Arsenal meet Manchester City at Meadow Park in a blockbuster Fifth Round tie in the 2023-24 Women’s FA Cup.
Victory would see Arsenal avoid suffering a Fifth Round exit for a second consecutive season, whilst Man City look to avoid losing at this stage for the first time since 2012-13 season.
Team News
Katie McCabe is available for Arsenal after she was suspended for their WSL defeat at West Ham last weekend.
Laura Wienrother remains absent as she continues her recovery from an ACL injury.
Man City have no fresh injury concerns to report as Kerstin Casparij looks to return to the starting line-up, having missed their League Cup win at Tottenham with a shin injury.
Laura Blindkilde Brown and Poppy Pritchard remain cup-tied but (shin) but fellow new signing, Tara O’Hanlon (knock) is doubtful for selection.
Steph Houghton (ankle) and Jill Roord (ACL) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Arsenal entertain Man City at Meadow Park on Sunday 11 February at 12:30pm GMT, live on BBC2 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Arsenal lost their only previous Women’s FA Cup tie against Man City (L1), which came in a 2-1 away defeat in the semi-finals of 2019-20 Women’s FA Cup.
- Man City are playing away at Arsenal for the first time in the Women’s FA Cup.
- Arsenal are yet to lose at home to Man City under Jonas Eidevall in all competitions (W4).
- Arsenal have won five of their last six home ties against top-flight opposition (W5, L1).
- Man City are unbeaten in five of their last seven away ties to top-flight opposition – excluding ties played at a neutral venue (W5, L2).
Prediction
After their surprise loss at West Ham last weekend, Arsenal will be relishing this fixture because it presents great opportunity to bounce back on home turf, especially after their League Cup trip to London City Lionesses was postponed in midweek.
Eidevall’s Gunners however need to be much tighter in their marking than they were for the Hammers’ winner, but their end product must be much sharper because many shots were either rushed or poorly executed.
Man City meanwhile clinically beat Tottenham in midweek in a dominant performance where they faced no shots against them, which is a positive coming into this game given that they are yet to inflict defeat upon Arsenal at Meadow Park since Eidevall took charge of the Gunners.
Both teams are also in the WSL title hunt chasing Chelsea but this competition represents one of two realistic paths towards a trophy this season, so I do expect a fierce battle and wouldn’t be a surprise if extra time is needed to settle the tie.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 (AET) Manchester City
Result: Arsenal 0-1 Manchester City
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