Sunday’s Premier League match with Chelsea was postponed earlier this week, but Liverpool will face the Blues when the two teams meet in their first game of the women’s season.
Following their promotion back to the top flight, Matt Beard’s side were due to play their first match in the Women’s Super League since 2020 last Sunday.
However, their first scheduled game against Reading was postponed, as football came to a standstill following the Queen’s death.
It was a disappointing blow for both sides, who were due to play at the Madejski Stadium, where the men’s first team plays.
Whether those games will still be able to take place at the original venues when new dates are found remains to be seen.
Instead, the Reds will open their campaign against last season’s champions Chelsea at Prenton Park, with kick-off now set for 5pm BST, originally scheduled for 6.45pm.
So a tough start for Liverpool, but it will be nice to start the season at last, ahead of what promises to be an intriguing campaign.
Why has Chelsea’s kick-off time been changed?
On Monday, Liverpool confirmed that, unlike the men’s match, the women’s match with Chelsea will go ahead at Prenton Park on Sunday.
However, there has been a change in kick-off time, with the match being moved up to 5:00pm from the previous time of 6:45pm
The change has been made to allow fans and staff to leave the stadium in time to observe the Queen’s National Moment of Reflection at 8pm on Sunday, which will involve a minute’s silence.
The next game for Beard’s side will see Anfield host the Merseyside derby, with the club hoping to eclipse the 23,500 attendance since the two teams last met at the stadium in 2019.
back in the big time
Liverpool are back in the Women’s Super League after a two-year absence, having won the Championship by an 11-point margin last season.
This season will bring an entirely different challenge, as Beard’s side will become the hunters instead of the hunted, but there is a lot of optimism, and for good reason.
Goalkeeper Eartha Cumings, defenders Gilly Flaherty and Emma Koivisto, and winger Shanice van de Sanden joined the team over the summer. Top targets that add experience and know-how.
After the Lionesses’ success at the Women’s Euro this summer, there is a groundswell of support for women’s football, and Liverpool hope to benefit from this when it returns to the top flight.
Beard’s message is simple.
“To come [watch]Because the product is fantastic on the pitch, players will be running through a brick wall for the badge,” he told This Is Anfield last month.
Can they be competitive in the first division?
As a newly promoted team, Beard keeps it simple as they appear to be competitive against the other 11 teams.
“We want to be as competitive as we can, the transition from the Championship to the Super League is a huge leap, and I think we learned from Leicester and Aston Villa. [promotion] experience in the last two seasons,” explained Beard.
“I think we all need to be realistic enough to know that we may not have as much of the ball as we did last year, but I think we have a team that can compete with anyone and on our day we can beat anyone. .”
There is a lot of excitement about what is possible and the Women’s Euro has only magnified that feeling, with Liverpool there with open arms for any and all fans to come and watch.
With the Reds back in the WSL and the Merseyside Women’s Derby on the horizon, there’s no better time to jump on board and follow this talented and energetic group of players.
*Tickets for next weekend’s Merseyside Women’s Derby at Anfield are available on the club’s official site here.
