Rachael Laws is always diligent about doing her revision. Liverpool’s goalkeeper routinely studies video clips of future opponents, reminding herself of a striker’s little idiosyncrasies, a penalty-taker’s quirks and whether a goalscoring midfielder favours their left foot or their right.
Yet when it comes to preparing for Sunday’s FA Cup tie at home to Arsenal, Laws knows homework can take Liverpool only so far. “They ooze class from back to front,” she says. “The players on their bench would be automatic starters in most WSL teams. We’ve been watching clips of them this week but it isn’t just about stopping Vivianne Miedema, there’s Kim Little, Nikita Parris, Beth Mead, Jordan Nobbs …”
