The midfielder – City’s deadline day signing and sixth recruit of the summer – has not yet featured for her new Club, having had to await international clearance.
However, speaking in his pre-match press conference, Head Coach Gareth Taylor has confirmed the paperwork has been completed and that Angeldahl could be set to make her home debut this weekend, as could Australian defender Alanna Kennedy.
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Ellen White and Georgia Stanway, who missed the Champions League trip to Real Madrid and have been named in England’s latest squad, are also available.
“They’re both in contention,” he said of Angeldahl and Kennedy. “Filippa has had her clearance come through. She’ll be available for Sunday, which is good news for us.
“We’ll check on training tomorrow and see where Filippa is. She’s had less training than Alanna.
“We just need to make sure we do right by these players. As much as we want them in and to get them that experience of playing for us, we need to make sure it’s the right time without rushing too soon.”
On White and Stanway, he added: “They’re in good spirit and health. Both have played minutes in the last two games.
“We had to do it that way but they’re in a good place and in contention for Sunday’s game.
“Going away with England will help us with them getting up to speed. Some players need gametime under their belt while others could probably do without it.
“We have some in like Janine [Beckie] – Canada aren’t taking a camp so she can work on specifics – but the majority will be on international duty.”
Taylor also provided an update on the rest of the squad, including the injured quartet of Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh, Ellie Roebuck and Chloe Kelly, admitting the England stars face lengthy spells on the sidelines.
“There’s nothing new to add,” he stated. “Pretty much everyone is okay.
“Lucy and Keira – also with Ellie – are obviously further down the line so there won’t be any immediate return. Chloe will be in the New Year.
“Keira and Ellie are probably the closest; then after that will be Lucy and Chloe further down the line.”
Wednesday night’s Champions League visit of Real Madrid also saw summer recruit Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw replaced at half-time – but Taylor allayed fears of any severe injury, explaining the switch was merely tactical.
“With Bunny, it was tactical,” he continued. “It was about looking to get Ellen on, who’s more up to speed in how we press and engage – and we improved.
“She’s carried a couple of little knocks. She trained today absolutely fine and pretty much everyone has come through from the other night, who will be ready and available so no issues there.”
Both City and Tottenham opened the 2021/22 FA Women’s Super League season with victory last weekend – City cruising to a 4-0 triumph at Everton’s Goodison Park and Spurs defeating Birmingham 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
While Taylor’s side hold an impressive record against the North London outfit, winning all three of our league encounters – and scoring at least three goals in each – Taylor has warned against complacency, with dropped points early in the season costing City the title last term.
Having been eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid on Wednesday, the Head Coach asserts the squad are ready to bounce back and give their all in every domestic competition.
“It will be a tough test [against Spurs],” he declared. “They got themselves a good three points against Birmingham, which was played in the men’s stadium as well – a good opportunity for them to showcase what they’re about.
“We’ve got a team that’ll be full of spirit, will make it difficult and we just need to focus on what we do well, be respectful, be attacking and do all the right things in our gameplay.
“We’ve been on an unbeaten run for a long time in the WSL. That’ll be crucial.
“Nothing has changed in our perspective really. We wanted to do well in the Champions League and go as far as we could but regardless, the brief was the same: we want to be competitive in all competitions.
“We were obviously disappointed [after Wednesday]. It had come at us really quickly, this qualifier.
“It was not ideal preparation – with what we had from the Olympics and then to go into a big Champions League game first game of the season is a bit crazy – but it is what it is.
“No pre-season games - these were our first three games... Nobody wants to be in that situation. We still need to own it but there are also facts involved which haven’t helped us.
“We’ve suffered because of that. We just weren’t as ready, fit and fluid as we’d wish.
“Today we’re a lot better. We got the emotion out a bit yesterday and we’ve recovered. We had a good training session and we’re focusing on the other domestic trophies.
“It’s a positive and gives us a good understanding of where we’re at and what we can achieve.
“We took the title to the final game and want to be there again in the final part of all competitions.
“The difference now is our real focus is on the remaining competitions. Nothing really changes from that point.”
