'Key Player' Missing For LCFC Women’s Chelsea Clash
- LCFC Women host Chelsea at King Power Stadium on Sunday (3pm kick-off)
- The Foxes return to Barclays FA Women’s Super League following a short break
- A key squad member has been added to the injury list, says Lydia Bedford
- The majority of the team are fit and raring to go against the Blues
The Foxes entertain Emma Hayes’ side in a 3pm kick-off at King Power Stadium on Sunday, meeting for the third time in 2021/22 following two fixtures in the capital earlier this campaign.
Returning to Barclays FA Women’s Super League action for the first time since a narrow defeat by Everton, Bedford revealed during Thursday afternoon’s virtual pre-match press conference that she will not have a full squad to select from.
Fresh injuries are set to rule players out of facing the Blues, but unlikely to add to City’s long-term absentee list, which includes the likes of Hannah Cain and Jess Sigsworth (both ACL), as well as Lachante Paul (knee).
The manager told the media: “We do have one key member of the squad who is going to be out at the weekend at this moment in time, but other than that, everyone is looking pretty fit and ready to go.
“That’s an injury that will hopefully just see them out of this weekend.”
While the week’s break from competitive fixtures provided a chance to regroup and rebuild fitness levels with lighter training sessions at the Club’s base at Belvoir Drive, it also allows for more classroom-based work to hone in on the tactical aspects of their game, in preparation for a run of fixtures against top-four sides.
“What’s been fantastic is that it’s given us a real solid period of time to really reflect on some of the things that we’ve done really well and build upon those,” the 34-year-old continued.
“Initially for us, it’s not a weekend of being fully away. It’s been more about our principles, in terms of how we want to play. It’s just an opportunity to embed those principles in a variety of different practices, to help the players reflect on what we’ve been doing really well and be in a good place to take that into the next three games.
“We’ve been working hard over the last week or so to focus on some statistics that we feel will help us in key areas against Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City and give the players a real focus point for what we take pride in when we’re defending, which I think will help us going forward.”