Arsenal v City: Match preview | OneFootball

Everything you need to know ahead of City's FA Women's Super League trip to Arsenal...

When and where

The game takes place at Meadow Park on Sunday 26 September, with kick-off scheduled for 18:45 (UK).

In the UK, the match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Football, while you can also keep up to date with all the action via our dedicated matchday Twitter: @ManCityWomen.

The game is also available to view online around the world via the FA Player, but to find out if your country is showing Sunday’s match on TV, check out our listings at the foot of this page.

Following the full time whistle, a comprehensive match report and post-match reaction from Gareth Taylor will be available to view on mancity.com and our official app.

Should you miss the action entirely, a full-match replay will also be available to view with a CITY+ subscription from midday the following day.

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Ticket information

Tickets are on sale via Arsenal's official website. Ticket information can be found here.

Team News

City will be without Steph Houghton. The City and England captain was forced to withdraw from England duty with an Achilles injury, missing the Lionesses’ victories over Luxembourg and North Macedonia, and will not be available to face her former Club this weekend.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Head Coach Gareth Taylor confirmed the centre-back is set for a spell on the sidelines, adding to an already-lengthy injury list.

Taylor also shared an update on Alex Greenwood, who was forced off in England’s midweek win, plus Hayley Raso, who missed international duty with a shoulder injury, and Esme Morgan, who was stretchered off against Tottenham Hotspur with a lower leg fracture.

However, there was brighter news with Caroline Weir set to return this weekend and Keira Walsh recovering well from a calf injury.

Karen Bardsley (hamstring) is also yet to feature this campaign, while Lucy Bronze (knee), Ellie Roebuck (calf) and Chloe Kelly (ACL) remain longer-term absentees.

Gareth Taylor preview

“It’s a tough but good game for us to have. Against Arsenal last season, we were successful in terms of result and the way we performed.

“That’s the encouraging part for us. We’re a bit light in certain areas but I see it as a really good challenge for us.

“I think people might look at it as a good time to play us but for us, it’s the wounded animal – that’s what I want to see from my players: fight determination…

“Sometimes, it’s not pretty but we need to do that to the opposition as well. It’s a good opportunity for us to show what we’re about. We’re looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s important we stay in the hunt and we need to go out and impose ourselves on the opposition.

“We always go out to try and win. I’ve never played to draw. That’s not me being foolish and there’ll be moments when it looks more like a draw that we’ll need to make sure we secure that – of course, our game management is important – but the plan is to go out and win the game.

“There’s nothing to fear. Arsenal are a good team but we are as well. A draw wouldn’t be a disaster but we go out to try and win if we can.”

WATCH: Taylor welcomes siege mentality ahead of Arsenal test

Last time out

City's first home FA Women's Super League game of 2021/22 ended in defeat, as Tottenham Hotspur produced a spirited second half comeback to snatch victory at the Academy Stadium.

A controversial 86th-minute winner, which seemed to strike Rosella Ayane's hand before bouncing off the post and in off Karima Benameur Taieb, clinched a dramatic win for the visitors, after Rachel Williams had cancelled out Lauren Hemp's sixth-minute opener.

It proved an all-round disappointing night for Gareth Taylor's side, as youngster Esme Morgan was also stretchered off with an ankle injury, following a collision with Ashleigh Neville.

Previous encounter

Back in February, Lauren Hemp’s far post header ten minutes from time saw City become the first away side to beat Arsenal in more than a year.

Ellen White was on the scoresheet for the fourth match in a row with a typically sumptuous finish off the bar from Chloe Kelly’s searching ball before the 25-minute mark.

The hosts hit back just before the hour when Caitlin Foord finished off a swift counter, but Hemp was on hand late on to earn City a sixth win on the spin.

WATCH: Match highlights: Arsenal 1-2 City

Form guide

City head into the game in disappointing form, having fallen to successive home defeats (for the first time at the Academy Stadium) to Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur.

We sit seventh in the FA WSL table with one win and one defeat.

Arsenal are in second place with a 100% record from their two games - a 3-2 win over Chelsea and 4-0 triumph at Reading. The Gunners also reached the inaugural group stages of the Champions League, having negotiated the qualifying rounds with convincing wins over Okzhetpes, PSV and Slavia Prague.

Stats

● City have won our last three FA WSL matches against Arsenal - all by a 2-1 scoreline. The run marks the Gunners' joint-longest losing streak against us in the competition, alongside our meetings between August 2015 and September 2016. Our nine victories against the North London side are also the joint-most they have lost against an opponent (Chelsea the other).

● None of the 15 league matches between the two sides have ended as a draw, with nine wins for City and six for the Gunners (the most defeats we have suffered against a single team). It is the most times a fixture has been played without there ever being a draw in FA WSL history.

● City have won our last eight away FA WSL matches by an aggregate score of 27-2, keeping a clean sheet in our last five on the road. The only side to ever keep six clean sheets in a row away from home in the WSL was Chelsea between December 2020 and March 2021.

● Arsenal have taken 31 points from the last 33 available in the WSL (P11 W10 D1 L0), only dropping points in a 0-0 draw at home to Aston Villa in their final game of last season. The Gunners have won 19 of their last 23 home league matches (D2 L2), though their last defeat on home soil came against City in February.

● Ellen White, who scored 12 goals in 38 FA WSL appearances for Arsenal between 2011 and 2013, has scored seven goals in 11 appearances in the WSL against her former side, the joint-most any player has against the Gunners in the competition’s history, along with Toni Duggan.

● Lauren Hemp has been directly involved in 22 goals in her last 21 WSL starts (11 goals & 11 assists), a run that includes two goals in three starts against Arsenal.

● Beth Mead registered two assists last time out against Reading, taking her total assists in the Women’s Super League to 32. She has now only three assists behind the all-time record holder (Karen Carney, 35).

● Both Arsenal’s Nikita Parris and Chelsea’s Fran Kirby come into this weekend with 49 Women’s Super League goals – whoever scores next will become only the third player in the competition’s history to reach a half century of goals, after Vivianne Miedema and Ellen White.

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