Arsenal to Host London City Lionesses in Fifth Round FA Cup Tie

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This weekend, at Meadow Park Stadium, Arsenal will face off against Championship side London City Lionesses in the 5th Round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup. Both teams have had great success in their previous FA Cup matches and getting through this match will grant them a place in the quarter finals.

The hosts come off the back of a 2-1 defeat against Manchester City in the Subway Women’s League Cup earlier this week, but other than that the Gunners are in relatively good form. With wins against Crystal Palace, Brighton, Bristol City and a 4-3 win against Manchester City in the WSL last weekend, they have a goal average of 3.2 goals per game in their last six fixtures.

Particular players who are thriving on the Arsenal side at the moment are Kyra Cooney-Cross who has had a run of several starts for the club after being used as a super-sub for the first half of this season. The team are flourishing under the management of Renée Slegers, and the club seems to have gained a new wind under her coaching expertise.

The visitors are also looking to be in good form heading into this fixture, with an average of 3 goals scored in their last five matches. With three wins in a row, the London City Lionesses are progressing well in the Women’s Championship, sitting at second on the table with 25 points – just one point behind leaders Birmingham City. Their current top scorer is Gesa Marashi, a midfielder who signed with LCL last summer from the Arsenal Academy. It has been interesting to see how some of Arsenal’s other young players are faring on loan at the club, including Freya Godfrey and Teyah Goldie.

Head-to-head, these two clubs have faced off against one another a total of thirteen times in all competitions, with Arsenal emerging victorious after all of these matches. In fact, the last time these two teams played (around this time last year in the League Cup), Arsenal won 4-0.

So, could it be another victory for the Gunners this weekend, or will London City Lionesses finally be able to claim victory? If you’re not going to attend this fixture at Meadow Park, it is available to stream on the FA Player on Sunday 9th February, with kick-off at 2:00pm.