Derby day for any team is exciting, but after playing at Old Trafford last Saturday and now the Etihad Stadium this afternoon, Marc Skinner has labelled this fixture as a very special one in the Manchester United calendar.
Over 43,000 fans of city rivals Manchester City and Manchester United will be flooding the Etihad gates at lunchtime to see their teams, that are both in fine form, battle it out for the Manchester bragging rights.
Currently on a nine-game winning run in all competitions, the blue side of Manchester are in superb form. When comparing the two Manchester clubs’ form, Manchester United boss Skinner identified one common factor.
“Manchester City have the capability to go on a run like that,” Skinner said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “I think it was Chelsea the last one they lost and if you look at ours in terms of the league, Chelsea was the last one we lost.”
Manchester United are yet to come out on top in a Barclays Women’s Super League Manchester derby but given their development this season, now could be the perfect time to change that stat, especially with a win away from home.
“I want to see that continued growth from us,” Skinner said. “These stats only exist until they’re broken, we know how difficult it will be, where we’re playing and there will be a lot of fans, but for us, the experiences we’ve had, even in the recent past will hopefully build us up for what we want to do.
“There will be nerves from both teams but we have to try and play our football as quickly as possible and get into our rhythm quickly. If we do that then any of these statistics can crumble at any point.
“A derby becomes a different game, it relies on momentum and moments. We know both teams in this game will have spells of possession and chances, so it’s a slightly different game regardless of form, history and results.”
Manchester City’s Khajida Shaw is the current top goalscorer in this season’s Barclays Women’s Super League with eight goals, something that will be a massive threat to Skinner’s side in today’s game, but if United can set up well and get off the mark early, the game could end up going either way.
“You have to be aware of her,” Skinner commented. “Physically, she’s excellent in terms of the qualities that she has, the way she strikes the ball. As a team, we will have to make sure she doesn’t touch the ball as much and you can kind of stifle her play and try and keep her out of the positions that she’ll want to be in.”
This will be Manchester United’s third game in less than a month at a Premier League ground following an outstanding 3-2 comeback victory at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal and a confident 5-0 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford. Playing games on the big stage is a real statement as to where women’s football is in its journey of growing into something spectacular.
Skinner believes that it’s been the turnout at these games that has really put women’s football on the map in terms of its development, especially since the EUROs in the summer.
He said “We were fortunate enough to put on two really good performances in those stadiums, I’m hoping we can make that another one at the Etihad.
“It’s a huge statement for our game as well as for the clubs, the players, the work they’re doing and the work that people keep wanting to come and see.
“We hope this is just the start. We hope we can continue this and our job is to help make sure that we’re a part of that. It’s magnificent as a coach stepping into these wonderful stadiums, it’s a great feeling.”
Manchester United’s derby day fixture at Manchester City kicks-off at 12.30pm.