Foxes Face The Citizens On Filbert Way
The Foxes were beaten 3-1 by Everton in the Continental Tyres League Cup in midweek and have not featured in the WSL since a 2-0 reverse at Chelsea on 10 October ahead of the international break.
Find out everything you need to know about the fixture below…
The Foxes camp
Hannah Cain will miss the rest of the 2021/22 season after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament last week. The LCFC Women midfielder suffered the injury during an extended break from competitive action having made her senior Wales debut.
There is better news elsewhere on the injury front with several players continuing to step up their recoveries. Charlie Devlin was introduced as a late substitute against Everton and both Sophie Barker and Abbi Grant were named on the bench for the clash at Pirelli Stadium. All three are in contention to be involved on Sunday.
In the dugout
Taking over from Nick Cushing in May 2020, manager Gareth Taylor won his first trophy as manager six months later, lifting the FA Cup after a 3-1 victory over Everton in the final at Wembley Stadium. The Citizens narrowly missed out on the WSL title last season, though, finishing two points behind Chelsea.
Representing the likes of Crystal Palace, Sheffield United, Wrexham and Manchester City during his playing career, the former Wales international boasts 575 appearances and 142 goals throughout his domestic career. Taylor’s coaching career at City began in 2011 and he became academy manager five year later.
The opposition
Injuries to key players such as Ellie Roebuck, Steph Houghton and Lucy Bronze have contributed to a slow start to the WSL campaign for Gareth Taylor’s side, who sit ninth in the current standings.
They have not tasted victory in the league since a 4-0 win over Everton on the opening day of the season and were knocked out of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup by Chelsea last weekend, following a 3-0 reverse at Academy Stadium.
However, after welcoming back the likes of Keira Walsh and Ellen White in recent weeks, the Citizens returned to winning ways in midweek with a 3-0 success over FA Women’s Championship leaders Durham in the Continental Tyres League Cup. Goals from Filippa Angeldahl, Caroline Weir and Janine Beckie made it two wins from two for City in Group B.
Ones to watch
Although she has only found the net on two occasions in league and cup so far this term, England international forward Ellen White is an imposing presence for any defence and could pose a significant threat should she lead the line. She is joint-second in her country’s all-time top goalscorer list.
Midfielder Caroline Weir has scored some spectacular goals since arriving at the club from Liverpool in 2018, including a 2020 FIFA Puskas Award nomination for her strike against Manchester United. The Scotland international scored eight league goals and provided three assists last term, bringing up a century of Man City appearances in midweek.
Georgia Stanway is one of England’s most promising and versatile young players, with 23 senior England caps to her name. The talented 22-year-old also represented Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics and won the PFA’s Young Player of the Year back in 2019. Stanway is in contention to play on Sunday after serving a three-match suspension.
Talking points
Shannon O’Brien told the media: “It’s just about focusing on what we can do and just having belief from the first minute that we can do something, start the game quick and start the game on it. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully, if we start like that, we can get something from the game.”
In his pre-match press conference, Jonathan Morgan said: “They are obviously going through a moment that they are not used to, based on their history and the amount of success that they’ve had. But at the same time, they are still going to be hard to play even when not at their full potential at this moment in time.”
Ticket news
Match tickets can be purchased online at LCFC.com/tickets. They are priced at £7 for adults, £3.50 for seniors and under-18s and free for under-8s.
Car parking is available on Car Park C, along with accessible spaces in the short stay car park. Car parking, priced at £5 per space, cannot be purchased on the gate - it must be pre-paid via LCFC.com.
Turnstiles will be opened at 12:30pm, 90 minutes prior to kick-off.
Last time out
Although this is the first meeting between the two sides in the WSL, they did face off in last month’s rearranged 2020/21 Vitality Women’s FA Cup Quarter-Final at Academy Stadium.
Despite a goalless first half, the hosts ran riot in the second period, scoring six goals without reply, including a hat-trick for Khadija Shaw.
All times GMT.