Manchester City the fresher in WSL but Arsenal have boost from Europe

Arsenal welcome Manchester City to Meadow Park with the WSL title race on a knife edge. City’s comprehensive 2-0 defeat of Chelsea last Sunday meant a team that many had written off after beginning the season with back-to-back defeats ensured the top four are tightly matched going into the final stretch of the campaign.

City’s defeat of Chelsea was sandwiched between the two legs of the latter’s Champions League quarter-final win against last season’s winners, Lyon. Gareth Taylor’s team play Arsenal on Sunday after the Gunners’ gruelling midweek defeat of Bayern Munich that earned their place in the semi-finals.

If fixture congestion is to play a part in the outcome of the title, then City have the advantage. With Arsenal and Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals and the latter in the FA Cup last four along with Manchester United, City’s undivided attention on the league could prove to be significant.

In addition to Champions League games, Arsenal have the toughest run-in, with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea all still to come. A first league title since 2019 is theirs if they win every game but dangers lie ahead.

Goalkeepers

Arsenal shared the best defensive record in the league with Manchester United before the leaders’ game away to Brighton on Saturday. City have conceded 14, keeping six clean sheets to Arsenal’s nine. The golden glove winner in the 2021-22 season, Manuela Zinsberger, has been integral to Arsenal’s solid defence, despite a sometimes chaotic nature. The blistering rise of City’s Ellie Roebuck stalled when she was sidelined for five months in 2021, losing her England No 1 place to United’s Mary Earps in the process. It has taken her time to claw her way back towards the level she was before her injury. Roebuck is a huge talent, one still developing, but Zinsberger edges this battle. Ratings: Arsenal 8-7 Manchester City

Defence

The City backline excelled in the 2-0 defeat of Chelsea. The partnership between the centre-backs Steph Houghton and Alex Greenwood is good, but not unbeatable as six clean sheets in 16 league games shows. The full-backs Laia Aleixandri and Esme Morgan are particularly influential in City’s intense press. Arsenal, however, have a conundrum. Against Bayern an early injury to a midfielder meant Leah Williamson had to move forward from centre-back, with Lotte Wubben-Moy brought on. Wubben-Moy was assured alongside Rafaelle Souza but it is not as steady a partnership, and Williamson may be pressed into midfield once more, while the full-back Katie McCabe should be OK to play but had to go off towards the end against Bayern. With fully fit squads and the same amount of recovery time, Arsenal have the stronger backline but, after an intense 97 minutes of football on Wednesday night and with Williamson’s position potentially changing, City have the upper hand here. Ratings: Arsenal 7-8 Manchester City

Leah Williamson had to move from defence to midfield during Arsenal’s Champions League game against Bayern. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The GuardianMidfield

Taylor said Yui Hasegawa had slotted in at City “like you couldn’t imagine, from day one”. The Japanese midfielder has been staggeringly good after joining from West Ham in the summer and has formed solid midfield partnerships with Laura Coombs and Filippa Angeldahl. Frida Maanum, Lia Wälti and Kim Little have likewise been superb for Arsenal and are arguably the stronger trio, but it was Little who was injured against Bayern, leading to Williamson’s redeployment. She excelled, providing the assist for Maanum’s opener, but Little is a doubt after her hamstring strain and games with only three days in between for an out-of-position Williamson could prove too much. Both sides look to dominate the midfield and keep the ball. City’s fresher legs and no Little could give them the advantage but Arsenal are full of confidence after beating Bayern. Ratings: Arsenal 9-9 Manchester City

Attack

Goals for Maanum and Stina Blackstenius on Wednesday will do a world of good for a team struggling to make the most of their chances. Arsenal should have been five or six up across the two Champions League quarter-final games on the basis of their performances and the number of chances created, but finding the net and easing the pressure was not easy. Jonas Eidevall had said that City only have one player that scores regularly. Khadija Shaw has 15 goals in 16 league games, accounting for almost half of the team’s goals, but Lauren Hemp and Angeldahl were the names on the scoresheet against Chelsea. Blackstenius, Maanum and Caitlin Foord have done well with the almost impossible job of making up for the loss of Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema to injury but, in tight games and with tired legs, neither team can afford to be wasteful. Ratings: Arsenal 7-9 Manchester City

Totals: Arsenal 31-33 Manchester City