Welcome to Manchester: the Women’s Super League derby with a difference
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The stakes are high, the scrutiny intense. Manchester City host Manchester United on Sunday evening at the Etihad Stadium with both teams – and managers – needing to deliver. A win for the hosts would ensure they stay on Chelsea’s tail, maintaining the six-point gap between first and second, or even clawing closer should Sonia Bompastor’s side drop points against West Ham earlier in the day. Lose, and their title credentials will be dealt an almighty blow, allowing United and potentially Arsenal to leapfrog them and putting a likely unassailable gap between themselves and top. For Marc Skinner’s side, a win keeps the pressure on third-place Arsenal and affirms a title challenge that, likewise, will be all-but snuffed out should they lose.
![[Celin Bizet scores]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b053e8441c0886d07535f5a09a6f97cd7a855146/0_0_5197_3712/master/5197.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
There is added spice to the tie too, with the teams meeting again three days later in the League Cup quarter-finals. “The draw in the League Cup is a difficult tie and route but that can happen,” said the City manager Gareth Taylor. “To win any competition you have to do that. For us it’s a good challenge.”.
United have never won away at City and have secured only one win in 10 matches between the teams, with Taylor’s side emerging victorious five times. However, the timing is relatively favourable for the Red Devils. City suffered back-to-back defeats by Everton and Barcelona to finish 2024, with Taylor admitting they “were kind of scraping over the line a little bit”.
