25 min: More encouragement for Matt Beard and Liverpool! Enderby is dropping deep into pockets of space and so nearly finds the overlapping Koivisto with an absolutely absurd through ball, but Hampton races out of goal and bravely smothers the ball. Great goalkeeping.

22 min: Liverpool are slowly growing into this game, and Enderby prizes open the Chelsea defence with a wonderful little pass to Haug, but Lawrence makes an outstanding sliding tackle to deny the Norwegian!

20 min: A devastating counter-attack from Chelsea so nearly results in a goal! Kirby breaks with speed, feeds Macario but the Brazilian-born American can’t beat Bonner who gets a crucial touch to take the sting out of the Chelsea striker’s shot.

18 min: First bit of composed play from Liverpool’s midfield, as Nagano finds Holland, but again Carter is there to snuff out any danger.

15 min: “I’m having an evening of women’s football, been watching first half of SWPL game between Glasgow City and Celtic,” emails Gordon. “Difficult to compare the standard of the top SWPL teams and the top WSL teams, but Glasgow City did get through to the UWCL playoff round this season, the same stage that Manchester United exited at. Be interesting to see pre-season friendlies between some of the Scottish and English women’s club teams. Anyway, my first observation of tonight’s WSL game is that Chelsea’s bench is rather light on attacking options.”

Agree it would be good to see some cross-pollination between the two leagues, even if it’s just in pre-season. And I’m also surprised that Hayes hasn’t got a more attacking bench with the goal difference factor. But then Chelsea are beset with injuries.

13 min: On a rare Liverpool counter-attack, Enderby threatens to speed through on goal, but Carter puts on the afterburners and makes a wonderful tackle. The Chelsea defender has been so impressive this season in Bright’s absence.

I enjoyed this interview with the Lioness in March.

11 min: So nearly 2-0 to Chelsea. A wonderful flicked through ball from Macario finds Nusken, who times her run to perfection, but Micah gets down and gets her fingertips on the shot, before Hinds clears off the line!

10 min: Interesting that Chelsea’s Carter was not interested in celebrating the goal. Instead, she grabbed the ball out of the net and urged her side to get back to the half-way line. Goal difference is all important in this title race, remember.

This is the live table, assuming that the game finishes at 1-0.

GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Chelsea (Beever-Jones 9)

7 min: Liverpool are playing with a back five tonight, but with the ball often one of the centre backs slips into midfield. That is often Gemma Bonner, who is making her 150th Liverpool appearance tonight, and after some high pressure, Bonner picks up the loose ball and tries her luck from range, but the shot loops over the bar.

5 min: Beever-Jones looks sharp for Chelsea on the left wing. That flank looks like the most likely source of the opening goal.

3 min: Niamh Charles, who began her career at Liverpool, gets forward from left back for Chelsea, but her cross is too deep, and the Reds get it away.

Peeeeeeeep! And we’re off at Prenton Park.

Millie Bright is in a Chelsea XI for the first time since November, by the way. What a player she is.

Three teams in the WSL that qualify for the Champions League, and third-placed Arsenal are too far ahead of Liverpool at this stage, but it’s been a brilliant season for Liverpool, who lie in fifth. They will go level on points with fourth-placed Manchester United with a win tonight.

Here’s a decent stat from Liverpool: manager Matt Beard took charge of Chelsea 23 times across the inaugural two WSL seasons in 2011 and 2012 before joining Liverpool. Since his departure, no manager has inflicted more away league defeats on the Blues than Beard (three).

No Lauren James in Chelsea’s squad! Only City’s Bunny Shaw has scored more goals in WSL this season and the England superstar scored a hat-trick against Liverpool last time out.

James didn’t train last week as she nursed an injury and despite featuring against Barcelona, perhaps she has aggravated something in that match?

Mayra Ramírez, Chelsea’s January signing who signed for a British record transfer fee of £384,000, remains sidelined. That’s another blow for Hayes.

The teams!

Preamble