Manchester United return to Women’s Super League action on Sunday afternoon when they travel to the Copperjax Community Stadium to face newly promoted London City Lionesses.
It will be the team’s first game since their narrow 1-0 loss in Norway on Thursday, which left Marc Skinner’s side frustrated as they did enough to win but weren’t clinical enough in front of goal.
They will be looking to build on the positives from Bergen and capitalize on their dominant opening weekend victory over Leicester City, which saw them put four past their opponents, keeping yet another clean sheet in the process.
Meanwhile, the fixtures haven’t been nice to London City Lionesses. After being on the receiving end of a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal last Saturday, despite making club history by taking the lead against the newly crowned Champions League Champions, they now face former FA Cup winners Manchester United.
Team News
Manchester United
United boss Marc Skinner reports that there are no new injury concerns following the midweek trip to Norway, with the potential for three players being available on Sunday. “We have no fresh new knocks. I’m expecting when I go back over to see Gabby (George) and Frida (Rolfo) to be available with potentially Rach (Williams) as well, so hopefully positive news with three players added back into the group.”
Hannah Blundell made her comeback in midweek, featuring for the Under-21s, which was supported by her friends and family. This was her first appearance for the Reds since the final day of the 2023/24 season after giving birth to baby Romi in March.
Leah Galton and Simi Awujo are once again set to miss out as they continue their road to recovery, whilst summer signing Jess Park will be pushing for her first WSL start after being named in the Starting XI against Brann.
London City Lionesses
Familiar faces Katie Zelem and Nikita Parris will be looking to put on an impressive show against their former club following their summer arrival as part of a complete overhaul at the club, which saw 17 new signings across the transfer window. Manager Jocelyn Precheur will have a fully fit squad to choose from with no injury concerns reported.
The opposition
After investment from a wealthy source, it is clear that London City have set their aspirations high after achieving promotion with the main aim to avoid relegation, as so many newly promoted teams have suffered. The United boss spoke about his expectations of the opposition and how the team will take time together to gel before we see their full potential.
“17 players is a lot, so that takes time for the players to gel together as a team, but I didn’t think they looked like there were that many new players against Arsenal at times. I felt that there was a lot of aggression from them, and they were right in the game at points. It will be a difficult game, but one you have to be consistent with. We have the quality to unlock them, and they have the quality to unlock us, but we have to use everything against them and be clinical where possible.”
Mental resilience
After losing 1-0 against Brann on Thursday evening, Marc Skinner will be looking for a response from his team as focus returns to domestic league action for the weekend; however, he remains positive that his side can get something from both games, emphasising the importance of mental preparation.
“I said it to our players after the game, and I will say it this morning: it’s all about mental resilience. If you watch the game, we were by far the better team. We weren’t ruthless enough. We created chances. Barring the free-kick which they scored from, I don’t think we really had anything to defend in the box, maybe a couple of scrambled set pieces. I felt that Brann did a really good job of filling the stadium, which gave the players their energy they needed to perform. We had them in a deep block for quite a lot of the game, which they have not been used to. We know what the reality is. When you lose the first leg, you know what you have to go and do in the second one. You’ve got to go out and win the game. We have to be clinical just like we have been in previous games, and then hopefully we can take the points on Sunday and do the same in the Brann game to go through.”
A positive reaction
United dominated their third-round Champions League qualifier first leg, which made the defeat slightly easier to take from a player’s point of view, but now they need to learn from their mistakes as Skinner focuses on the clinical aspect of their performance.
“I think the players were really positive after considering we lost. It wasn’t that hard because they knew they had played ok. It’s harder when they don’t perform. If we did not create chances against Brann, then we would have probably been frustrated, but I think because we knew that we performed well and that we just weren’t clinical, it kind of sharpens your mind and focus. It’s not by any means that we think we are there. We have to perform the same way, but if we are clinical, then we know that we can win both the game on Sunday and Brann on Thursday.”
Winning mentality
An evident trait of the United boss is his passion for winning and bringing success to a club where he is now the longest serving manager in the WSL, and this was clear in his attitude towards both upcoming games during his pre-match press conference.
“The reality is, when you go into knockout football, we almost treat every game like a knockout game because you have to try and win it. There is no point you saying right, let’s try and get a draw. We want to win, so the mindset will be the same in both of these games coming up. We are going to try and do what we can in our own way to with both games.”
Match Stats
- London City lost once at home in the WSL 2 last season on their way to the league title.
- The two teams have only met twice in their history, this being in United’s championship-winning campaign in 2018/19, which saw them put 13 goals past their opponents (8-0 and 5-0) on the way to gaining promotion to the WSL.
- Managers Marc Skinner and Jocelyn Precheur have crossed paths before during a Champions League qualifier when his opposite number was in charge of PSG in 2023.
Where to watch
Live action from the lunchtime kick-off (12 pm) can be found on Sky Showcase and Sky Sports+, with Liam Bradford, Ben Ibson, and former Reds keeper Siobhan Chamberlain providing match-day commentary via the United app.
