Everton Women return to league action this weekend as the Blues look to claim their first WSL points on the road this season when they travel to London City Lionesses.
The Toffees have been in powerful form at Goodison Park with three wins from three, but are yet to even score on their travels this campaign, having so far come up short against Crystal Palace and Liverpool.
With just four goals scored in the opening quintet of games, Scott Phelan will have choices to make regarding his forward line,
with only midfielder Ruby Mace managing to find the net in the WSL so far.
Presuming all those representing their countries during the international break return unscathed, the head coach will have plenty of choices in the striking area, with Noemie Mouchon easing her way into first-team action and Jutta Rantala still yet to make her debut for Everton.
Yuka Momiki will be pushing for a start having impressed so far either when starting or coming off the bench, while Holly McNamara will be desperate to break her duct for her new employees after her high profile move from Melbourne City in the summer.
One forward who won’t be involved is Zara Kramzar, who is set for an extended period on the sidelines after she sustained an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury against Birmingham City earlier this month.
The Slovenian star had been used in the central striking role by Phelan on a number of occasions, but there are other options at his disposal.
The backline should remain similar in terms of right-back and the centre, with Megan Finnigan still easing her way back to match fitness, although the left-back slot has seen both Hikaru Kitagawa and Maz Pacheco vie for the slot.
Midfield will more than likely see Mace – arguably Everton’s star performer so far – continue in the centre. The former Leicester City star will be looking to add more goals to her game after netting her first two in the league win against Birmingham City, although who joins her may well depend on Phelan’s thinking of how to nullify his team’s weekend opponents.
The Opposition
Sitting third in the WSL, Eder Maestre’s side have been the league’s surprise package thus far, earning four win from their opening five games.
Three points ahead of Everton, London have scored 15 goals in their quintet of games – just current champions Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have netted more – although the latter had no answer to Maestre’s team last week when they hit Spurs for six.
A team that spread the goals around, experienced midfield star Daniëlle van de Donk already has three in the WSL already, something that summer signing and two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas has also achieved.
Isobel Goodwin will also be one to watch having seemingly adapted well to the top flight – including two against Everton at Goodison Park last season – while Nikita Parris will be very familiar to the Blues, having spent seven years on Merseyside at both youth and senior level.
Previous Meetings
Inma Gabarro’s 61st-minute strike decided matters in last season’s fixture at the Copperjax Community Stadium, which was incidentally Phelan’s first game in charge of the Toffees.
An evenly matched game ending in favour of the Blues was sweet revenge for Everton, having gone down 2-1 to London at Goodison last year thanks to Goodwin’s brace.
While the pressure may be on Phelan to get a result this weekend, the hosts may well start as favourites over the Toffees, something which may well benefit the Blues as they go in search of a first away win in the WSL this season.
Everton Women take on London City Lionesses on Sunday, 18 October at the Copperjax Community Stadium at 2pm BST (9am ET, 6am PT).
