Three days after being knocked out of the League Cup by Arsenal Women in midweek, Manchester City Women will be seeking revenge when they face the Gunners on Saturday.
The hosts currently occupy fourth position in the Women's Super League table, and they are level on points with third-placed Arsenal.
Match preview
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Manchester City saw their dreams of retaining the League Cup trophy come to an end in midweek, after they lost to Arsenal after extra-time.
With neither side able to break the deadlock in regulation time, the tie required an additional 30 minutes, where a Stina Blackstenius strike proved enough to send the Gunners through to the final.
The Citizens will have to quickly put that disappointment behind them, as they have the chance to move into the Champions League places.
Man City currently sit outside the top three on goal difference, but a win on Saturday would move them above Arsenal and level on points with their local rivals Manchester United, who sit in second place and do not play until Sunday.
The hosts have not lost a home league game since November 2021, and they will be looking to extend their unbeaten home run in the WSL to 14 matches at the weekend.
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After securing an extra-time victory in midweek, Arsenal will face West Ham United or Chelsea in the League Cup final.
While they will be pleased with Wednesday's cup result, they would have been disappointed to drop points against West Ham last weekend.
The Hammers held Arsenal to a goalless draw, which leaves them three points adrift of Man United and five points away from league leaders Chelsea, although the Gunners have a game in hand.
Jonas Eidevall's side will be targeting their first WSL title since the 2018-19 season, but while they have aspirations of claiming the top prize, they will be aware that their place in the top three is far from secure.
Prior to their away draw with West Ham, the Gunners had recorded eight consecutive away victories, and another win on Saturday would send the Arsenal squad into the international break in a buoyant mood.
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Team News
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Man City are expected to be without the services of Demi Stokes and Esme Morgan due to injury issues.
There are doubts over the availability of Alanna Kennedy and Laia Aleixandri, who were both appeared to pick up knocks in midweek.
With 10 league goals to her name, Khadija Shaw is the current WSL topscorer, and she will look to add to her tally when she leads the line on Saturday.
As for the visitors, they are still unable to call upon long-term injury absentees Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema.
January signing Sally D'Angelo came into the side for the League Cup semi-final, but the goalkeeper is expected to be replaced by Manuela Zinsberger.
After dropping out of the starting XI on Wednesday, Noelle Maritz, Steph Catley, Lina Hurtig and Blackstenius are set to return to the lineup.
Manchester City Women possible starting lineup:
Roebuck; Casparij, Houghton, Greenwood, Ouahabi; Hasegawa, Castellanos, Angeldahl; Kelly, Hemp, Shaw
Arsenal Women possible starting lineup:
Zinsberger; Maritz, Wubben-Moy, Rafaelle, Catley; Maanum, Williamson, Little; Foord, Blackstenius, Hurtig,
We say: Manchester City Women 1-1 Arsenal Women
After being involved in a close-fought contest in midweek, we expect Saturday's game to be another cagey encounter, which we think will result in the spoils being shared.
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