Football rarely features goalless draws as the most intriguing outcomes, but two 0-0s in the Women's Super League last weekend could be significant this year.
Chelsea is in the driver's seat to defend their WSL title after Manchester United and Arsenal were held by Everton and West Ham, respectively.
In the relegation battle, Leicester is still at the bottom, but Reading and Brighton are still anxiously watching their backs. How much lower will Tottenham go?
Here are five things to anticipate this weekend as the WSL's final round of games before March.
Again? (First Part).
Less than 72 hours after their League Cup matchup on Wednesday, Manchester City and Arsenal square off once more in a match that could make the difference in who wins the WSL.
Both teams trail leaders Chelsea by five points, with Arsenal having a game in hand. Gunners manager Jonas Eidevall believes they can use the 1-0 victory from midweek to their advantage, but it may all come down to which team recovers the fastest.
After the victory at Meadow Park on Wednesday, he said, "It's going to be a good guessing game for them.
But this is also one of the reasons why it's crucial to have two distinct systems in order to make it more difficult for adversaries to prepare for us. Our adversaries won't be able to tell for sure whether we're using one or the other if we know how to use it. Naturally, that makes their preparation much more difficult.
Who is the best at sleeping or taking ice baths is largely what the players do on an individual basis to recover. For Thursday and Friday, you have to be the best in the world at those things; that will determine how Saturday goes. ".
The manager of Manchester City, Gareth Taylor, downplayed the game's importance as a decisive one.
"Both teams are well acquainted with one another," he said. You will observe them getting right into it at kickoff because they are aware of their opponents.
"Playing a team frequently can be beneficial. There's no need to overthink it.
"No one in this room needs to be told how important this is, but we don't overstate it as a must-win game. We are primarily concerned with performance levels. We can win if we complete those levels correctly. ".
You again? (second part).
There are only four WSL matches because this is not a regular matchday but rather a free weekend for rescheduled games, including some that were postponed in September after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
One of them is Brighton vs. Aston Villa, which will now be played at Broadfield Stadium on Sunday after being scheduled to take place at Amex Stadium last year. Brighton and Aston Villa drew 1-1 at Walsall last week.
The manager of Villa, Carla Ward, is happy to be playing the same team twice because last week's draw felt like a loss because they had the majority of the chances.
She admitted that she typically doesn't enjoy playing the same team twice in a row. "However, this time I'm happy because this week we were able to extract some bones from it.
We controlled the match and earned a good point, but we ought to have won. I had a lot of concerns, so it's up to the players to improve their performance. ".
Fantastic turnout for Tottenham.
Tottenham vs. Manchester United is another September matchup that has been rescheduled. Spurs will still have the opportunity to play at the stadium used by the men's team, unlike Brighton.
A crowd of more than 30,000 is anticipated at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which could surpass the 38,262 fans who attended the north London derby in 2019 as the record home attendance for Spurs Women.
Rehanne Skinner, the manager of Spurs, acknowledges that playing title-chasing United will be difficult after losing six straight WSL games, but that a large home crowd might give them the boost they need.
She said, "Entering that stadium is such a fantastic atmosphere. "The twelveth player is the audience. You get that boost from them, and it's just a fantastic place to play. Every time we visit, it provides the elevated lift we require. We sincerely desire to perform well for the audience. ".
Kearns will continue the English charge.
By defeating Reading last Sunday, Liverpool took a crucial step toward avoiding an immediate relegation to the Championship. A victory over Leicester this weekend would all but guarantee another season of WSL football.
Missy Bo Kearns, who scored the opening goal against Reading, will be crucial to the team's attempt to move into mid-table. She recently disclosed to BBC Sport that she is aiming for a spot in the England team for the World Cup in July.
As Kearns continues to acclimate to the WSL following her promotion from the Championship League last season, Liverpool manager Matt Beard says she will be crucial to his team for the remainder of the season.
She is a very talented player, he said, adding that the world is at her feet. "The switch from the Championship to the WSL is difficult. The first half of the season was a learning curve because you're competing against some of the best in the world.
"You can now see her creativity and spark because she has more freedom to move forward. She is now adding goals and assists. Her performance as an attacking midfielder will be evaluated by that. ".
Man Utd pursues success.
Manchester United can overtake Chelsea if they win at Tottenham this weekend because Chelsea is not in action.
Marc Skinner's team has never won the WSL, but they have a chance to gain momentum because Chelsea will be out of league play for a while after making it to the League Cup final.
In his Wednesday presser, Skinner stated: "We enter every game trying to win. I genuinely struggle to get this team to focus on anything but winning. ".
Last weekend, his team lost ground to Chelsea after failing to convert dominance against Everton into goals.
This time, he continued, "We will take nothing for granted and try to convert opportunities.
