Manchester United boss Skinner expecting a tough fixture against struggling Brighton | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that he is expecting a really tough test from Brighton & Hove Albion when the pair meet at Broadfield Stadium this lunchtime.

There are 29 points that separate league leaders Manchester United and the second-bottom Seagulls in the Barclays Women’s Super League table but that doesn’t tell the full story. Under the guidance of interim head coach Amy Merricks, Brighton & Hove Albion are improving and they have already proved to be tough opponents for both Chelsea and Manchester City over the last month.

When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Manchester United boss Skinner said that he is expecting Brighton & Hove Albion to again be difficult to beat while the Broadfield pitch will present unique challenges.

“I think the pitch will be a factor for both teams,” Skinner said. “When you look at the game against Manchester City, it has got its challenges let’s say. That will be for both teams, especially given the way that Amy (Merricks) wants to play as well.

“I’ve been around the league long enough now to see what Amy does when she comes in and takes a team. She’s got really good qualities and the team are now much better organised, much more cohesive, so I am expecting a very difficult game.

“We are going to have to be at our very best and find different ways to score. Against Manchester City, they were a real threat and so, we can’t take this lightly at all.”

Manchester United have been one of the leading clubs in the title race all season but they have recently been joined at the league summit by neighbours Manchester City. Skinner sees The Cityzens as a major player in the title race but doesn’t think that they hold a huge advantage, even though they will play less games than Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea before the end of the season.

He said “Of course, they definitely are (major title challengers), any team in and around that situation are.

“Manchester City have a slight advantage because they are not in any of the other competitions but I watched the Arsenal performance (in the UWCL) and Bayern didn’t have an answer.

“The reality is that we have to play Manchester City, so we know what we have to do. It’s difficult but it’s exciting, we know we have to be almost perfect until the end of the season and so does everyone else. Although Manchester City don’t have that distraction (of playing in other competitions), I’m sure the teams in the FA Cup semi-finals and UWCL want those games to come anyway because we want to be successful in any competition we’re in.”

Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Brighton & Hove Albion kicks-off at 11.30am.