Manchester City Women are looking to continue their climb up the Women's Super League on Sunday, when they travel to St Andrew's Stadium where they will face a struggling Birmingham City Women.
The hosts have only picked up one point all season and are currently on a five-game losing streak in all competitions, while Man City's up and down form has continued.
Match preview
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Former Birmingham manager Scott Booth was relieved of his duties prior to the Blues' last outing against Chelsea just before the international break, and Darren Carter was announced as their new interim boss.
Carter arrived at the club after the side travelled to face the reigning champions, and he has his work cut out in the West Midlands after the team recorded their seventh loss of the season, falling 5-0 to Chelsea.
The good news for Birmingham this season has been that top-flight newcomers Leicester have also struggled for points this campaign, meaning that the single draw the Blues earned against West Ham in October lifted them above the relegation zone.
Birmingham are nine points behind 10th-placed rivals Aston Villa, which has already seemingly entered Birmingham and Leicester into a two-horse race for survival.
Despite Man City's shaky form this season, this is as tough a test as any for Carter in his first game in charge, and perhaps some attention is already being focused to next weekend's clash with the Foxes.
Gareth Taylor's side did climb a few places in the table after a 5-0 thrashing of Aston Villa before the international break, with second-half goals coming from Caroline Weir, Georgia Stanway, Lauren Hemp and a brace from Hayley Raso.
That result means that Man City are now the top scorers in the league, excluding the top two Arsenal and Chelsea, who are much better off than any other side in terms of goals scored, suggesting that the Sky Blues are heading in the right direction.
Goalkeeper Karima Benameur also kept her first clean sheet since the opening day and if Man City can carry on in that fashion, third spot may not run too far away from them.
Taylor's side's away form has been better than their form at the Academy Stadium, with many factors ahead of Sunday's clash looking in favour of an away win at St Andrew's.
Man City are currently five points behind Brighton & Hove Albion, who occupy the final European qualification place, with every three points up for grabs from here on in seemingly massive for Man City as they will be desperate to rectify their poor start to this campaign.
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Team News
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Birmingham's lineup is unlikely to alter much despite a new manager putting his own ideas to the side, with Rebecca Holloway, Louise Quinn, Cecilie Sandvej and Harriet Scott all expected to remain as the back four.
Midfielder Christie Murray made her return from injury at the beginning of November an she has played every minute in the WSL since then, and she is certain to start alongside Lisa Robertson in the middle of the pitch.
Man City's Lucy Bronze started training with the squad during the international break, after a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to injury, and she could make her first appearance of the season on Sunday.
Bronze would be a welcome return for the visitors as it will allow Stanway to push further forward up the pitch in a more natural position for the attacker.
Captain Steph Houghton remains out of the picture for Taylor, so Jill Scott is expected to continue to fill in at centre-back alongside Alex Greenwood.
During the international break, Man City striker Ellen White made history by becoming England Women's all-time record goalscorer, and she will be looking to transfer that form into the WSL as she has only netted once in eight games so far.
Birmingham City Women possible starting lineup:
Hourihan; Holloway, Sandvej, Louise Quinn, Scott; Ewens, Robertson, Murray, Lucy Quinn; Pennock, Smith
Manchester City Women possible starting lineup:
Benameur; Stokes, Greenwood, Scott, Bronze; Weir, Walsh, Angeldal; Hemp, White, Stanway
We say: Birmingham City Women 0-2 Manchester City Women
Not only have Birmingham lost their last five games in all competitions, but they have not managed to score a goal either in that time which is why Man City should be confident about keeping a clean sheet on Sunday.
After a long three-week break from league action, Man City will be keen to back up their 5-0 win over Aston Villa with another victory against West Midlands opponents to build some momentum.
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 Manchester City Women win with a probability of 91.52%. A draw had a probability of 6.6% and a win for Birmingham City Women had a probability of 1.92%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City Women win was 0-3 with a probability of 15.06%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (13.47%) and 0-4 (12.63%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (3.05%), while for a Birmingham City Women win it was 1-0 (0.91%). The actual scoreline of 2-3 was predicted with a 1.1% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Manchester City Women would win this match.
