Manchester City will face Arsenal again at the weekend just a few days after their League Cup defeat.
City fought valiantly into extra time but succumbed to a 1-0 loss when Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius goal brought an end to their Continental Cup run in the 93rd minute.
The result abruptly halted their unbeaten run of 16 games in all competitions and their defence of the Conti Cup title. Manager Gareth Taylor said: “I think we made a good defence of the crown by getting to the semi-finals and scoring 18 goals in the competition and not conceding anywhere at all in normal time, it took extra time for us to unfortunately concede but, I’m really proud of the players in the defence of the title.
“We wanted to be in the final because we felt we were capable of winning it, but that's football and it was fine margins.”
Women’s Super League action resumes and both teams are desperate for the three points as the top-of-the-table fight draws ever closer. Defending champions Chelsea leapfrogged Manchester United to take the top spot last weekend.
Arsenal are third on equal points with City in fourth but are ahead on a plus-six goal difference, still with a game in hand. The Blues solidified that fourth spot after their 2-0 win over Leicester on Saturday when Khadija Shaw put herself as the top contender for the golden boot with a header to score her 10th goal of the campaign to no reply from the Foxes.
City have been in ruthless attacking form netting 15 times from their last four games as they head into the Arsenal fixture. The visitors come into the game from a goalless WSL draw to West Ham, despite piling on the pressure in the final third with 21 shots to West Ham’s two. It ended an 18-game run in which the Gunners scored in every game, and the last time they failed to score in consecutive WSL games was in April 2016.
The Blues remain unbeaten in their last 13 home WSL games (W10 D3) at the Academy Stadium, going back to a 4-0 defeat to Chelsea back in November 2021.
The WSL heavyweights have gone head-to-head 11 times in their top tier history - both have won five, lost five and drawn once, yet Arsenal have scored one more goal with 16 to City’s 15 but it is the first time they meet this season.
In their last league game in January 2022, City held them to a 1-1 tie after being pummelled 5-0 in the reverse fixture at the start of the 2021/22 campaign, the heaviest loss between the two teams to date.
Ahead of Saturday’s fixture, Taylor said: “For us, it's just been about the recovery process. It's a really quick turnaround from Wednesday night. Players arrived back last yesterday and Arsenal have to make that same journey today so it just depends on who comes out of it fresher from Wednesday night’s game.
“Both managers probably didn't want extra time but it is what it is and I think once the whistle blows [on Saturday] you’ll start to see two teams really going at it and wanting to win again.”
It's a 12:30pm kick-off at the Academy Stadium, with the fixture available to watch on Sky Sports or listen to commentary via the FA Player app.
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