United travel to Bergen in search of Champions League qualification in the first leg of their third-round tie against Brann after a bright start to the campaign, which included a dominant performance over Leicester City on Sunday.
The Norwegian League leaders stand in the way of Mark Skinner`s side and qualification for the group stages for the first time in the club’s history.
Team News
Three members of Marc Skinner’s squad are close to being available for selection, with the remaining injuries not far behind. There are no new niggles that the United boss is aware of. “Frida (Rolfo) and Gabby (George) won’t make the trip just because they have got a few bits they need to do. Both were training yesterday (Tuesday) with the team, so all in all, looking really good. It’s just we have to be careful with these games coming thick and fast.”
“Rach (Williams), we are planning on maybe a week to a week and a half, so hopefully she will be back towards the end of next week. Simi (Awujo) is around three weeks away. Leah (Galton) was in training yesterday (Tuesday). There is definitely good news on the horizon. She is doing individual sessions, so I am hoping that within the next three weeks, we will have everyone back and ready to play.”
The return of Hannah Blundell
The club is excited about the prospect of welcoming Hannah Blundell back into the squad after giving birth to her baby daughter in March. The United defender hasn’t featured since the final day of the 2023/24 season but has returned to training over the summer. “She is playing for the Under-21s today (Wednesday). Tom (her partner) and baby Romi will be there watching at Carrington. I think she will play up to 60 minutes today, and I think we fly out at 2.20, so we are all going to watch the first half. She will have a lot of supporters on the side to welcome her back, so it will be a fantastic moment. After that, we can get a better idea of where she will be at. It will be really exciting to get her back.”
The opposition
Brann currently sit top of the Toppserien, Norway`s top-flight of domestic league football after finishing runners-up to Valerenga last campaign. They reached the group stages of last season’s Champions League, finishing second to Lyon before being knocked out by Spanish giants Barcelona. Leif Gunnar Smerud’s side have already registered victories over Inter and Braga to get to this stage of the qualification rounds, so they are definitely a team not to be underestimated. “When you watch most of their games, they are such a dominant team in Norway. They tend to have a lot of the ball, so you don’t really see them defend that much. We know about Signe Gaupset in midfield, but also their front line can be really aggressive. They play a good style of football, so this will be a difficult tie. I expect a similar kind of quality. They can score goals, but can obviously defend as they keep clean sheets.”
The Manager
The former Norway and Crystal Palace manager has caught the eye of Skinner, with the United boss praising what he has brought to the club since his arrival. “What I remember and what I have seen, especially with Brann since Leif has taken the team on, is that they are aggressive, and they want to attack. You can see that they are well coached. I don’t know whether he got the experience with Palace because he came in so late, but he’s clearly a good manager. Some of our players have worked with him. He used to work in the senior setup up both male and female. Terry (Elisabeth Terland) speaks very highly of him, and so did the other girls. He`s brought in his own qualities to the group and continued something.”
Match preparations
Skinner explained how he ensures his team will go into Thursday evening’s game fully prepared and how the previous qualifying round has helped. “We have watched all their games, including their two recent qualification games, so we know the team that we are playing against. There is no doubt about it, we have got to give high energy. There are something like 14,000 tickets sold, so it is going to be a loud atmosphere, but I think the Hammarby game probably prepared us well for that. It will be tough for us, but as I say, I want to see if we can be the team to make them defend a little bit more.”
Experience is vital
The United boss has previously stressed that he will look to add to his squad in the winter window, but as it stands, he has the belief and experience in his players to overcome the Norwegian league leaders. “It’s something we have needed really. We have a great energetic, young, growing group but I think we needed to in this window add in that experience. Julia (Zigiotti) and Frida (Rolfo) have given us this opportunity to make better decisions in intense moments. What I think is really key to their experience is knowing that they trust themselves when the nerves kick in. The nerves come regardless, but you get less and less of them the older you get. For us, it is vital if we are going to win these two games and hopefully then qualify for the Champions League proper. If we do that, we are going to need all that vital experience.”
Norway homecoming
Elisabeth Terland will be returning home to the club where she made 32 appearances, scoring 15 goals, as well as reuniting with a manager that both her and teammates Lisa Naaslund and Celin Bizet-Donnum will be familiar with from their international careers. It maybe suggested that the United stars will be at a disadvantage; however, their focus will be on getting a result in the first leg at Brann Stadion. “She will be a threat to any team regardless. It’s a nice story that she is going back to her home, and of course, Lisa (Naalsund). She is ultra-professional. She will have all of those feelings, but she will subdue them to make sure that we try and win the game. I’m sure she will look forward to trying to score over there and pay respect, obviously, to the country where she started.”
Champions League vs WSL
Skinner opened up to the media about the difference between knockout competition and domestic league action and how important organisation is to get the best out of his players, especially with the hectic schedule. “It teaches you about recovery. From my perspective as a coach, it teaches me how to maximise or minimise time, especially across these two games. For example, after the game on Sunday, we trained yesterday (Tuesday, we train today, we fly today, and then we play tomorrow. We fly back straight after the game, and then we are off on Friday before the game on Sunday. It’s about what your key priorities are. You’ve got to find the right solutions for the problems that you are going to face. You have to then make the players understand these problems to find the solutions with the quality of skills that you have. You have got to get that level of preparation right. I do not doubt that at times I get that wrong, but that’s why, as a collective, we have to make sure that as players and staff we get the right answers going into the game. I think maximising time, clarity, messages, and prioritising what we need at the right moment is the difference between knockout and league football.”
Thursday’s Champions League third round qualification tie first leg against Brann will be shown live on MUTV with a scheduled kick-off time of 18.00 BST at Brann Stadion.