Manchester United are currently trailing Tottenham 2-1 at Leigh Sports Village. If Marc Skinner’s side lose and Arsenal manage at least a draw this afternoon, United will be out of contention for a Champions League place.
You can follow the match with The Guardian’s minute-by-minute report below.
Bristol City suffered a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool yesterday, while Brighton lost 2-1 to Everton at the Amex Stadium on Friday.
Manchester City are set to face West Ham this afternoon with kick off at 2:15pm GMT.
Discussing his team’s title hopes during a pre-match press conference, Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall explained: “I think it’s about the mentality to always do your best, to never give up. That’s one thing. My assistant coach Aaron, who’s from Australia, he showed me the video of the Australian short skater in the Winter Olympics that was last in the final and then everybody slips and he’s going first over the line. The thing is, are you ready? If someone else slips, are you ready or have you already given up because you didn’t think that was going to happen? I think it’s a mindset thing and that’s why it’s so important to always do your best. You can’t really control what other teams do and there are a lot of external factors that you can’t control either, but what you can control is your own actions and in business they call that to have return on luck to make sure that you position yourself so that if you get in that moment, will your return be a lot? That’s what I think we need to work with.”
Lotte Wubben-Moy, arguably Arsenal’s player of the season so far, has been left out of Jonas Eidevall’s squad for this afternoon’s match. The reason for her absence is currently unknown. A huge miss for the hosts.
Steph Catley will likely step in to partner Leah Williamson in the centre of Arsenal’s defence.
Frida Maanum returns to the Arsenal bench for the first time since collapsing at the Continental Cup final last month. Maanum has been monitored by club doctors in recent weeks while easing back into training.
Vivianne Miedema also returns to the squad following her knee injury. Teenager Katie Reid, who made her WSL debut against Bristol last weekend, has been named on the bench once again.
Frida Maanum of Arsenal warms up prior to the Barclays Women's Super League match between Arsenal and Leicester City Photograph: Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC/Getty Images
Arsenal starting XI: Manuela Zinsberger; Emily Fox, Leah Williamson, Steph Catley, Katie McCabe; Kim Little (C), Victoria Pelova, Beth Mead, Caitlin Foord; Alessia Russo, Stina Blackstenius. Substitutes: Sabrina D’Angelo, Naomi Williams, Laia Codina, Teyah Goldie, Laura Wienroither, Katie Reid, Frida Maanum, Cloé Lacasse, Vivianne Miedema.
🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️
🇳🇱 Victoria Pelova makes her 50th club appearance 🇮🇪 @katie_mccabe11 starts at the back 🇸🇪 @SBlackstenius leads the line
Hello hello and welcome to coverage of today’s WSL clash between Arsenal and Leicester City.
Over 40,000 tickets have been sold for this afternoon’s match at the Emirates Stadium as Jonas Eidevall’s side look to nail down a Champions League spot. The hosts head into this game off the back of a huge 5-0 win over Bristol City, so confidence will be high.
Leicester have faced plenty of challenges both on and off the pitch in recent weeks amid the investigation and dismissal of ex-manager Willie Kirk, but the team have dealt with them exceptionally well. Jennifer Foster’s side will now be eager to bounce back from a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham after narrowly missing out on a place in the FA Cup final last weekend.
Kick off is at 2pm BST - you won’t want to miss it!
