Everything you need to know ahead of City’s FA Women's Super League trip to Arsenal.

WHEN AND WHERE

The game will take place on Sunday 7 February in a 14:30 (UK) kick-off at Meadowpark, Borehamwood.

Broadcast info

The game will be shown live on BT Sport 1.

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You can also follow the action via our dedicated matchday Twitter account: @ManCityWomen

RULES

For safety reasons in the wake of the pandemic, the fixture will be played behind-closed-doors.

In line with current protocols, additional balls will be placed at intervals around the pitch.

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form guide

City have won seven of our last eight games in all competitions and head into the clash on the back of Sunday’s 4-0 win over West Ham United.

Arsenal have played just once since the turn of the year, drawing 1-1 with Reading. The Gunners have won just three of their last seven games in all competitions, including a penalty shoot-out triumph over Tottenham Hotspur.

Team news

Gareth Taylor has received a squad boost ahead of Sunday’s FA Women’s Super League trip to Arsenal with three players back in contention.

Janine Beckie, Esme Morgan and Jess Park are set to return for the crunch clash at Borehamwood, having missed last weekend’s 4-0 triumph over West Ham United.

However, the game could come too soon for Sam Mewis and Demi Stokes, who have not featured for City since December.

Gareth Taylor preview

“They are a good team. They have got good players. It is always going to be a really highly competitive game.

“We have shown some decent form. We are scoring goals and they always have the ability to score goals. We have just overtaken them in goals scored.

“They had a purple patch early in the season of high-scoring games. They are dangerous. We need to be ready for it.

“We just have to win the game. Staying in the game early on is important. This team has showed real resilience and managing the game in the early parts will be important.

“You gain an advantage being at home and we need to go with a different mentality, which we have done in away games.

“I said previously: these are big games. It is important to stay in the hunt if we want to maintain the challenge and the good situation we are in currently.

“Across the WSL, teams are looking at the crunch part of the season and these games will tell us where we are and where we are going.”

Ellie Roebuck preview

“It’s shown over the past few years it’s a tough place to go but I keep saying that we’re building something pretty special and we’re building a lot of momentum with the way we’ve been playing.

“They’ve not played for a while and we’re really getting into the rhythm of things. We had good momentum going into the Christmas break and we look to have continued that now.

“For us, we’ll just focus on ourselves. We trust the process and the plan. We’ll work hard this week, go there and hopefully, we’ll get a result.”

Ellie Roebuck in training

Last meeting

City left it late to snatch all three points against the Gunners with Caroline Weir’s 94th-minute strike earning a deserved 2-1 victory at the Academy Stadium.

The Scottish international got the goal that her performance deserved when she opened up her body and curled home from the edge of the box for her first league strike of the season.

Vivianne Miedema had put the visitors ahead within three minutes with a typically clinical finish before Sam Mewis’ second goal in the space of four days hauled us level just after the half hour.

But it was Weir who made the decisive contribution with her dramatic stoppage time winner, hauling Gareth Taylor’s side to within a single point of the WSL top three.

WATCH: Match highlights: City 2-1 Arsenal

LAST TIME OUT

City’s excellent home league run continued with a comfortable 4-0 win over West Ham.

Goals from Caroline Weir, Georgia Stanway, Ellen White and Rose Lavelle extended our record-breaking streak to 28, whilst earning our fifth successive FA Women’s Super League victory.

The triumph also maintained our 100% record against the Hammers with five from five in all competitions, keeping Gareth Taylor‘s side in title contention.

There was further cause for celebration, as January recruit Abby Dahlkemper was handed her debut, while Aoife Mannion also celebrated her long-awaited return from injury, making her first appearance since October 2019 following a lengthy spell of absence with an ACL injury.

WATCH: FA WSL highlights: City 4-0 West Ham United

Stats

  • Arsenal and City have faced off 14 times in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League but have never drawn, with eight wins for City and six for Arsenal. It’s the most played fixture in the competition’s history not to have been drawn.
  • City have won each of our last two league meetings with Arsenal and could beat them in three straight league games for the first time since September 2016. Both of those wins came on home soil; City have actually lost our last three away league matches against the Gunners.
  • Arsenal have lost just two of their last 36 home matches in the WSL (W30 D4), and both of those losses were against Chelsea (January 2019 and January 2020).
  • City’s open play possessions have started, on average, 51 metres from their own goal in this season’s WSL. This is the largest average distance of any side this campaign.
  • Chloe Kelly has assisted five league goals since the turn of the year - the most of any FA WSL player. The only players with as many FA WSL assists over the whole season (six) are Arsenal pair Katie McCabe (seven) and Beth Mead (six).

FURTHER READING

News about Arsenal v Man City

Arsenal v City: Taylor on team news

Gareth Taylor has received a squad boost ahead of Sunday’s FA Women’s Super League trip to Arsenal with three players back in contention. Read more