Programme notes'We want to put right our record at Anfield - we'll need our best game'

The Reds host Manchester City at the iconic stadium in the Barclays Women’s Super League this afternoon (3pm BST kick-off).

Beard’s charges enter the fixture having won one and drawn two in the division so far this season, and buoyed by last weekend’s hard-fought 3-2 success at Tottenham Hotspur.

That result – secured courtesy of Marie Höbinger’s penalty kick five minutes into added time – further stretched a strong series of form from the end of the previous campaign.

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“When you look at our run, that’s seven WSL games that we’re unbeaten in now if you go off the back end of last season as well, and I think only Manchester City and Chelsea have taken more points than us in this calendar year,” manager Beard writes in his matchday programme notes.

“Therefore, I was a bit surprised when I was hearing that people were worried about us after our opening couple of fixtures. The reality is we don’t have the same budget that some other teams have, but we do have a good ‘together’ group and a good young team.

“Part and parcel of having a young team is that we’re going to make mistakes but we have an abundance of character, which shone through last Sunday.

“I think we’re two points off where we should be at the moment but it’s not an easy league. Every team has really invested in their squad and it’s going to be a really interesting season with plenty of ups and downs along the way.

“If you look at last weekend’s results, for example, Crystal Palace won at Leicester City while Arsenal were held at home by Everton, so that just goes to show that on their day anyone can win games or pick up points.”

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On the challenge awaiting against City, who have taken seven points from their three WSL outings so far this term, Beard continues: “We are all excited about the prospect of playing three games at Anfield this season.

“Today is going to be a big game for us and, in my opinion, Manchester City are probably the best team in the division. The reason I say that is that I feel that they’ve had consistency with the manager, whereas Chelsea have had a new manager and a lot of changes in personnel.

“It should be an entertaining game but like always when we’re playing these top sides, we’ve got to be at our best.

“If you look at City’s squad and the way that they recruited in the summer, they obviously planned for the Champions League with that squad depth, so I don’t think the fact they played Barcelona on Wednesday will be an issue for them today.

“We’re obviously aware that the team’s record at Anfield hasn’t been the best but we have a great opportunity to put that right this season. We have three tough games against our north-west rivals but we know that on our day we can beat anyone and we’ve proven that over time, so we have to bring our ‘A’ game to Anfield this afternoon.

“If we do that then we give ourselves a great chance, and if we don’t then it could be a tough afternoon.”