2
Manchester United women manager, Marc Skinner, told press he’s in a good mood ahead of the Manchester derby on Saturday.
In the reverse fixture, United lost at Old Trafford 3-1 but Skinner believes his United side can go toe-to-toe with the blue side of Manchester.
He said: “We’ve got to go to the Etihad, a very difficult place, against a very difficult team, but we’ve got to try to win the game of football.
Laying out his strategy for winning the game, Skinner focussed on atmosphere and fortune as the important ingredients.
“We’ve got to use all of the derby tension, all of those factors, but we’ve got to get to a place where we can try to win the game. Not many teams do it and that’s what we’ve got to break. We’ve done it before and that’s what we’re aiming to do again.
“You’ve got to have a bit of luck. But also we’ve got to be at the very best of our performance. If we do that, I have no doubt we can beat any team. So the reality is we’ve got to put ourselves in that elite performance on the game day. And if we do that, I’ll believe in us to be able to win the game.”
It will be the third time this season that the two sides have faced each other with City coming out on top in the previous two meetings.
At the start of the year, United travelled to the Joie stadium in the final group game of the Conti Cup and were narrowly beaten by City.
“We shouldn’t have lost the game. I thought it was a fantastic performance from us. There are loads of factors that are different to a normal game in a derby, but it’s part and parcel of what makes it exciting. I absolutely, wholeheartedly believe in my team to be able to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City.”
Gareth Taylor’s City are in good form and sit just behind Chelsea on goal difference at the top of the table so it will be a tough game for United.
Leah Galton remains out through a thigh injury and long term absentees such as Emma Watson, Jess Simpson and Gabby George are still unavailable.
Hinata Miyazawa is also still unavailable for the Reds but there was positive news regarding her recovery.
“Hini is back on the grass, which is fantastic. Hopefully, she will be back, maybe some time in the next few weeks if we can.”
For the hosts, they are without Jill Roord who ruptured her ACL in the last Manchester derby but Khadija Shaw returned from injury last weekend in City’s 4-1 victory over Brighton.
The derby kicks off at 12.30 on Saturday and is on TV on BBC One.