Manchester United Women will travel away to Durham Women in the second game of the League Cup on Wednesday evening. The Reds enter this match having secured another win in the Women’s Super League at the weekend over Leicester City. Whilst our opponents’ last played nearly two weeks ago when beating Lewes in the Women’s Championship.
United began the 2022/23 League Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw away to Aston Villa at the beginning of October. We had taken the lead via a stunning strike from Nikita Parris but it was canceled out by Villa’s Rachel Daly header late into the second half. The Reds then missed out on achieving a bonus point as we lost on penalties to the West Midlands side.
We continued to be in fine form with regards to the league. Nikita Parris’s header secured all three points for the Reds on Sunday away to Leicester City to maintain our unbeaten start to the season. Whilst it was not a vintage performance, United were able to control the game throughout as Leicester pushed for an equaliser in the second half.
Manager Marc Skinner has said ahead of the game that he is looking forward to what will be a good psychological test against Durham.
“We know from last season that their fans are raucous, it was a really good atmosphere, the fans are very close to the pitch as well. It’ll be a really good psychological test for us but we’ve got to do what we can, try and control the game as much as possible, and then defend well. There’s good competition for places so it should be a really good space for us.”
Marc Skinner speaking to FAWSL Full-Time ahead of the match
Manchester United Women’s Team News
For United, we will be without the services of Ona Batlle, Grace Clinton, Alessia Russo, and Aoife Mannion who remain out through injury. Manager Marc Skinner has confirmed he will make changes to the team for this League Cup tie. Sophie Baggaley, Aïssatou Tounkara, Jade Moore, Hayley Ladd, Vilde Bøe Risa, Martha Thomas, Adriana Leon, and Rachel Williams are all in contention to be in the starting eleven.
Manchester United’s Women Predicted Lineup
Baggaley; Le Tissier, Tounkara, Thorisdóttir, Blundell; Moore, Ladd, Staniforth; Bøe Risa, Leon, and Thomas.
Opposition Preview
Durham Women are currently ninth in the Women’s Championship having won 2, lost 2, and drew 1 in their opening five games. Last time out, it was thanks to an injury time winner from Sarah McFadden that secured a 2-1 win over Lewes.
Durham drew their opening League Cup fixture against Sheffield United 3-3 but were able to gain the bonus point when they won the penalty shootout 5-3. They have an excellent record against United having not lost in any of the previous four meetings. Both teams faced each other in the same competition last season playing out a 2-2 draw before United gained the bonus point by winning the penalty shootout.
Form Guide
Manchester United Women League Cup form: L
Manchester United Women form (all competitions): WWLWW
Durham Women League Cup form: W
Durham Women form (all competitions): WWW
Prediction
Durham have proved to be a tricky side for United in recent years and it could be the case again when both teams meet again. The Reds now have the squad depth to bring in players that have not recently been playing to get much-needed game time. United will get their League Cup campaign back on track by securing all three points on Wednesday evening.
Durham Women 1-2 Manchester United Women
