Liverpool boss Matt Beard has confirmed that Leanne Kiernan and Niamh Fahey are both in contention to feature against Aston Villa this weekend.
The duo have spent an extended spell on the sidelines, with Kiernan having been out of action since she sustained a serious ankle injury in the Reds' opening day victory against Chelsea. Both players returned to the matchday squad against Manchester City last time out, although they remained unused substitutes as Liverpool sealed their Women's Super League survival with a 2-1 win over Gareth Taylor's side.
However, Beard believes the prolonged break that followed that victory at Prenton Park has allowed the pair to get back up to speed, with both players poised to play their part in this weekend's clash with Aston Villa.
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"The break came at the right time for us," the Liverpool boss admitted in his pre-match press conference.
"We’d had three games in eight days and we’ve had Niamh Fahey and Leanne Kiernan in training for that period so they’ve had an extra couple of weeks to get ready. We’ve used the time well and we’re looking forward to playing again at the weekend."
While Liverpool have now guaranteed their top flight survival, they are still yet to win a WSL game on the road this term. But Beard is hopeful his side can reverse their fortunes when they travel to Villa Park on Sunday.
"It would be great if we could get [an away win] ticked off this season but it’s not the be-all and end-all," he said.
"I think for me the important thing is our performance levels which. if I look at the second half of the season, have been good, barring one or two performances but that happens in football from time to time.
"We fully deserved the three points against Manchester City so now it’s about getting that consistency. Hopefully we can get a repeat of that performance on Sunday."
Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat when they hosted Aston Villa in the reverse fixture back in November, with WSL top-scorer Rachel Daly netting the only goal of the game from the penalty spot. However, Beard believes that result will have little bearing on Sunday's clash.
"Villa have had a great season," he said. "They’ve been a bit inconsistent with results in the last few months but there are no easy games in this division.
"They’re in a good position and they’ll be really pleased with what they’ve achieved this year. I felt a draw [in the reverse fixture] would probably have been a fair result but Aston Villa have really kicked on since then.
"For us it’s a completely different game now. We’ve obviously got different personnel from what we had then back then too."
Victory on Sunday would see Liverpool register the highest points tally of any newly-promoted side since the WSL evolved into its current 12-team format. And Beard believes that is an enormous testament to the hard work and mental resilience of his players.
"Our target first and foremost was staying in the division," he said. "If you look at teams that come back into the WSL, they usually struggle and I don’t think we’ve struggled this year.
"I think we’ve been very close in a lot of games and if you look at the second half of the season we’ve done well.
"It was always going to take time to get that consistency because physically it’s much more demanding than the Championship and, with the injuries we’ve had, the players deserve a lot of credit for where we are in the table."
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