Arsenal v Leicester City Women Preview

THE LOWDOWN
Arsenal are back in WSL action on Tuesday night as Leicester City come to Emirates Stadium for their rearranged fixture. The game was originally due to be played this coming weekend but Arsenal’s participation in the Champions League semi-final has seen the game move to Tuesday.

It is a strategic placement for Arsenal, meaning they don’t go into the first leg of their semi-final against Lyon cold and without a game together for three weeks. But both teams opted not to play the game on Sunday 13 April to give them more time to prepare off the back of the international break.

And it has been a very damaging international break for Arsenal with Daphne van Domselaar, Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo all injured playing or training with their countries. Katie McCabe also had a calf strain but still played 45 minutes of their Nations League qualifier against Greece. Caitlin Foord broke her nose playing for Australia.

And with two massive games against Lyon on the horizon, the starting line-up will likely look a little different for this match but it will be a good opportunity for very capable players like Stina Blackstenius and Manu Zinsberger to step in. A win here puts Arsenal one win from guaranteed a Champions League qualification spot with three games remaining.

TEAM NEWS

Daphne van Domselaar could miss the remainder of the WSL season with a slight tweak to ankle tendons with Renee Slegers confirming our information from earlier in the week, ‘on the long end it could be six weeks.’ Alessia Russo will miss this game after a knock on the ankle playing against Belgium, her timeline for return is not yet known and the same is true of Chloe Kelly, who picked up a foot injury (one that had kept her out of some games in January for Manchester City) in training for England. She is also likely to miss this game. Katie McCabe should be in the squad despite a calf strain while Caitlin Foord’s nose injury won’t prevent her from being in the squad. Lina Hurtig is out. Lotte Wubben-Moy is training with the team again but Laia Codina’s injury is ‘still being managed’ according to Slegers.

Available squad
Goalkeepers: 1.Zinsberger 40.Williams
Defenders: 2.Fox 3.Wubben-Moy 6.Williamson 7.Catley 11.McCabe 22.Nighswonger 28.Ilestedt 62.Reid
Midfielders: 8.Mariona 10.Little 12.L.Maanum 13.Walti 21.Pelova 32.Cooney-Cross
Forwards: 9.Mead 16.Kafaji 19.Foord 25.Blackstenius

A WORD FROM THE BOSS
‘They (Leicester) will try really hard for the points tomorrow, they will try to close down spaces and they are going to run and battle and try to win duels, create things against us so we have to be on top of it. They have a lot to play for, it is going to be a challenge for us.

‘The way they press in a player for player system at moments we will have to be really good on the ball to beat that. They have a bit of threat upfront as well that we will have to manage during the game but we look forward to that challenge. They use their strengths well, they are happy to defend and they work really hard as a group.

‘It is really hard to score against them in open play or from setpieces. They need it as well, they need every point possible. The away game at the start of the season at Leicester was a hard game for us as well, we only scored one goal so we know the challenge is going to be big tomorrow.’

LAST TIME OUT
When the teams met in September, Arsenal ran out 1-0 winners at the King Power thanks to a first half goal from Frida Maanum. Last season in this fixture, it was 3-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates with goals from Alessia Russo and a brace from Beth Mead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOZ1cl7QYAg

THE OPPOSITION
Leicester’s issues have not been difficult to diagnose this season. They are the lowest scorers in the WSL with just 14 goals. In the summer, they signed talented young French forward Noemie Mouchon from Reims. Coach Amandine Miquel took Mouchon from her former club with her across to the East Midlands.

The problem is that Mouchon ruptured her ACL in October and the Foxes have totally lacked final product ever since. Miquel arrived from Reims with a reputation for getting a team full of young players to punch above its weight in the league, so it is easy to see why Leicester appointed her last summer.

Despite their relative woes in front of goal, Leicester are difficult to break down, as Arsenal found when the teams met in September. They have conceded only 27 goals in the WSL, nobody outside the top four has conceded fewer (Manchester City have conceded 23). They have found more of a scoring touch recently with five goals scored in their last three games.

They also beat Aston Villa 3-0 in February, victories over Brighton and Villa have dragged them well clear of the relegation battle. The Foxes will look to sit deep and hit Arsenal on the break, they don’t play around the back very much, preferring to attack quickly with diagonal balls out of defence to spring counter attacks.

PLAYER TO WATCH

With Alessia Russo likely to be out, it is a good opportunity for Stina Blackstenius to remind everyone of her qualities. The Swede has been cast in the shadows by the form of Alessia Russo this season, Stina didn’t even get off the bench for games against Crystal Palace and Liverpool recently.

I feel Blackstenius has been pigeon-holed a little this season as a player who can only really play against high defensive lines due to her running in behind. Running the channels is definitely one of her key attributes but I think now she is no longer first choice, we have moved to a position where it is almost regarded as her only quality and the only scenario in which she can operate.

Leicester are not going to play a high defensive line, so it will be a good challenge for Blackstenius to illustrate that there is more to her all-around game. With Brighton loanee Michelle Agyemang scoring such a good goal on her England debut last week, Arsenal fans are already excited to see her return and compete for the centre-forward spot soon. Stina has a strong opportunity to put herself back on the radar.

PREDICTED LINE UPS

Subs: 3.Wubben-Moy 11.McCabe 12.L.Maanum 16.Kafaji 21.Pelova 28.Ilestedt 32.Cooney-Cross 40.Williams 62.Reid

HOW TO CATCH THE GAME
The game takes place at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night at 7.30pm and will be screened live on Sky Sports in the UK.

COMING UP
For the first time since being pinged by the covid app in December 2020 (!) I actually won’t be at this game because I will be in Madrid for the men’s game. However, Jamie Spangher will have you covered with every word of Renee Slegers’ post-match press conference and Aidan Gibson will have the on the whistle match report. The Arsenal Women Arsecast will return on Monday after the Lyon game.

Also, don’t forget that we publish a free weekly newsletter on Arsenal Women, which you can subscribe to absolutely free here. The newsletter usually goes out on a Monday morning.

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