Man City women to host rivals Man Utd at Etihad Stadium in December

By Sports Desk July 29, 2022

Manchester City will welcome Manchester United to the Etihad Stadium in the Women's Super League.

The match will take place over the weekend of December 10-11, when the Premier League will be on a mid-season break due to the men's World Cup, taking place in Qatar.

It will be the third time the Etihad has hosted a City women's game, after a 2014 clash with Everton and a derby against United.

That match, in September 2019, was won 1-0 by the hosts and drew a then-WSL record crowd of 31,213 supporters.

The news comes on the back of the success of the Women's European Championship, which has taken place in England throughout July.

England take on Germany in Sunday's final at Wembley Stadium, with UEFA anticipating a record crowd at the ground for a match at the Women's Euros. 

More than twice as many fans have attended this year's tournament than the previous competition in 2017.

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  • Women's Super League predictions: Chelsea boss Bompastor backed to break record Women's Super League predictions: Chelsea boss Bompastor backed to break record

    Just three sides remain without a defeat heading into matchday eight of the Women's Super League season, but two of the early pacesetters square off this Saturday.

    Manchester City and Chelsea lead the way in the early-season standings, though Sonia Bompastor's Blues are yet to drop a point from their six games thus far.

    That blockbuster encounter, set for Saturday, headlines the upcoming WSL weekend, but there is also plenty more to whet the appetite. 

    Brighton will be looking to keep pace with the top two against West Ham, while a North London Derby is in the offing between Tottenham and Arsenal. 

    Sunday's action sees winless Everton square off against Merseyside rivals Liverpool, while Manchester United travel to the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester City. 

    But who does the Opta supercomputer predict will emerge victorious this time around? Here, we delve into the pre-match facts for each of this weekend's fixtures. 

    BRIGHTON V WEST HAM

    Brighton have been the surprise package of the WSL this term, sitting third in the standings, but they were on the end of a 5-0 defeat to a rejuvenated Arsenal last time out.

    Despite the Seagulls' heavy defeat, they are handed a win probability of 51.3%, with West Ham given a 23.9% chance of following up their victory over Leicester with another three points. A draw is given a 24.8% likelihood of happening. 

    Brighton have won six of their last eight WSL meetings with West Ham (D1 L1), with the Seagulls winning more games against the Hammers than any other opponent in the competition (seven).

    They won four straight matches at the Amex between 2019 and 2022 but are winless in three games at the venue since (D1 L2), including a 1-1 draw with Manchester United last month. 

    West Ham have won just one of their last 14 away games in the Women’s Super League (D3 L10), conceding in each of those matches; the Hammers could now equal their longest run of away matches in the competition without a clean sheet (15 in December 2020).

    But Hammers boss Rehanne Skinner has won each of her last four WSL games against Brighton without conceding, a run that includes her biggest ever victory in the competition, winning 8-0 with Tottenham in October 2022.

    TOTTENHAM V ARSENAL

    Renee Slegers maintained her unbeaten start as Arsenal's interim head coach with arguably the most dominant display of her tenure, beating Juventus 4-0 in midweek. 

    And she is predicted to continue her winning streak this weekend, with Arsenal handed a whopping win probability of 67.2%, the largest of any side on matchday eight.

    Tottenham, who were on the end of a 4-0 thrashing by Man City last time out, are given a 14.9% chance of victory, with the threat of a draw at 17.9%. 

    Arsenal have won seven of their nine games against Tottenham in the WSL and have either kept a clean sheet (five) or conceded exactly once (four) in each of those meetings.

    Following their 5-0 win over Brighton, Arsenal will be looking to win back-to-back WSL games for the first time this season. This is the Gunners’ longest wait for consecutive wins from the start of a WSL season since 2016 (ninth game).

    Tottenham have won only one of their nine meetings with Arsenal in the WSL (D1 L7), but that sole victory did come in this fixture last season, winning 1-0 thanks to a Martha Thomas goal.

    Only Vivianne Miedema (eight) has scored more WSL goals in the North London Derby than Arsenal’s Caitlin Foord. She has netted seven times in just eight league appearances against Spurs and will be looking to build on her goal against Juve in midweek. 

    CHELSEA V MAN CITY

    The standout fixture of matchday eight sees Stamford Bridge host Chelsea's top-of-the-table clash with Man City. 

