Arsenal travel to Manchester United on Wednesday night in what promises to be an exciting title showdown. The hosts got the better of Jonas Eidevall’s side already this season in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates back in November after leading 2-1 right up until the 85th minute.
Now, with the Women's Super League title race blown wide open, an avenged win at Leigh Sports Village could see the Gunners on equal points with a game in hand. "Every game left in the league is going to be very important and the game tomorrow is no different to that,” said Eidevall.
While expressing consistency and continuity are major players in his season success to date, he also credits United for their lack of deviation: “They’re a team that works very hard, are very solid defensively and have a clear idea of how they play so I expect that and we need to deal with that, the best way possible.
“When you prepare for United, you know 10 of the 11 players that are going to play and then sometimes they change one of the wide forwards.
"Otherwise, they always pick the same 10 players.”
Manchester United manager Marc Skinner has fewer injuries to contend with, only two will be unavailable for Wednesday’s clash compared to Arsenal, although Eidevall divulged his availability list: “Lia Walti is available, Steph Catly is back in the squad and Caitlin Foord, I think this game will just one game too early for her but she's progressing really well.”
The visitors are forced to travel without captain and integral cog, Kim Little, after suffering a hamstring injury. "Of course it would hurt any team to lose a player like Kim but we will manage," Eidevall said. "So far this season we have handled absences from many great football players and we need to show that adaptability again.
"She's a massive part of the culture that has made this club successful."
While balancing a number squad injuries, fixture congestion has undeniably been thrust into Eidevall's mind, with only three days to rest, prepare and travel to Germany, could this curve ball be the top-tier sides' demise and impact both domestic and European success?
He said: “I find this very odd that we are the only team of the two English teams that qualified for the semi-finals that are forced to play before our semi-final.
“I have a real hard time getting my head around that because it's almost like you want one of the teams to have a better chance to succeed than the others. It's preferable to have no games at all, like the other team has, to train and prepare for the Champions League.
“I just can’t see the reasons for it. It’s something we will have to look into,” he added.
Manchester United will host Arsenal at Leigh Sports Village on Wednesday, April 19 kicking off at 7:15pm available to watch via the BBC.
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