Leicester City manager Lydia Bedford says that the quality of this weekend’s opponents Manchester City cannot be doubted but her side are not going to The Academy Stadium to make up the numbers.
Both sides go into the match having lost all of their Barclays Women’s Super League fixtures so far this season but there have been positives for Leicester City and Manchester City to take from those defeats.
Manchester City will be the favourites to get the victory this weekend despite their poor start but Leicester City boss Bedford says that her side will look to be very competitive.
“Nothing changes, you look at the players that they (Manchester City) have got and the number of players that they’ve had away on international duty and you can see they’re a top team,” Bedford said when speaking in the pre-match press conference.
“Good teams sometimes don’t get results depending on what happens in the game or on the day. I have no doubt that they will be focused on the game this weekend and they’ll see it as an opportunity to take three points.
“At the same time, we’re not here to roll over and get our bellies tickled at the weekend, we are here to put up a fight and get something from the game ourselves. We will never underestimate them, they’re a top team with top players but it is 11 v 11 at the end of the day and our players will be ready.”
Leicester City suffered some heavy defeats against the Barclays Women’s Super League’s top teams last season but Bedford believes that her side are better prepared for the challenge this year.
She said “We are much more equipped. That was one of the focuses of our pre-season, turning losses into draws and draws into wins. Our focus across those first three games was definitely to come out with the three points and I felt that we were close and competitive in all three.
“This weekend poses a slightly different test for us. We are not going to just go into it with the mindset of trying to dig a point out of it, we know what elements of our game are going to be important against Manchester City and we are ready to deliver those.
“It is a great opportunity to go into the game with no real pressure, the pressure is on them because they sit with zero points as much as we do. It is about taking that and seeing what happens.”
Leicester City’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Manchester City kicks-off at 2pm on Sunday afternoon.