hove Albion, and despite the Seagulls' impressive third place in the table, the Royals came out as 2-0 winners thanks to goals from Natasha Dowie and Emma Harries.
It took Chambers's side four games to record their first win of the WSL campaign, but they are now unbeaten in four league outings and just five points behind third spot.
The middle section of the WSL has never been so tight with only five points separating third and 10th, meaning that the Royals will need to keep up their good form to ensure that they do not drop down the table.
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Emma Hayes's side extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 games on Wednesday evening, when Juventus visited Kingsmeadow in the penultimate round of the Champions League group stages.
The Blues could not find a breakthrough in midweek so the game finished as a goalless draw, which has left Chelsea needing just a point from their final group game against Wolfsburg to progress into the knockout rounds.
Chelsea will still be joyous about last Sunday, when they were crowned FA Cup winners for the 2020-21 season after beating rivals Arsenal 3-0 at Wembley, thanks to a single strike from Fran Kirby and a brace from Samantha Kerr.
However, Hayes has expressed concern with the amount of games her side has to play in December, as Saturday's outing is in the middle of a schedule that sees the Blues play five matches in two weeks.
Chelsea will need to ensure that they do not let the hectic calendar hinder their progress in the WSL, as they still need to leapfrog Arsenal into top spot, currently sitting one point behind the Gunners.
The visitors will want to replicate both of their performances from last season against Reading, having beaten the Royals 5-0 home and away, but fatigue in the Chelsea squad may influence the result this weekend.
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Team News
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Young striker Harries would have been delighted to open her WSL account for this season against West Ham and even more pleased to follow that up with another goal last time out, but she is expected to start on the bench and continue to be used as an impact substitute.
Reading are expected to go long periods without possession of the ball on Saturday, meaning that they will need to be disciplined in their 4-4-2 defensive shape to stop Chelsea from scoring.
Hayes is likely to rotate her squad with this being their third game in six days, but the back three of Millie Bright, Jessica Carter and Magdalena Eriksson are expected to remain the same.
Niamh Charles could come into the starting lineup as right wing-back, while Drew Spence could also return to the starting side in the middle of midfield.
Sophie Ingle may get given a rest after she started both the FA Cup final and the Champions League game on Wednesday, and Melanie Leupolz could start with Spence in midfield.
Reading Women possible starting lineup:
Moloney; Woodham, Vanhaevermaet, Evans, Bryson; Harding, Primmer, Dowie, Chaplen; Eikeland, Rose
Chelsea Women possible starting lineup:
Berger; Eriksson, Carter, Bright; Charles, Leupolz, Spence, Cuthbert; Kirby, Kerr, Fleming
We say: Reading Women 1-2 Chelsea Women
Chelsea have been used to scoring at least three goals in their games this season, but Saturday could be a tougher test for the Blues as they are in the thick of a busy period.
That could allow Reading to get in behind Chelsea's back three and get on the scoresheet, but Hayes's side should still have enough quality to edge past their hosts.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Chelsea Women win with a probability of 87.71%. A draw had a probability of 9.1% and a win for Reading Women had a probability of 3.15%.
The most likely scoreline for a Chelsea Women win was 0-2 with a probability of 14.46%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-3 (14.42%) and 0-4 (10.78%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (4.27%), while for a Reading Women win it was 1-0 (1.43%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 1.4% likelihood.
