After a one-month break, Nick Cushing’s side will be looking to continue where they left off at the end of May by stretching their winning run to five.
Goalkeeper Karen Bardsley is eagerly anticipating the clash after such a long interlude and is relishing the challenge of competing against a new opponent.
“I’m really excited to be back with City,” she smiled. “It feels like ages since we played Everton so we’re looking forward to getting back playing.
“We haven’t played Birmingham yet so that will be another challenge for us. I’m expecting a physical game and a hard-fought battle for both sides.
“They’ve got great players all over the pitch. They’ll be disciplined and they’re dangerous going forward - but then again, so are we.
“I think it will be a case of ‘whoever wants it more’.
“We’re taking our preparation really seriously, the anticipation’s building and we’re really looking forward to it.”
With nine league games remaining, Bardsley also refused to rule out the possibility of a domestic title for the Blues in their debut season in the FA Women’s Super League, but admitted there is plenty work to be done for that feat to be achieved.
“I don’t think a top-of-the-table finish is unrealistic,” she declared. “We didn’t start very well but we managed to finish the second half of the season on a high.
“We’ve put ourselves in a pretty decent position and we’re in control of our own destiny. If we can pick up where we left off, it would be an amazing start and hopefully that would carry on into the rest of the season.
“We’ve just got to make sure we show up week in, week out and take care of business.
“We can definitely get top spot if we want it. It comes down to us in the end.”
Kick-off for the top-of-the-table clash is at 2pm at Solihull Moors. We’ll have live updates from our official Twitter account, plus a match report after full-time.