    Despite Gareth Taylor's side sitting at the summit of the standings, they are handed a 22.5% win probability, with the Blues' hopes of salvaging a point ranked slightly higher at 23.7%. Chelsea, meanwhile, won 53.7% of Opta's data-led simulations. 

    Bompastor could become the first ever manager to win each of their first seven games in the WSL. Her Blues are aiming to become the third team in WSL history to win each of their opening seven games of a campaign after this weekend's opponents did so in 2017-18 (finished 2nd) and Arsenal did so in 2018-19 (finished 1st).

    Chelsea have also won all six of their previous matches at Stamford Bridge in the WSL by an aggregate score of 17-4, the most games any team has ever played in the competition at a home venue while maintaining a 100% record.

    However, City are unbeaten in their last three WSL meetings with Chelsea (W2 D1) while only Arsenal (10) have recorded more wins over the Blues in the competition than the Citizens (seven).

    City have also won 17 of their 19 WSL games in 2024 (D1 L1) and could win 18 top-flight games in a single calendar year for the very first time.

    ASTON VILLA V CRYSTAL PALACE

    Aston Villa are one of only two sides in the division yet to record a win this season, but are predicted to get their first three points on the board at home to Crystal Palace. 

    Opta's data-led simulations favoured the Villans in 51.1% of instances. A draw is given a 24.8% chance of happening, with Palace handed a win probability of just 24.1%. 

    This will be the second meeting between the two sides already this season, with the Villans winning 2-0 at home in a League Cup group-stage game in October.

    This will, however, be the first time Palace have faced Villa in a league game since September 2019, when the Eagles suffered a 6-0 home loss to the eventual 2019-20 Championship winners.  

    Crystal Palace have won four points from their three away games in the WSL so far this season (W1 D1 L1), becoming just the third newly promoted side to do so after Tottenham in 2019-20 (six) and Aston Villa in 2020-21 (six). No such team has ever picked up seven points from their first four matches on the road in a single campaign. 

    But Villa are unbeaten in six previous WSL games against newly promoted opposition (W4 D2), though they did draw their last two such home matches (3-3 v Liverpool, 2-2 v Bristol City), and have kept two clean sheets in their last four league games, the same number of shutouts as they managed across their previous 15 WSL matches.

    EVERTON V LIVERPOOL

    Everton's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace saw them pick up just their third point of the season, but they will be hoping to earn their first three points of the year against rivals Liverpool.

    The Toffees are handed a 32.6% win probability compared to Liverpool's 41.9%, the closest margin between any two sides on matchday eight. A draw is given a 25.5% likelihood. 

    Everton, however, have won four of their last seven meetings with Liverpool in the WSL (D2 L1), more than they managed in their first 10 Merseyside Derbies in the competition (W3 D3 L4).

    But they have struggled at Goodison Park. They have not won a WSL game in four attempts at the iconic stadium (D2 L2), failing to score in three of those games. Their most recent such match came earlier this month, losing 5-0 to Chelsea.

    While the Reds are winless in their last three trips across Stanley Park, they are enjoying their longest ever unbeaten run away from home in the WSL, going eight without defeat since losing to Man City in January (W6 D2). Only Chelsea (nine) and City (eight) have won more times on the road in the top flight in 2024 than the Reds (six).

    The Reds' Marie-Therese Hobinger will be the player to watch. She has created more chances from set-pieces than any other player in the WSL this season (10), while each of her seven assists in the competition have come via corners.

    LEICESTER V MAN UTD

    One of two games that conclude the weekend's action takes place in the East Midlands, with Man United, the third team without a loss this term, taking on Leicester. 

    The Red Devils are, unsurprisingly, favoured by Opta's data-led simulations and are handed a 66.7% chance of emerging victorious. Leicester are given just a 15.2% chance of winning, with a draw valued at 18.1%.

    Though they are unbeaten in the WSL this season, United have drawn their last three league matches. The last team to draw four in a row in the competition was Aston Villa in May 2021 (five in a row).

    United have conceded just twice in their opening six league games this season, with only Man City in 2016 (0) and 2019-20 (one) and Arsenal in 2022-23 (one) ever leaking fewer goals at this stage of a campaign. The Red Devils’ opponents have by far the worst conversion rate in the competition this term, however (2.9%).

