
Preview: Everton Ladies vs. Arsenal Women
Arsenal Women will look to claim a third consecutive victory when they travel to Walton Hall Park for Wednesday’s Women’s Super League meeting with Everton Ladies.
The hosts, meanwhile, will have to pick themselves up after they were thrashed 7-0 by Chelsea in their most recent outing.
Despite losing just one of their five matches prior to their trip to the capital, Everton knew that they would have to be at their best if they wanted to be competitive against the reigning champions.
However, it proved to be a miserable evening for the Toffees as they fell to a heavy 7-0 defeat, conceding five goals before half time.
With sixth-placed Everton currently five points clear of their city rivals Liverpool, they still look set to secure a top-half finish.
They could still finish as high as fifth with six points separating them from Aston Villa, who have played a game more.
However, with Everton still to play Arsenal and Manchester City in two of their final three games, closing the gap to Aston Villa may prove difficult.
After being knocked out of the semi-finals of the Champions League earlier this month, Arsenal have responded with consecutive WSL victories.
A narrow 1-0 home win over Leicester City was followed by a commanding 4-0 away victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in their last outing.
Stina Blackstenius netted a brace inside the opening eight minutes to get Arsenal off to the perfect start against the Seagulls, before Frida Maanum and Victoria Pelova grabbed a goal apiece to wrap up a crucial victory that moved them into the third and final Champions League place.
The WSL title is likely to be out of reach for the Gunners, but their main priority will be to secure European football for next season.
They are currently level on points with fourth-placed Man City, who have played a game more, and a victory on Wednesday would move them three points clear of the Citizens ahead of the final two fixtures of the 2022-23 campaign.
Everton Ladies Women’s Super League form:
DDWLWL
Arsenal Women Women’s Super League form:
WWWLWW
Arsenal Women form (all competitions):
WLDLWW
We say: Everton Ladies 1-3 Arsenal Women
We expect Everton to put up a better fight than they did against Chelsea, but we still believe that Arsenal will have enough quality to claim a fairly comfortable victory on Wednesday.