Key events
39 min: City slowly building from their own half but it doesn’t come to anything as Shaw can’t control.
37 min: Hemp makes another great run, she crosses to Coombs but Micah saves. City are alive and out for a third, the pressure is on. Coombs has a chance but it is just wide.
35 min: Liverpool not learning from their mistakes as Micah passes out of the back again, City win it and Shaw almost scores – she was a whisker away.
33 min: Liverpool play it weakly out of the back again with Micah passing to Nagano, Shaw intercepts and finishes calmly.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-1 Liverpool (Shaw, 33′)
That was too easy.
32 min: Kelly puts in a good cross but no one gets to it, Hemp puts it back in and Bonner prevents Shaw from getting her head to it.
30 min: City win a corner and it’s well defended initially but the hosts get it back in, Shaw tries to find a teammate but Liverpool clear.
28 min: Now it is City’s turn to have a defensive blunder as they give it away at the back, Roman Haig takes a shot but it’s well defended in the end.
26 min: Coombs takes a long range effort after another defensive error from Liverpool. The visitors manage to counter but Kearns is offside.
24 min: Micah comes out of goal and doesn’t get the ball, Kelly doesn’t immediately pounce and Liverpool are able to reset, their defence manage to clear the danger.
22 min: The bite of the match has been taken out a little here, Liverpool slowing play down after conceding.
20 min: Morgan puts in a lovely cross and Bonner gets a touch to it and it’s in! Wow, what a match we have on our hands.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool (Bonner OG, 20)
What a response from City.
19 min: City have reacted to going behind well, right back to applying pressure but Liverpool are feeling the momentum shift and have a good spell on the ball themselves.
17 min: City have completely dominated this game but Liverpool have their first attack, it’s laid back to Hinds who hits a one-touch finish. Sublime goal.
GOAL! Manchester City 0-1 Liverpool (Hinds, 16′)
Liverpool lead!
14 min: City win a corner and it is Kelly who takes it short, It eventually comes into the box but it’s headed away. City get it back and Shaw as a good cross but no one is there to pick it up.
12 min: Koivisto has a great challenge on Coombs and Liverpool work the ball back to their own keeper. Shaw does really well to pick it up and City rifle two shots off from Coombs and Kelly but both are blocked.
10 min: Casparij is coming off after that early challenge, Morgan is on in her place.
9 min: Casparij is down here and so there is a break in play, the injury coming from an earlier challenge with Kearns.
8 min: Hasegawa made a great pass to Kelly, she passes into the box but Liverpool’s defence holds strong for now. City are really cranking up the pressure here.
6 min: Kelly has not scored in the last seven games so she will be looking to make an impact on this game. City are moving the ball well here and Hemp makes a storming run but Clark manages to wrestle her to win possession.
4 min: Kelly tried to find Shaw but she was shut down before the pass could be made. The Liverpool defence is impressing in these early stages.
2 min: It’s a slow start from both teams so far, finding their feet in this one.
Kick-off! Manchester City 0-0 Liverpool
We are underway at the Joie Stadium. City will be favourites but Liverpool are capable of causing an upset.
The players are out and we are almost underway. Who will get the win today?
Have you been keeping up to date with the transfer window? If you want to see who each club has signed across the top five leagues in Europe have a read of our interactive:
How is your Sunday going? A chilled one watching the football? Or do you have some social plans? Let me know via email or X – @rendellx
Lauren James has a hat-trick in Chelsea’s match against Manchester United. Less than five minutes to go, it seems United will have to wait a little longer to defeat their rivals – they have never beaten them before.
Liverpool manager Matt Beard has said: “I think Man City have been the best team in the WSL so far this season but our games against them have been competitive, we’re looking forward to the test on Sunday and sure it’ll be an exciting game.”
Man City manager Gareth Taylor has said in the build-up: “They are improving all the time; their squad transfer business has been good, and it is a difficult game for us, there’s no doubt about that.. We’ve played them quite a bit recently, and we need to be in top form in all areas to be successful in this game.”
The WSL returned on Friday and there was also a match yesterday, have a read of the action:
In the earlier kick-off between Chelsea and Manchester United the Blues are leading 2-1 after two controlled finishes from Lauren James and a nice goal from Hayley Ladd. There had been a lot of chat about the absence of Sam Kerr for this fixture – she has scored ten goals in ten games against Mary Earps – but Chelsea are continuing their unbeaten streak again United. You can keep up to date with that one here:
The team news is here! Hosts Manchester City will hope Bunny Shaw’s form continues this afternoon as she is named in the starting team.
Man City: Keating, Aleixandri, Greenwood (C), Coombs, Kelly, Hemp, Ouahabi, Casparij, Roord, Shaw, Hasegawa
Liverpool, meanwhile, name a strong starting XI with Sophie Roman Haig leading the line.
Liverpool: Micah, Koivisto, Clark, Fisk, Bonner, Hinds, Nagano, Hobinger, Kearns, Flint, Roman Haig.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the live coverage of Manchester City v Liverpool in the Women’s Super League.
City are having a good season in the league, losing only two games so far and have wracked up 22 points so far. A win today will close the gap to Chelsea on the top of the table but they face a Liverpool side in form.
Before the WSL break Liverpool landed a blow as they beat Manchester United 2-1. A win today could see the Reds break into the top four – that is dependant on how Chelsea v United finishes.
The team news will be announced soon so stay tuned for that and I’ll bring you all the updates from the other matches too.
