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When and where

Gareth Taylor’s side welcome the Blues to the Academy Stadium on Sunday 27 March, with kick-off scheduled for 14:00 (UK).

The game is available to watch live on the FA Player, while you can also follow minute-by-minute updates and keep across the key moments from the Academy Stadium over on Twitter: @ManCityWomen.

A detailed match report and reaction from Gareth Taylor and players alike will also be made available soon after the final whistle, while highlights and a full-match replay can be accessed from 12:00 on Monday 28 March.

Ticket Information

There’s still time for you to purchase your ticket for Sunday’s clash.

For a full pricing list and further ticketing information, click here.

Team news

City have received a huge boost with the news Chloe Kelly will be back in contention next weekend.

The winger is yet to feature in the 2021/22 campaign, having suffered an ACL injury last May, and has been pushing for a return in recent weeks.

Due to the nature of the injury, her recovery has had to be managed carefully but Gareth Taylor says the forward is set to make a welcome comeback in our trip to West Ham a week on Saturday.

The Head Coach added the rest of the squad are coping well amidst a heavy run of fixtures with four games in 11 days.

Gareth Taylor preview

“Birmingham have [performed better against top sides. They were convincing against Arsenal in their win and I think they’re a team effectively playing for a bit of pride.

“I know Darren Carter from meeting him a few times. He’s passionate about changing things and establishing himself at Birmingham. They’ve got the right guy in place there but it takes time, it takes time to build things.

“What they will do is make it really difficult. They did for us before Christmas. We got the victory in the end through sheer perseverance and determination but we need to be right in the performance because they’ll make it difficult and the more they’re encouraged by continually being rewarded from stopping us playing, their tails will be up a little bit. We just need to manage what we do and understand probably what we’re going to face.

“I think when we look at them previously, they try to engage from our build-up so will come and press but once you get through that, if you don’t capitalise on that by hitting them through the spaces, they’ll block up and make it difficult.

“The unpredictability of it is the interesting part. We’re not really sure what they’ll do - if they’ll play five or they’ll play four. They’ve played five pretty much consistently. Let’s see... We’ve come up against Everton and eventually managed to break it down. That’s the challenge for the players.

“ they’re aware of the expectation in our performance and where the spaces will be. The knowledge, rhythm and tempo at the moment is pretty good. It’s a difficult game because Birmingham will make it difficult for us. We just need to focus on ourselves and do all the right things to be successful.

“We take one game at a time, and try not to look too far ahead or at what’s happening elsewhere. This finishes off a run of four home games. We’re looking forward to that and we’ve shown good rhythm and tempo in our play, as well as scoring goals.

“We need to focus on what we can affect and the thing we can affect is the next session and match. It’s as simple as that. We try to guide the players in that respect rather than trying to control the uncontrollables.”

WATCH: Taylor: Defensive partnerships blossoming

Previous Meeting

Ellen White’s close-range strike earned Manchester City a deserved last-gasp victory away to Birmingham in the FA Women’s Super League in December.

Making her first appearance since becoming England’s record goalscorer in the Women’s international break, the forward tapped home from Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw’s cutback to hand Gareth Taylor’s side a deserved three points at St Andrew’s.

An entertaining first half had twice seen City come from behind thanks to a Georgia Stanway stunner and powerful Lauren Hemp header.

And White’s vital contribution in a cagey second 45 was just rewards for a dogged display, which saw City grab successive wins in the WSL for the first time this season.

WATCH: FA WSL highlights: Birmingham 2-3 City

Form Guide

City come into Wednesday’s clash in sparking form, winning 15 of our last 17 matches in all competitions, including our last seven on the spin and Sunday’s 4-0 win over the Toffees.

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Birmingham have won just one league game all season - January’s 2-0 triumph over Arsenal - but have lost their last six in a row.

Stats

● After winning just three of our first nine FA WSL matches against Birmingham City (D3 L3), City have since won each of the last seven meetings between the two sides in the competition, and our last 11 at home. With 10 WSL wins over Birmingham, only versus Everton (12) have we won more games in the competition’s history.

● We won our 100th FA WSL match in Wednesday’s 4-0 win over Everton, becoming the third WSL side to reach that tally, after Arsenal (127) and Chelsea (115).

● Gareth Taylor‘s side have won more FA WSL points in 2022 than any other side (19 – W6 D1 L1), scoring more goals (18) than any other side this calendar year so far, while only Chelsea (1) have conceded fewer goals than City (2).

● We lost our first four WSL matches against fellow ‘City’ sides but have since lost one of our last 26 (W20 D5), winning our last 10 in a row by an aggregate score of 37-4.

● City have lost only three of our last 41 home games in the Women’s Super League (W31 D7), keeping a clean sheet on 23 occasions in this run, including in each of the last three in a row.

● No side has won more points from losing positions in the Women’s Super League this season than Taylor’s side (7).

● Birmingham have lost 11 of their last 12 games in the Women’s Super League, winning the other vs Arsenal in January (2-0). Indeed, the Blues have lost their last six in the competition, last having a longer such streak in October 2020 (8).

● Darren Carter’s side have conceded a league-high 43 goals in the Women’s Super League this season, also shipping a competition-high 29 goals in open play.

● Birmingham’s current run of seven consecutive FA WSL defeats against City is their longest ever losing run against any side in the competition. They have conceded 20 goals over those seven games while scoring only four times themselves.

● The St Andrew’s outfit have won just one of their last 32 matches in the league (D7 L24), with that victory coming against Arsenal in January, who were top of the table at the time (32 matches includes awarded defeat to Tottenham in January 2021).

● The visitors are currently winless in 15 away games in the FA WSL (D3 L12), losing each of their last five in a row (15 matches includes awarded defeat to Tottenham in January 2021). Only one side has ever gone on a longer winless run away from home in the competition – Yeovil Town between April 2017 and February 2019 (20 games).

● Birmingham have scored 11 goals in the FA WSL this season, with 10 of them coming from inside the box (91%). It’s the joint-highest percentage of goals from inside the penalty area for any side this season (Aston Villa also 10/11). Meanwhile, 19 of the 20 goals City have conceded this season have been scored in the box.

● Laura Coombs scored and assisted as a substitute against Everton on Wednesday, with her assist for Alex Greenwood and goal coming just 61 seconds apart. In scoring and assisting in her 12-minute cameo, she played the fewest minutes to achieve that in a FA WSL match.

● Ellen White has been directly involved in four goals in her four appearances against Birmingham for City in the WSL, scoring two and assisting two more.

● Caroline Weir has had a hand in four goals in her seven WSL appearances against Birmingham while playing for City (2 goals, 2 assists), having failed to score or assist in each of her previous 10 games against the Blues before her move to Manchester.