Man City take on Man Utd in the pick of Sunday's Women's Super League action
Women's Super League team news, stats and how to follow on Sky Sports this weekend; Sunday's five games features a huge Manchester derby; follow all of the action in our dedicated live blog with free match highlights later on Sunday
Sunday 13 February 2022 15:04, UK
Man City vs Man Utd - Sunday, 12.30pm
Steph Houghton will not be available for Man City. The club captain has not featured since a 1-1 draw with Arsenal on January 23, having suffered a setback from an Achilles injury.
"It's frustrating for Steph," City manager Gareth Taylor said. "She was with us at the beginning, had a long period out and then had a brief period back and we've lost her again.
"She's an important part of the furniture and it's been a disruptive season for her. It will be frustrating for her but she's working really hard and her attitude as usual is spot on.
"We have a cup final to look forward to so hopefully we can get her back for those sort of demands. But, with that kind of injury, we have to be slightly more patient than with others unfortunately."
Aside from Houghton's setback, Man City have no new injury concerns heading into Sunday's Manchester derby.
Man Utd midfielder Lucy Staniforth successfully underwent an operation on her knee earlier this week and will now begin her rehabilitation.
January signing Jade Moore is also nearing a return to full fitness, with Marc Skinner saying: "Jade is just now back on the pitch jogging and we're seeing a progression there. Apart from that, everyone's fit and raring to go."
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- This will be the fifth Manchester derby in the Women's Super League, with the red half of Manchester still looking to beat their rivals for the very first time in the competition (D2 L2).
- Manchester United are the only side yet to lose away from home in the WSL this season (P6 W3 D3), while they have conceded the joint-fewest goals of any side on the road (4, alongside Arsenal).
- Manchester United have scored six goals from corner situations in the WSL this season, the most of any side. Manchester City on the other hand have conceded four goals from corner situations in the competition this season, with only Birmingham City (8) conceding more goals in this manner.
- Caroline Weir has scored in each of her two previous home matches against Manchester United for Manchester City. Weir has scored in six home league games in total for City and they have won each time.
How to follow: Follow the game in our dedicated live blog across Sky Sports' digital platforms with free match highlights later on Sunday.
- WSL: Chelsea face West Ham, Man Utd vs Everton live on Sky Sports
- Man City striker Chole Kelly signs new three-year deal
- Man Utd pair Leah Galton and Marc Skinner win monthly WSL awards
Everton vs Aston Villa - Sunday, 1pm
Everton's Toni Duggan made her first start since December in last weekend's defeat to Reading, and could keep her place this weekend as the Toffees look to climb up the table.
Interim manager Chris Roberts believes Everton's mentality continues to grow, saying: "It's been about mental toughness, resilience, managing the difficult moments in the game, staying on top when you have momentum.
"They are all really important parts of every game and certainly areas that we have focused hard on in the last couple of weeks to make sure we can deal with the difficult moments well, with clarity and with a plan.
"It's easy to talk about mental toughness, you need to have a really strong plan in place and players who are able to adapt in those plans as well."
Duggan's England team-mate Jill Scott made her league debut for Aston Villa in their defeat to West Ham last weekend and is expected to line up against her former side this weekend.
Manager Carla Ward confirmed that Rachel Corsie and Chole Arthur are both in contention for Sunday's game, but Meaghan Sargeant is out with a back injury.
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- Everton completed the league double over Aston Villa last season by an aggregate score of 9-1. Their 6-0 win over Villa away from home in October 2020 is the Toffees' biggest win to date in the WSL.
- Aston Villa have lost five of their last six matches in the WSL (W1), failing to keep a single clean sheet in this run. Nonetheless, each of their last three wins in the competition have come away from home.
- Excluding own goals, only five different players have scored for Aston Villa in the WSL this season, the fewest different scorers for any side.
- Aston Villa's Jill Scott, who has featured 53 times for Everton in the WSL, has scored more often versus the Toffees (4) than any other side in the top-flight, though all four goals came in her first three appearances against them, last scoring in May 2018 (six games since).
How to follow: Follow the game in our dedicated live blog across Sky Sports' digital platforms with free match highlights later on Sunday.
Birmingham vs Tottenham - Sunday, 2pm
Birmingham will have goalkeeper Emily Ramsey available for selection. The Man Utd loanee was shown a straight red card against Leicester last weekend, but saw the sending off overturned during the week.
The Blues are currently five points from safety in 12th place, although will face a tough task this weekend against a Spurs side in fourth, a point from the top three.
Giving an update on Tottenham's team news, manager Rehanne Skinner told Spurs TV: "We're in a pretty good place, considering where we've been over the course of January.
"[Tang] Jiali has come back in a great place and we agreed before the players went away [to the Asia Cup] that the break would come during the international window because they're not going off again. She's ready to go this weekend.
"[So-Hyun] Cho has picked up a bit of an injury coming out of the final and played an extensive amount of minutes in that. But by the time the break finishes, she'll be back on track.
