Everton Ladies could leapfrog West Ham United Women in the Women's Super League on Sunday, when the two sides meet at Walton Hall Park in gameweek nine.
The Hammers could go level on points with third place if they collect three points and Brighton lose this weekend, while Everton are looking to record back-to-back wins in the league for only the second time this campaign.
Match preview
Jean-Luc Vasseur's side returned after the international break last weekend in good fashion, beating Championship outfit Durham 1-0 on home soil thanks to Toni Duggan's strike, which has kept Everton in the mix to progress from Group B in the League Cup.
After a losing start for Vasseur in his first match in the WSL at the beginning of November, the Toffees are now unbeaten in their last two league outings and recorded their first win since 3 October before the three-week break.
Simone Magill sealed three points for Everton, who beat Leicester City 1-0, but the visitors would have been slightly disappointed that they did not manage to score more goals having recorded six shots on target.
However, that has been one of the stories of Everton's season so far, as they have not scored more goals than any of the teams above them in the table.
With the middle section of the WSL table as tight as it has ever been, and only five points separating third and 10th place, Everton could climb from ninth to fifth with three points on Sunday which would be a big boost for morale.
West Ham may not be as sharp as their hosts, as they did not get the opportunity to play in the League Cup last weekend with their group not in action, so their last game came three weeks ago.
Nevertheless, an important match it was as Olli Harder's side secured a 1-0 win over rivals Tottenham Hotspur, which means that victory for the vivisors on Sunday could bring them level on points with third spot.
The key to three points for West Ham this weekend could be keeping a clean sheet at Walton Hall Park, as their three wins so far in the league this season have all come with keeping the opposition out.
Another importance of keeping a clean sheet on Sunday is the fact that the Hammers have only managed to score twice on their travels, suggesting that if they are going to collect three points Harder's side will likely only do it by a margin of one goal.
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Team News
Everton's Claire Emslie was forced off by injury after 37 minutes against Leicester and she was not involved in the squad for their match against Durham last weekend, with the winger expected to miss out again on Sunday.
Vasseur will set his side up in a 4-3-3 formation with Valerie Gauvin and Duggan being joined by Hanna Bennison, who will come into the starting lineup in place of Emslie, in the attacking trio.
Midfielder Lucy Graham has been given the opportunity to start the last two WSL games, having only made four appearances all season, and she will continue to do so this weekend alongside Izzy Christiansen and Kenza dali.
West Ham are expected to also line up with an attacking three including Abbey-Leigh Stringer, Claudia Walker and Yui Hasegawa, who will be looking to add to the three goals between them.
The visitors will have a back three consisting of Grace Fisk, Hawa Cissoko and Gilly Flaherty, who will aim to protect Mackenzie Arnold between the posts as they go in search of another clean sheet.
Everton Ladies possible starting lineup:
MacIver; Turner, George, Sevecke, Maier; Dali, Christiansen, Graham; Duggan, Gauvin, Bennison
West Ham United Women possible starting lineup:
Arnold; Fisk, Cissoko, Flaherty; Svitkova, Brynjarsdottir, Yallop, Longhurst; Stringer, Walker, Hasegawa
We say: Everton Ladies 2-1 West Ham United Women
Everton have only won once on home soil in the league this season and Vasseur will be very keen to improve that stat, starting with victory on Sunday after a long break from WSL action.
West Ham will arrive with a strong defence but the Toffees have shown some attacking flare earlier in the season and if they can re-find that form in front of goal then Sunday is a good opportunity to record another win.
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 Everton Ladies win with a probability of 58.39%. A draw had a probability of 21.5% and a win for West Ham United Women had a probability of 20.16%.
The most likely scoreline for a Everton Ladies win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.93%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.21%) and 2-0 (9.16%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.98%), while for a West Ham United Women win it was 1-2 (5.4%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10% likelihood.
