THE LOWDOWN
Arsenal play Liverpool at Meadow Park on Sunday in the quarter-final of the FA Cup aiming to win the competition for the first time since 2016. The Gunners have had an entire week since last weekend’s breathless 4-3 win over West Ham, the first of six games in March.
Whereas last weekend’s game came off the back of a packed international break, Renee Slegers has at least had a week to prepare on this occasion. Arseblog News had a couple of questions for Renee Slegers’ Friday press conference ahead of this game. In matches against London City Lionesses and West Ham at Meadow Park, Arsenal had adapted to a wintry playing service to be a little more direct.
‘We always look at where we’re going to play, what the circumstances are like and we try to be that detailed. That’s no different for Sunday. We want to play the Arsenal way so we want to be very good on the ball but we also want to find ways to win and that’s what we’ll try.’ Liverpool are also strong on setpieces and Arsenal conceded two goals against West Ham at corners.
‘We always do a preview and a review and we train set-pieces ahead of games so that was no different against West Ham and it will be no different ahead and after Liverpool, but we are aware that two of the three goals were from corners, so that’s definitely something we want to do better.’ Nevertheless this represents an excellent chance for Arsenal to reach their first FA Cup semi-final in three years.
TEAM NEWS
Chloe Kelly is cup tied for this match, having played in the fourth round for her parent club Manchester City. Lotte Wubben-Moy is still out with a muscle injury while illness will likely keep Lina Hurtig from the matchday squad.
Available squad
Goalkeepers: 1.Zinsberger 14.van Domselaar 40.Williams
Defenders: 2.Fox 5.L.Codina 6.Williamson 7.Catley 11.McCabe 22.Nighswonger 28.Ilestedt 62.Reid
Midfielders: 10.Little 12.L.Maanum 13.Walti 16.Kafaji 21.Pelova 32.Cooney-Cross
Forwards: 8.Mariona 9.Mead 19.Foord 23.Russo 25.Blackstenius
A WORD FROM THE BOSS
‘They changed formation and the way they did things in the game against Crystal Palace and we have to be ready to exploit that but at the same time we know they’ve been playing in another formation in a different style with Matt Beard, who has done an incredible job I think.
‘We’ll see what they think suits the game on Sunday, what they’re going to come with, and we pride ourselves on problem solving as a group – staff and players – so that’s something we’re going to have to do really well on Sunday. I think they have a strong belief in who they are and how they can deal with things.
‘They’re not afraid of going high and pressing, that’s at least what they’ve been doing before and then stepping out and being aggressive going forward so I think they’ve been successful, they play to the players’ qualities, especially in the backline I think. So they’re a strong team and I think West Ham causes us a lot of problems as well, similar problems. I think, looking at the league, and the questions that every team asks us, it’s hard in every game to find the solution and find a way to win.’
LAST TIME OUT
When the teams last met in the WSL in December, Alessia Russo’s first half goal was enough for a 1-0 win away at the Reds. The teams last met in the competition in 2022 at Prenton Park, Arsenal ran out 4-0 winners thanks to goals from Katie McCabe, Kim Little and a brace from Caitlin Foord.
https://youtu.be/-FhLPcGJ8FE?feature=shared
THE OPPOSITION
Just over a week ago, the WSL was shocked by the departure of Matt Beard from the Liverpool hot seat. Beard had guided Liverpool back to the WSL from the Championship. He led them to fourth place last season and though the underlying numbers suggested plenty of overperformance on the data, it was still an excellent achievement given the squad at his disposal.
Liverpool added Olivia Smith from Sporting Lisbon over the summer but that was it. I was at the press conference after the defeat to Arsenal in December and when Beard was quizzed on whether there would be money available for the January transfer window, he gave a rueful shake of the head and said, ‘no.’
The decision to part company with Beard seems a strange one when investment seemed to be more of an issue than coaching. Liverpool are now under the interim charge of Amber Whiteley and they ground out a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last weekend. They moved to a back four for that game after a sustained period in a back five under Matt Beard, it remains to be seen whether they adopt that formation again at Arsenal.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Beth Mead has started 11 of the 19 WSL and UWCL games she has been available for so far this season. It’s unusual for Mead to be on the bench this often ever since she joined the club in 2017. Mariona’s arrival had complicated things a little since Caitlin Foord and her penchant for hugging the touchline acts as a better counter balance for Mariona on the left.
However, Mead’s contributions have still been notable. Her cross for Stina Blackstenius’ winner at Manchester City was one but just as important and maybe even more impressive was her last ditch goal line clearance in stoppage time against West Ham last weekend. Mead put her body on the line for the cause with an intervention every bit as precious as a goal or an assist.
My hunch is that Mariona will start this game on the bench and with Kelly cup tied, that would mean a start for Mead, who was nursing a calf strain prior to the international break. A lot of the focus has been on Chloe Kelly’s return but Mead is likely to get a good opportunity to remind everyone why she was on the Ballon D’Or podium in 2022. She started the league game against Liverpool on the left wing but I don’t see that experiment being repeated here.
PREDICTED LINE UPS
Subs: 5.L.Codina 8.Mariona 13.Walti 14.van Domselaar 16.Kafaji 21.Pelova 22.Nighswonger 25.Blackstenius 28.Ilestedt
HOW TO CATCH THE GAME
The match takes place at Meadow Park on Sunday at 2.30pm and will be streamed live on the Adobe Women’s FA Cup YouTube channel.
COMING UP
We will have Aidan Gibson’s on the whistle match report after the final whistle and every word from Renee Slegers’ post-match press conference online about an hour after the game. Jamie and I will also have a podcast for you about the game on Monday.