"Other than that, we've got one and two that are touch and go for the weekend, but I think we'll still end up with a good strength squad ready for this game."
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- Including a match which was awarded as a Spurs win during the 2020-21 campaign, Birmingham have never beaten Tottenham in the WSL (D1 L3).
- Kit Graham has scored each of Tottenham's three WSL goals against Birmingham, netting in December 2019, May 2021 and September 2021.
- After a three-game winning run away from home in the WSL, Spurs have since lost three of their most recent four on the road (W1), including a 0-3 defeat at Man Utd last time out.
- Birmingham City have scored only four goals in open play this season in the WSL, the joint-fewest of any side along with Leicester City. They have also conceded the most goals in open play of any side (24).
- Only Chelsea (6) and Arsenal (8) have conceded fewer goals this season than Spurs (11). Spurs conceded almost two goals per game in the WSL last season (41 in 21), with that figure dropping to 0.85 this campaign (11 in 13).
How to follow: Follow the game in our dedicated live blog across Sky Sports' digital platforms with free match highlights later on Sunday.
Brighton vs Reading - Sunday, 2pm
Brighton are set to have Geum-min Lee back among the group after the Asia Cup, but manager Hope Powell has confirmed the South Korean forward will not feature on Sunday.
Aside from that, the Seagulls have no new injury concerns heading into the game, but will be hoping for a reaction after a 4-0 defeat at Tottenham on Sunday.
Reading manager Kelly Chambers is without Brooke Chaplen, who will be out for an extended spell after undergoing surgery on a bone tumour.
Full-back Emma Mitchell remains on maternity leave with no fresh injury concerns after victory against Everton last weekend.
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- Brighton have only faced Arsenal (7) more often without managing a single WSL victory than they have Reading, losing five of the six previous clashes (D1).
- Reading have won each of their last three WSL encounters with Brighton. They have beaten them five times in total in the competition, with only Arsenal (7) defeating them more.
- Brighton are currently winless, and without a goal, in each of their last three Women's Super League home matches (D1 L2) - they have never before failed to score in four consecutive home matches in the competition.
- Reading have won each of their last five matches in the WSL, extending what was already their longest ever winning run in the competition. Since October 9 of last year they have taken 22 points from a possible 24 in the WSL, at least three more points than any other side.
- This match will be Reading boss Kelly Chambers' 111th match as a manager within the Women's Super League, surpassing Matt Beard (110), leaving only Emma Hayes (158 coming into this weekend) to have taken charge of more matches in the competition's history.
How to follow: Follow the game in our dedicated live blog across Sky Sports' digital platforms with free match highlights later on Sunday.
Leicester vs West Ham - Sunday, 2pm
Leicester have a near fully fit squad. Lachante Paul and Hannah Cain are continuing their rehabilitation from long-term injuries, but goalkeeper Kirstie Levell is back in training following a knee injury which has kept her out since November.
Georgia Brougham has also returned to full training after missing the victory at her former side Birmingham last weekend, though Leicester will be without one player through suspension.
"We're looking really good," Foxes manager Lydia Bedford said. "We have no major concerns ahead of the game.
"Probably one of the biggest challenges on a week-by-week basis at the moment is managing how many players we do have fit and available.
"Everybody wants the opportunities to play and with some of the games that we've had, it's been tricky to provide playing minutes to some players, because the games have almost gone to the last minute.
"I think it's just managing that and trying to keep everyone at the same level because ultimately, come March, April time, we're going to play some tough teams that will probably require us to rotate and have fit and available players that can last 90 minutes to be competitive with those teams. So, we need to keep everyone fresh."
West Ham will be missing injury absentees Adriana Leon, Maisy Barker and Grace Garrad, but the trio are reportedly making good progress with their respective recoveries.
Lisa Evans came off injured in the 2-1 victory over Aston Villa and is not expected to be involved this weekend. Abbey-Leigh Stringer is also unavailable for selection through suspension after picking up five yellow cards for the season.
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- In the reverse fixture back in September, Leicester suffered what is still their joint-heaviest defeat this season, going down 4-0, a result they also suffered at Arsenal.
- West Ham's last trip to Leicester in any competition came over 10 years ago in an FA Women's National League Cup encounter in January 2011 - Foxes won 2-1.
- Leicester have won two of their three home league matches under manager Lydia Bedford, though the Foxes fell to a 1-2 defeat against Aston Villa last time out. The two goals shipped in that defeat were also the first they'd conceded under their new boss on home soil.
- Leicester City have scored nine goals in the WSL this season, with four of them coming from corner situations - 44%. No other side have scored more than 22% of their goals from corner situations this season.
- West Ham have scored four goals after enforcing high turnovers in the WSL this season - only Arsenal (5) have scored more such goals.
How to follow: Follow the game in our dedicated live blog across Sky Sports' digital platforms with free match highlights later on Sunday.
