Arsenal & Liverpool win off-field derby battles ahead of Women's Football Weekend
By Sean Walsh
Arsenal and Liverpool have prevailed in respective battles with rivals Tottenham and Everton ahead of their WSL clashes over Women's Football Weekend.
The Gunners travel to Spurs on Saturday afternoon, while the Reds make the short trip to Goodison Park on Friday night.
Prior to Women's Football Weekend, fans of the north London and Merseyside clubs were able to compete to turn their cities red or blue.
Liverpool's Katie Stengel or Everton's Gabby George were projected onto Royal Albert Dock Liverpool, while Arsenal's Rafaelle Souza or Tottenham's Bethany England appeared at Brent Cross.
Fans at these venues were able to choose the colour, team and player projected at the touch of a button, with both ending in red to signal victory for Arsenal and Liverpool.
Stengel said: "Seeing your face on a huge projection like this really represents the incredible growth of the women’s game and the support that is growing for the clubs in the Barclays Women’s Super League. This weekend is an opportunity for new fans of women’s football across the country to really see what the women’s game is about, starting here on Merseyside. This derby game will be full of passion, a high stakes game and we need our fans to get behind us and get your tickets, so we can ensure that at the final whistle, Merseyside remains red!"
Discussing such a huge weekend in the women's football calendar, England said: "Women’s Football Weekend is such an incredible opportunity for fans to come and witness the passion and the rivalries developing in the women’s game. So, if you’ve never been to a women’s game, or watched women’s football on the TV, there really has never been a better time to fall in love with it. So get down to Brisbane Road on Saturday and show your pride."
Everton vs Liverpool and Tottenham vs Arsenal are available to watch on Sky Sports to UK viewers this weekend.