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Women’s FA Cup: Arsenal-Manchester City
Venue: Meadow Park, London Date: Sunday, 11 February Kick-off: 12:30 GMT
Coverage: Watch live on BBC Two from 12:15 GMT or follow on the BBC Sport website
The FA Cup is back this weekend and things are starting to heat up as Arsenal host Manchester City in a mouth-watering fifth-round fixture.
Both groups are still in contention for the Women’s Super League name: City are second leaders, Chelsea, while third-placed Arsenal are three places behind.
But one could seriously ruin the other’s season on Sunday by ending their quest for additional titles.
Meanwhile, seven outside WSL teams remain in the tournament, but all want to beat the best warring parties if they want to advance to the quarterfinals.
Will it be a 100 percent WSL affair in the round of 16?Or will the magic of the cup endure?
Here are five things to pay attention to.
In what is the only 100 per cent WSL match of the fifth round, Manchester City vs Arsenal on Sunday, with the match live on BBC Two from 12:15 GMT.
This is the second year in a row that the Gunners have faced one of the WSL’s groups at this level of the tournament. Chelsea knocked them out at the same time last year and Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall knows his side will have to do their thing. progress.
“They are quite intense games, difficult games [against City],” he added. “The games have been won by small margins and we want to work together to get results. We are on the hunt for those games. “
Arsenal and the 14-time FA Cup winners, who have won the trophy 3 times, are the powerhouses of women’s football and the last time the two managers met in their league match in November, things got heated.
City manager Gareth Taylor accused his Arsenal counterpart of “bullying” the fourth official during his side’s 2-1 defeat, before Eidevall responded by calling the comment “slander”.
Eidevall said the row was water under the bridge and he “hadn’t thought about it”, with Taylor confirming “everything is cool” before they go head-to-head again.
Arsenal-Manchester City matches have proven to be intriguing and exciting over the years and more suitable for a more important occasion.
“It’s a great game, for sure,” Taylor said. It’s like a final tie. Sometimes they’re rejected, so it’s a smart challenge for us. It’s a shame it doesn’t take place later in the competition. “
Taylor is unlikely to rotate his side for the draw and so far England winger Chloe Kelly has been an integral component of City’s season, having played in all 19 of their games.
Reports this week suggest that the 26-year-old is under attack by Paris St-Germain, but Taylor is keen to dismiss those rumours and says he is “confident” that the club can remain the ultimate winners of Euro 2022.
“These things when the players are doing well. These rumors are circulating, how true they are, who knows,” he said.
“Chloe is betting well right now, but there’s still more to come from her. He has a wonderful personality and is eager to learn.
“We work very hard to retain our players. It’s about reaching an agreement, but life goes on. We continue in the same line and we need other people who are committed to being at the club and we have that right now. “
“Even Lauren [Hemp], there’s been a little bit of speculation, but she’s been great for us, the top class. “
Everton manager Brian Sorensen will watch from the stands when they take on Nottingham Forest on Sunday as he serves a one-match suspension on the touchline after being sent off in last weekend’s WSL defeat to Chelsea.
The 43-year-old said “it doesn’t make sense” to appeal his two yellow cards for dissent, or the misconduct charge from the Football Association against him and his players.
“I’m going to get suspended [a game] and that’s OK,” Sorensen added. “It’s just frustration with the accumulation of things. I tried to replace the substitute but they wouldn’t let me. “
“Then I said they didn’t know what they were doing, but I said it aggressively. I wasn’t with them [the officials], I turned my back on them and told my staff. I should have done it. ” But that’s the way Sometimes it is. I take it upon myself to do so, but I only sought to protect my player in case of an injury in the future. “
Sorensen said his absence on the touchline hasn’t affected pre-match preparations and knows Everton are expected to beat the National League North side, who have reached the fifth round of the competition for the first time in 11 years.
Brighton’s interim manager Mikey Harris has been in charge for just over a week but, having been recruited through the men’s academy to update sacked Melissa Phillips, it’s been a rocky start.
Harris oversaw a 2-0 loss to Manchester United in the WSL before being knocked out of the League Cup by Aston Villa on Wednesday, and will end a busy week against National League North side Wolves on Sunday.
No update on a permanent manager has been provided yet, but Harris said he’s enjoying the “adventure” despite an “intense” week.
“I’m having fun, so I’m satisfied to be able to help the club for as long as they want. For us, everything remains the same,” he said.
“In some ways I feel like I’ve been doing this for over a week and in some ways it’s happening very quickly. It’s been intense but a lot of fun. “
While Harris has not managed to pick up any wins just yet, Wolves are the lowest-ranked side left in the FA Cup and he will see that as a perfect opportunity to boost Brighton’s confidence.
“We respect the opponent, but it’s up to us and what we do and we continue to build on the foundations laid in the first two games,” he added.
London City Lionesses had to postpone their League Cup match against Arsenal in midweek because of a waterlogged pitch, but must once again play host on Sunday when they face Liverpool.
In what has been a turn of events, the Lionesses announced at 19:40 GMT on Wednesday – the time when, had it not been postponed, their attack on Arsenal would have taken hold – that they had sacked their manager Carolina Morace. .
Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall criticises League Cup
This has led enthusiasts to speculate whether former Brighton boss Phillips could return to the club where he spent two successful seasons starting in 2020, but no such announcement has yet been made.
They are in tenth place in the women’s championship lately, a point that belies their talented side, and Liverpool manager Matt Beard is aware of the challenge.
“It’s wonderful to see the players they have in their team and their position in the standings,” he said.
“Usually there’s a recovery when a coach leaves. This makes our task a little bit more difficult, however, we’re going to focus on ourselves and make sure we’re in the spaces where we want to organize. “