    The Foxes are winless in six previous meetings with United in the WSL (D1 L5), only facing Arsenal (P7 L7) and Villa (P7 D2 L5) more often in the competition without winning.

    Elisabeth Terland has scored three goals in her last two WSL appearances against Leicester, with the striker only netting in more games in the competition against Tottenham (four different games).

  • 'England comes before anything' – Kane unhappy with Three Lions withdrawals 'England comes before anything' – Kane unhappy with Three Lions withdrawals

    Harry Kane has questioned the number of players withdrawing from the latest England squad, insisting the national team "comes before anything". 

    England face Greece and the Republic of Ireland in their final two matches in Nations League Group B2 this week, also their last two games under interim head coach Lee Carsley before Thomas Tuchel takes over in January.

    Eight players have withdrawn from Carsley's squad – Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Aaron Ramsdale and Levi Colwill.

    In an interview with ITV Sport on Wednesday, Three Lions skipper Kane appeared to question the commitment of those dropping out.

    "I think England comes before anything. England comes before club," Kane said.

    "England is the most important thing you play as a professional footballer and Gareth [Southgate] was hot on that and he wasn't afraid to make decisions if, you know, that started to drift from certain players.

    "It's a shame this week obviously. I think it's a tough period of the season, maybe that's been taken advantage of a little bit.

    "I don't really like it if I'm totally honest. I think England comes before anything, any club situation."

    England likely need to beat Greece – who claimed a 2-1 victory at Wembley Stadium last month – to have any chance of winning automatic promotion back to League A.

    Should the Three Lions finish second, they will face a third-placed finisher from League A – potentially Poland, Belgium, Hungary or Serbia – in a promotion play-off tie in March.

  • Taylor pleased with Man City's physical test during Hammarby win Taylor pleased with Man City's physical test during Hammarby win

    Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his team stood up to the physical challenge of Hammarby in their 2-0 Champions League victory on Tuesday.

    Laura Blindkilde Brown and Aoba Fujino were on target in the second half at the Joie Stadium, moving them three points clear at the top of Group D. 

    City's win extended their unbeaten start to the season, having won every game in all competitions following a 2-2 draw against Arsenal on opening day.

    The hosts dominated for large parts of the encounter, ending with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.75 from their 16 shots, while also accumulating 73.6% possession. 

    But Taylor was happy with his side's display and explained the physical test against the Swedish champions was something his players will benefit from moving forward. 

    “Difficult game for us, physical challenge, a physical team in Hammarby. I think they outnumber us a little bit in terms of size, considering when you look at our midfield. But I thought the girls handled it really well," Taylor said after the game

    “I thought we dominated the game. In the early parts we were just a little bit off in our final action. We just needed to speed up a little bit in terms of being on the end of it, and we spoke about that at half-time, and we score with Laura getting into that type of position we’d been talking about.

    “[The physicality was something] we were prepared for, but dealing with it is a different thing. Having Bunny [Khadija Shaw] and Alanna [Kennedy] on the pitch, two of our more physical players, is really important, particularly for set-plays.

    “At 1-0 we were defending a couple of scenarios like that, Yama [Ayaka Yamashita] making a really good save at one point. Then Aoba [Fujino] got the goal that maybe allowed us to change things up a little bit more, get some people off that we’d like to manage.

    “I think the girls have dealt with it really well tonight. We expected it, we thought it would be difficult, and they rose to the challenge.”

    Taylor had made changes to City's starting XI, with Lauren Hemp among the trio to drop out from the weekend and she did not feature in the squad.

    Ahead of their weekend game against Chelsea, who are second in the Women's Super League, Taylor explained the reasoning behind Hemp's absence.

    “We’ve just got an issue with Lauren that we just need to analyse a little bit further, that’s all," he said.

    “It’s something that potentially happened in the Palace game [on 3 November]. She was able to play in the Tottenham game [last Friday] but wasn’t able to tonight, so we’ll just take a little bit longer to assess and find out more.

    “Hopefully [she can play against Chelsea]. There’s an opportunity there, we’ll just have to take a moment tomorrow, have a good conversation and find out where we’re at with the medical staff.”

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