Previewing LCFC Women’s Arsenal Encounter On Filbert Way
Sitting 11th in the top-flight standings, but eight points clear of Birmingham City, Leicester aim to recover from a heavy defeat to Chelsea last time out, while their opponents are gunning for the league title.
Ahead of this weekend’s fixture, which takes place at King Power Stadium, LCFC.com provides everything you need to know about the latest encounter with the capital club…
The Foxes camp
Injuries continue to hit LCFC Women’s camp, leaving the Foxes without the likes of Abbie McManus, Ashleigh Plumptre and Molly Pike for the visit of Arsenal.
City have four games remaining to put more points on the board and secure WSL football for a second season, tackling Manchester City, Reading and Tottenham Hotspur in their final three.
The opposition
Arsenal led the way in the WSL for the majority of the season but surrendered top spot in the division last weekend, now sitting a point behind Chelsea with five games to play. Jonas Eidevall’s side took four points from the title holders, winning at Emirates Stadium ahead of a goalless draw on the road.
The Gunners, defeated just once in the league this season - to Birmingham City - have not played a league fixture since 13 March, when they defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0, followed by progression into the last four of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup and a two-legged UEFA Women’s Champions League Quarter-Final defeat to Wolfsburg.
In the dugout
It’s been a promising start to Jonas Eidevall’s Arsenal tenure, taking over from Joe Montemurro, who departed at the end of the 2020/21 campaign. With seven wins from his first eight WSL matches, the Gunners instantly became the team to beat under the Swedish coach, who scooped the Barclays FA Women’s Super League Manager of the Month award in October 2021.
The 38-year-old 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
It’s hard to look past Vivianne Miedema as Arsenal’s main attacking threat. The Dutch forward remains the WSL’s all-time leading goalscorer, scoring 10 goals and providing six assists in the competition this term – only Chelsea’s Sam Kerr has more.
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 January signing Stina Blackstenius made an instant impact. The Sweden forward found the net on four occasions in her first six games.
Talking points
Manager Lydia Bedford told the media: "Arsenal are a good footballing side. They are a team that want to play to feet. They are going to possess the ball really well. We know they play quite expansive football. From the style of football that they play, we expect them to have a lot of the ball. We know we are going to need to be really resilient and defend compactly, to be able to make that tricky for them, but we’re ready for that.“
Sam Tierney also spoke during the pre-match press conference: "It’s a game that even before last Sunday’s result, people probably wouldn’t have had us down to get anything from. There’s no pressure other than what we want to achieve from it and how hard we want to be to break down. We’ll go out there with the mindset that we can work hard and we can make it a difficult game for them. We won’t fear them."
Last time out
Lydia Bedford’s first game in charge of the Foxes was away to Arsenal in December. The hosts won 4-0 at Meadow Park, with Jordan Nobbs and Vivianne Miedema moving the Gunners into a two-goal lead.
After Jemma Purfield’s first-half red card reduced Leicester to 10 players, a late brace from Frida Maanum rounded off the scoring.
Ticket news
Tickets are currently on general sale for the clash on Filbert Way, priced at £7 for adults, £3.50 for over-65s and under-18s and free for under-8s.
All tickets for this fixture will be located in the West Stand and emailed to the lead purchaser, who will be required to print the tickets at home. Away fans are advised to purchase in block A1. For more information and to buy now, click HERE.