Everton will look to consolidate their place in the top half of the table when they return to Women's Super League action against Reading this weekend.
Brian Sorensen's side signed off for the winter break with an emphatic victory over Tottenham on December 14. The clash at Brisbane Road marked Everton's first WSL win since October and saw the Blues leapfrog Spurs to climb into sixth place.
Everton made an impressive start to the campaign, winning three of their first five games - including a 3-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield - before falling short against the trio of title contenders in Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City. However, the win over Spurs was a testament to the progress the Blues have made with Sorensen at the helm and showed Everton are capable of being the 'best of the rest' outside the league's conventional top four.
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The Toffees will hope they can build on their display in the capital when they welcome Reading to Walton Hall Park on Sunday. Kelly Chambers' side are currently in 10th place although they are likely to prove a sterner challenge than their league position suggests, with the Royals having only suffered a narrow defeat to reigning champions Chelsea last time out.
The Reading clash is the first of three home games for Everton in January, with the visit of Paul Konchesky's West Ham to come on Sunday 22 and an FA Cup tie with either Birmingham City or Huddersfield Town slated to take place on Sunday 29.
The international break means the Blues are in action just once in February, with a tough away clash against Manchester United on Sunday 5. Sorensen's side will return to action against Aston Villa in March before travelling to bottom-of-the-table Leicester City.
The month will be rounded off by the Merseyside derby, where Liverpool will travel to Walton Hall Park looking to avenge the bruising defeat dealt out by Everton in September's reverse fixture.
The trio of fixtures look like winnable games on paper, but could be crucial in determining how far up the table Everton are placed come the end of the season as the Toffees face a really challenging run-in, with games against all of last season's top three to come in their last five games.
After a turbulent summer transfer window that saw nine departures and ten new arrivals at Finch Farm, it's unlikely Everton will make many additions to the squad in the January window - although there have been reports the club could look to make goalkeeper Emily Ramsey's loan move from Manchester United permanent.
Reflecting on Everton's season so far in December, Brian Sorensen told the ECHO: "I think we’re doing good. There's been one game I wasn’t happy with (Manchester United).
"The rest have been good performances. A lot of new players coming in the summer window so there were a lot of moving parts we had to get on the right track and I think we are there.
He added: "We have defensively a good team. We want to be more attacking but that’s the harder thing so I’m happy where we are. I’m just of course looking forward to a little break now but then ready to go in 2023."
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