Manchester City Women will attempt to claim a seventh consecutive Women’s Super League victory when they play host to Leicester Women on Sunday.
The visitors, meanwhile, will have the chance to pick up a second straight league win after beating Everton last weekend.
Since suffering back-to-back league defeats in November, Man City have put together a six-game winning run in the WSL, scoring 23 goals and conceding just four times during that period.
In their most recent outing, the Citizens brushed aside Tottenham Hotspur via a 2-0 scoreline thanks to an Amy Turner own goal and Bunny Shaw effort.
As a result of the successful away performance, Gareth Taylor’s side remained in second position and three points adrift of leaders Chelsea.
The Citizens head into the weekend with the best defensive record in the top flight, having conceded just eight goals in their nine league games this term.
They have also recorded five clean sheets in the WSL this season, including in their reverse league fixture against Leicester in October when a Chloe Kelly effort proved enough to secure a 1-0 victory.
Leicester will enter Sunday’s contest in a positive mood after they edged out Everton last Sunday to end their nine-game winless league run.
Following a goalless first half, Belgium international Janice Cayman found the breakthrough in the 53rd minute, scoring what proved to be the only goal of the contest.
After claiming their first league win since October, the Foxes are now sitting in seventh place with 13 points from 12 matches.
Having established an eight-point gap to the sole relegation place, Leicester look well set to extend their top-flight stay into a fourth consecutive season.
While Leicester will be fully aware of the tough challenge that awaits them this weekend, they will fancy their chances of troubling the scorers, having found the net in each of their six away games in the WSL this term.
Manchester City Women’s Khadija Shaw celebrates scoring their third goal with Lauren Hemp on November 19, 2023
Manchester City are unable to call upon the services of experienced defender Steph Houghton and new signing Tara O’Hanlon.
Laura Blindkilde Brown and Poppy Pritchard could feature in the matchday squad after arriving from Aston Villa and Durham respectively.
After seeing his side brush past Tottenham last weekend, Taylor may decide to name an unchanged lineup for Sunday’s contest.
As for the visitors, Hannah Cain remains sidelined through injury, while Josie Green is suspended after she picked up her fifth yellow card of the WSL season in the win over Everton.
With Green set to serve a one-match ban, Sophie Howard may be given the chance to partner Julie Thibaud in the centre of the Leicester backline.
Dutch goalkeeper Lize Kop could retain her place in the starting lineup after keeping a clean sheet in her first WSL appearance.
Manchester City Women possible starting lineup:
Keating; Casparij, Aleixandri, Greenwood, Ouahabi; Angeldal, Hasegawa, Coombs; Kelly, Hemp, Shaw
Leicester Women possible starting lineup:
Kop; Cayman, Howard, Thibaud, Nevin; Tierney, Takarada, Rantala; Momiki, O’Brien, Petermann
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