We’re back in Barclays Women’s Super League action on Saturday with over 35,000 supporters making their way to Emirates Stadium for the visit of Manchester United.
Haven’t got your tickets yet? Join us! It’s a 12.30pm kick-off and we encourage supporters to arrive early, at least 60 minutes prior to kick-off to avoid queues.
London’s only all-female 10 piece brass band, She’s Got Brass, will be playing a range of crowd-favourite chants from 10.30am, ahead of our pre-match show beginning pitchside at 11.30am with Nicole Holliday and Nigel Mitchell.
It’s also worth finding out about our Fans First Offers, which provide discounts on food and drink for those who arrive early.
NOT MUCH BETWEEN US
There’s all to play for this weekend, with United currently fourth in the WSL table, just one point behind us. Their last league fixture was an exciting 3-3 draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur in mid-December, which came prior to a 1-0 win at Juventus in the UEFA Women’s Champions League and a 2-1 win over Spurs in the quarter-final of the Subway Women’s League Cup.
Our north London rivals went 1-0 up in that game courtesy of a Drew Spence strike in the 16th minute, but United equalised early in the second half by way of Jess Park. Fridolina Rolfo secured the passage to the semi-final (which will be against us) with an 86th-minute winner.
In Europe, Marc Skinner’s side are sixth in the Champions League table, one position below us due to a lower goal difference. They will face Atletico Madrid in the play-offs for the knockout phase.
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Slegers: “We expect them to come out and be aggressive and apply themselves as they want to. Of course we see that they pride themselves on their defensive game, their intensity, their aggression. They have specific qualities they've added to their squad as well. So we'll see how they start and finish the game tomorrow. We'll have to be prepared for different scenarios. Because depending on personnel they might want to play those players to their strengths.
"That's the fun part about the WSL. You have to prepare for different scenarios. Because you don't exactly know how the teams are going to come out. What we do know is that we have to be on top of everything every single minute. We felt it at the Emirates last year. We did win 4-3 but they came back with goals. They've shown it this season as well. It's from start to finish." - read every word of Renée’s pre-Manchester United press conference.
[Read more
Every word of Renée’s pre-Man United presser](https://www.arsenal.com/news/every-word-renees-pre-man-united-presser-2?utm_source=arsenaldotcom&utm_medium=embedded-article&utm_campaign=news)
Skinner: “It’s always big moments in these games. It’s always about who can take them. Last season, they got an advance on us, we came back into the game and it ended up being 4-3.
“We’re both coming back from a Christmas break. All teams will be at different stages, but we’ve got to maximise what we can, play our game effectively, but understand they can create magic moments and so can we.”
TEAM NEWS
Leah Williamson is ready to start but Chloe Kelly is still not available. Daphne van Domselaar is close to a return from injury but won't be available for this match, however Anneke Borbe is fit to play in goal.
Kyra Cooney-Cross have travelled back to Australia to be with her family following the sad news of her mother's cancer diagnosis.
Jenna Nighswonger will not be in the squad, as she closes in on a loan move.
United will be without Ella Toone, Leah Galton and Gabby George, while new signings Hanna Lundkvist and Lea Schuller could both be in contention. Millie Turner and Jayde Riviere appear to have recovered from their injuries.
FACTS AND STATS
Manchester United have lost away to us in both of the last two WSL campaigns (3-1 in 2023/24, and 4-3 in 2024/25).
We are on our longest unbeaten run of the WSL season (P6 W4 D2) and could win three league games in a row for the first time in 2025/26; we could also win our opening game of the calendar year in three straight years for the first time in the WSL.
We were the only team to go unbeaten at home in the WSL in 2025 (P11 W9 D2) and were the leading scorers on home turf in the calendar year (36 scored); in all, we have lost just one of our last 26 home league matches (W21 D4), to Chelsea in October 2024.
Since she joined us from Manchester United ahead of the 2023/24 season, only Khadija Shaw (45) has scored more WSL goals than Alessia Russo (29); the striker only has a worse minutes per goal rate in the competition vs Manchester City (690) than her former side however (372 mins – 1 goal).
Since making her debut for the club in September, Fridolina Rolfo has been directly involved in more goals across all competitions than any other Manchester United player (9 - 6 goals, 3 assists), who last time out on MD11 vs Spurs became only the fourth Manchester United player to score twice as a substitute in the WSL.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Abigail Byrne has been appointed to take charge of Saturday’s match. This season she’s seen over five WSL matches, handing out seven yellows and two red cards.
She was also in the middle for our last game, away to Crystal Palace in the League Cup quarter-finals.
Referee: Abigail Byrne
Assistant Referees: Isabel Chaplin and Matthew Joyce
Fourth Official: Ryan Atkin
HOW TO WATCH
This game will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League in the UK. Take a look here at which broadcasters are showing the game elsewhere in the world.
[Read more
How to watch Arsenal Women v Man Utd on TV](https://www.arsenal.com/news/how-watch-arsenal-women-v-man-utd-tv?utm_source=arsenaldotcom&utm_medium=embedded-article&utm_campaign=news)
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