All The Details On LCFC Women's Gunners Trip
The Barclays FA Women’s Super League resumes following the international break with league leaders Arsenal welcoming the Foxes to Borehamwood as the visitors search for their first points in the division.
Before the clash gets underway, take a look at the key information you need to know…
The Foxes camp
Lydia Bedford is preparing for her first game in charge of the team after officially starting her new role as manager on Monday. Assisted by Brent Hills, the England youth coach will be aiming for a fast start as she looks to move Leicester off the bottom of the WSL table.
City enter the fixture off the back of collecting two points from their Continental Tyres League Cup encounter with Manchester United at Leigh Sports Village last weekend. Sophie Howard and Natasha Flint found the net in normal time before Demi Lambourne made two saves in the resulting shootout as the visitors won 4-3 on penalties.
The opposition
Since beating title-holders Chelsea 3-2 on the opening day of the campaign, Arsenal have not looked back, scoring at least four times in their next three league matches without conceding a single goal, with wins over Reading (4-0), Manchester City (5-0) and Aston Villa (4-0).
Everton, West Ham United and Manchester United have also been convincingly dispatched in recent weeks, though Tottenham Hotspur are the only side to take a point from their north London rivals and the first team to breach the Gunners’ defence since the opening day when they drew 1-1 in in November.
The league leaders have, however, suffered back-to-back defeats, losing the 2020/21 Vitality Women’s FA Cup Final 3-0 to Chelsea on Sunday, before a 4-0 defeat at home to Barcelona in the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage.
In the dugout
Jonas Eidevall’s start to his Arsenal tenure, which began in June 2021, could not have gone much better with seven wins from his first eight WSL matches, remaining unbeaten and top of the table.
The 38-year-old Swedish coach previously managed Lunds BK and FC Rosengård’s women’s side in his home country, winning three Damallsvenskan titles and the Swedish Cup in between a spell working as assistant coach at Helsingborgs IF.
Ones to watch
There is international star quality throughout the Gunners’ squad, but it’s hard to look past Vivianne Miedema as their main attacking threat. The Dutch forward was recently named the BBC’s Women’s Footballer of the Year 2021, the latest in a host of accolades for the 25-year-old, who is the WSL’s all-time leading goalscorer. She holds the same record for her country, too, and broke the record for most goals scored at a single Olympic Games in Tokyo this year. Miedema has already netted 13 times for Arsenal this term.
Arsenal brought in the likes of Nikita Parris and Manu Iwabuchi over the summer, but it is veteran midfielder Kim Little who continues to produce consistent performances in the middle of the park, while versatile left-back Katie McCabe has scored some outrageous goals in 2021/22, earning her the WSL Player and Goal of the Month awards for October.
Talking points
In her first pre-match presser, Lydia Bedford told the media: “Arsenal are unbeaten in the league this season and they are very good side with very good players. But you want to be challenged against the best opponents, so this weekend provides a very good opportunity for the girls.”
Defender Ashleigh Plumptre commented: “We have a change of management, but all the targets are still the same. For us as a group, we bring the work ethic and look to apply everything that we’re being coached.”
Last time out
Although this is the first time the two sides have clashed in the WSL, they did last meet back in 2008, when Arsenal triumphed 7-0 on their travels in the FA WNL Cup. Julie Fleeting scored a hat-trick for the away side.
Ticket news
Match tickets must be purchased directly from the home club online, HERE, with unreserved seating in the West Stand or standing in the North Bank and South Terrace available. Adults are priced at £8, with juniors and seniors £4.
All times GMT.