Manchester City Women currently sit sixth in the table, five points behind third-placed Manchester United Women, who make the short trip across Manchester to the Academy Stadium on Sunday.
The Red Devils have nine more Women's Super League games to maintain their place in the Champions League qualification spot, which would be their highest-ever finish in the top flight.
Match preview
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This weekend's outing is a must-win game for the hosts, especially after they lost ground on the top three last time out, when they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Chelsea.
Guro Reiten gave the reigning champions an early lead and Gareth Taylor's side then failed to be clinical enough in the final third, not managing to finish off any of their 11 chances.
That loss ended a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions, which started after the second Manchester derby of the campaign in November, when Man United inflicted a 2-1 defeat on the Citizens.
Man City's home form needs to improve if they are to continue their surge up the table for a place in the top three, having only won once at the Academy Stadium, picking up four points in total, compared to 16 points on their travels.
Taylor's side have played the majority of their matches away from home so far, meaning that Sunday is the start of a chance to gain some momentum on their own patch, as they play six out of their nine remaining matches in Manchester.
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After four wins out of four across all competitions in January, Marc Skinner picked up the Manager of the Month award for last month, but his side have failed to secure their first victory in February.
Defeat in the League Cup semi-final against Chelsea was followed up by a strong point away from home against Arsenal on Saturday, when the visitors would have been disappointed not to come away with all three points instead of the 1-1 draw.
Alessia Russo gave Man United an early lead in that match, but after the Gunners were reduced to 10 players with Katie McCabe being sent off, United allowed Stina Blackstenius to rescue a point for the league leaders.
Skinner's side are unbeaten in their six away outings in the league this season, giving them a strong chance this Sunday, when they will play in front of a sell out crowd at the Academy Stadium.
This will be the third meeting between these rivals this season, after they played out a 2-2 draw earlier in the campaign at the Academy Stadium, and they will have got to know each other well this year, as they meet again next weekend in the FA Cup.
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Team News
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Man City winger Chloe Kelly signed a new three-year contract with the club this week, but she will remain sidelined having not featured this season due to injury.
Captain Steph Houghton will also be absent from the home team as she continues to struggle to recover from injury, meaning that youngster Ruby Mace is likely to partner Alex Greenwood in the heart of defence.
Khadija Shaw has earned her place to lead the line for Man City, keeping England international Ellen White on the bench, and the Jamaican forward is expected to start alongside Lauren Hemp and Jessica Park in a front three.
Man United winger Leah Galton picked up the Player of the Month award after she netted three times in January, and the 27-year-old is certain to start for the visitors, with Signe Bruun likely to make her second WSL start for the club.
Centre-back Millie Turner is currently nursing an injury, while Aoife Mannion also did not feature last time out, meaning that Diane Caldwell could start alongside Maria Thorisdottir.
Russo is in good goalscoring form, and she is likely to start on the right wing, with Ella Toone connecting the midfield to attack from her number 10 role.
Manchester City Women possible starting lineup:
Roebuck; Stokes, Greenwood, Mace, Bronze; Weir, Walsh, Stanway; Hemp, Shaw, Park
Manchester United Women possible starting lineup:
Earps; Blundell, Thorisdottir, Caldwell, Batlle; Zelem, Ladd; Galton, Toone, Russo; Bruun
We say: Manchester City Women 2-1 Manchester United Women
Sunday's clash is expected to be a tight affair, as the previous two Manchester derbies have played out this season, but with the boost of their own home crowd, the hosts could just edge this one.
Man United sealed their victory in the last meeting between these two teams, while the other was a draw, so Taylor will be desperate for his team to get the better of their rivals this weekend.
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 48.44%. A win for Manchester United Women had a probability of 26.85% and a draw had a probability of 24.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City Women win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.3%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.46%) and 2-0 (8.32%). The likeliest Manchester United Women win was 0-1 (7.26%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.72%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 10.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Manchester City Women in this match and our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted the win for Manchester City Women.
