WSL Preview: Man City look to keep ahead of Chelsea with win over Spurs

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Manchester City Women celebrate Steph Houghton's goal vs Everton at Goodison Park | Copyright: Kevin Warburton

Manchester City will welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the Academy Stadium on Sunday evening in their first home match of the 2021/22 season. 

Both sides won their opening games against Everton and Birmingham City respectively last weekend. The attendance at both games was boosted by the fact they were hosted at Premier League grounds. 

More than 10,000 spectators were present across both venues – 5,998 at Goodison Park for Everton vs Man City, and 4,681 for Spurs vs Birmingham City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Manchester City

The hosts will be looking to get back to winning wins after a disappointing exit in the Champions League midweek and remain top of the table heading into the international break. 

After a strong start to the season beating Everton 4-0 on the opening day, City will be hopeful to continue that success and earn maximum points on Sunday evening. 

Gareth Taylor’s side must take advantage of Chelsea’s early loss after they suffered a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal.

Manchester City’s Steph Houghton celebrating with teammates after scoring their side’s fourth goal during the FA Women’s Super League match vs Everton at Goodison Park, Liverpool | Copyright: Martin Rickett

Tottenham Hotspur

The visitors head into the game off the back of 1-0 victory over Birmingham City last weekend. Kit Graham scored the only goal of the game.

Spurs will be more than confident that they can challenge Man City after having a long period of preparation. They will also be looking to take advantage of the lack of pre-season the hosts have had as well as their stacked injury list. 

Rehanne Skinner has also had a successful transfer window, bringing in eight new players – including Australian international Kyah Simon on a two-year deal. 

Tottenham Hotspur players celebrate their opening goal scored by Kit Graham during the Barclays FA Women’s Super League match between Tottenham Hotspur Women and Birmingham City Women at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 04, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Predicted XIs

Man City

Taieb; Morgan, Houghton, Kennedy, Greenwood; Coombs, Weir, Scott; Beckie, Hemp, White. 

Spurs

Korpela; Ale, Bartrip, Zadorsky; Williams, Clemaron, Green, Neville; Graham, Percival, Naz. 

Team News

Man City

Man City are still missing some of their key players through injuries. Ellie Roebuck and Keira Walsh are recovering from calf problems whilst Lucy Bronze is working her way back from an operation.

Chloe Kelly is a long-term absentee as she continues with her rehabilitation programme after suffering an ACL injury last season. 

Ellen White and Georgia Stanway could make an appearance in the starting lineup having played a considerable amount of minutes in previous games. 

Alanna Kennedy and Filippa Angeldahl are in contention to be selected, with the Australian the more likely due to trained for a longer period. However there could be a debut for the midfielder as her international clearance came through. 

Bunny Shaw is available for selection despite being substituted at half-time during midweek. The striker has suffered with a couple of knocks but has trained ahead of the Spurs clash.

Spurs

The visitors are looking strong with a full squad heading to Manchester says head coach Rehanne Skinner. She provided the latest on new arrival Kyah Simon and last weekends match winner Kit Graham. 

Simon is “in a good place and is eager to get on” according to the boss. There is also the potential she will be handed her Spurs debut at the weekend after a short via delay. 

Kit Graham picked up a slight knock during the game against Birmingham but has since fully recovered and is available for selection. 

Where to watch

The game kicks off at 18:45 BST and will be available to watch via Sky Sports Football/Main Event/Showcase channels for UK viewers. 

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