After three wins on the spin, next up in the Women’s Super League is an away clash against a revitalised Leicester City side.
With fixtures coming thick and fast, Jonas Eidevall’s side head to the King Power Stadium on Sunday evening looking to extend our unbeaten run against the Foxes.
Last time around
A textbook Frida Maanum finish was enough to see off Leicester last time around at Meadow Park, the ball curling perfectly into the top corner.
Maanum was also on the scoresheet for our last visit to the King Power Stadium, which finished as a comprehensive 4-0 victory. Stina Blackstenius and Caitlin Foord also bagged goals that evening, with Steph Catley scoring directly from a corner kick much to her own surprise and delight.
A fresh start for the Foxes
After dabbling in a relegation battle last season, Leicester City have looked invigorated at the beginning of this campaign, securing back-to-back wins against Bristol City and Everton, and holding Manchester United to a commendable draw at Leigh Sports Village. Willie Kirk even picked up a WSL Manager of the Month award for the Foxes’ bright start.
Their strong summer recruitment has already paid off. Finnish midfielder Jutta Rantala and German forward Lena Petermann are the side’s joint top scorers so far, and Janina Leitzig has proven herself a safe pair of hands between the posts.
Facts and stats
- We have never lost or conceded to Leicester City, winning our four WSL clashes by an aggregate score of 14-0
- Between May and October, the Foxes won three consecutive matches for the first time ever. Since that 1-0 win over Everton, however, they have failed to win their last three games
- We have won our past three WSL fixtures by a 2-1 scoreline
- Our Gunners have beaten Leicester by at least a four goal margin in our past two away fixtures, winning 4-0 last season
- This year, however, the Foxes have only conceded six WSL goals at the King Power Stadium. Between 2021 and 2022, they conceded 43 from 16 home matches
- Frida Maanum has scored four goals in four appearances against Leicester City, averaging a goal every 57 minutes against the Foxes
- Back when Alessia Russo was playing for Manchester United, she had five goal involvements in two starts against Willie Kirk’s side
What the managers say
Eidevall on Leicester: “The way that they have recruited and the way that they have played since January last year, they are competing in every game and are a really hard team to play.
“They obviously play with a really high pace, high intensity, pressing football and now the manager has had two transfer windows he has been able to bring in players who fit into that style and I think you can see that more and more as well. We can definitely expect a really competitive game.” Read every word of Jonas’ presser
Kirk on us: “I think this is a really good game to follow after the Liverpool game. I spoke to the team about it yesterday; you can’t feel sorry for yourself and you can’t hide, otherwise you’ll feel even worse.
“We were frustrated after the Liverpool game because we never performed to the standard that we set in the early stages of the season, but this weekend gives us the opportunity to put in a strong performance in front of our home crowd.”
Match officials
Referee: Stacey Fullicks
Assistants: Emily Carney and Magda Golba
Fourth official: Paul Howard
Team news
With three matches in eight days, Eidevall heavily rotated the side in midweek against Bristol City, bringing summer signing Kyra Cooney-Cross and Kathrine Kuhl into the starting lineup. Both young midfielders put on impressive displays against the Robins and helped us secure a 3-1 victory.
Laia Codina was ruled out for the midweek Conti Cup tie and our head coach hasn’t provided an update on her fitness.
Leah Williamson, Laura Wienroither and Teyah Goldie continue their ACL rehabilitation at London Colney.
How to watch
The action at the King Power Stadium kicks off at 6.45pm (UK). Those supporters not making the trip up to Leicester can watch the match live on Sky Sports, with coverage starting at 6.45pm.
Copyright 2023 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
