Manchester City to Host Leicester in Fifth Round of Women's FA Cup

Photo credit: Graham Chadwick/Getty Images

In the fifth round of the Adobe Women's FA Cup, two WSL teams will take to the stage to get to the quarter finals. Manchester City will take on Leicester at the Manchester City Joie Stadium on Sunday the 9th of February at 14:00 pm. Will Manchester City be able to win this game comfortably to cruise to the finals as they did in the 2019/20 season? Here’s what’s coming up in this weekend's match.

Recent Performances:

Manchester City, in all competitions, in their last 5 games have had three wins and two losses; these losses were against rivals, United in the Women’s League Cup and a narrow defeat to Arsenal in the WSL. City’s last FA Cup game was against Ipswich Town, which though was equal in possession, they cruised to a 3-0 victory. They dominated the offensive half with 11 shots and six on target, while Ipswitch had none. The first goal came from a long strike from just inside the box by Jill Roord, followed by two more goals by Laura Coombs and Vivianne Miedema. Manchester City specialises in high possession and quick play by long balls and passes into the final third, which is where most goals come from. Through this they can be a threat due to their pace to catch defenders off guard and create high pressure play. I think City will be a tough team to beat; with them being at home, recent results and playstyle, I think they are evidently the favourites to move onto the semis. HOwever, they be at a disadvantage as on Wednesday, they had to play Arsenal in the WLC semi finals. This may give them some tiredness and wary.

Leicester, on the other hand, are the underdogs for this matchup due to their place in the WSL table. With two wins, two losses and a draw, they do match City’s great run in all competitions, making their recent forms equal; they show good offensive and defensive play.

In an end-to-end match against Liverpool in the WSL, Missy Goodwin scored the deciding goal in the 68th minute after a goal was scored for each side in the first 20 minutes. The goal was scored from a pass from Tierney to Goodwin, which was a one-touch goal. Through that match, their play was great as they were able to pass the ball off and find other players in the box, to get more effective shots and threaten the opposing keeper. In their last FA Cup match, they won 4-1 against Stoke City, with another from Goodwin, one from Las and two from Momiki. Leicester have the ability to threaten Manchester City as their playstyles are quite similar, in that they both have a great passing accuracy to make the most of opportunities arising. This will be a close game.

Players to look out for during this match:

In Manchester City’s transfer news, Chloe Kelly recently left the club to join Arsenal on loan due to frustrations with her club and the ‘planting of negative stories’ by them. City boss, Gareth Taylor spoke out saying he is more committed to working with loyal City players, throwing some criticism of the way Kelly had handled the situation, especially as she posted this publicly on social media. Kelly had the second most assists since the 20/21 season in the WSL; this may be a problem, but there are still many quality players City has to lean back on.  

Vivianne Miedema is a player that City is gonna use to gain the advantage over Leicester. Meidema has scored 5 goals in her last 4 games consecutively, showing great run of form even despite the losses they have suffered. Miedema is known for her precision finishing, shots and scoring goals in a range of ways. From statistics, in terms of shots, she has created more shot attempts then any other player in the league and with an average of 6.5 shots per 90, she shows us she is a game maker. As playing in the striker position, she is the key to the team for offensive nature, and by her position and run of good form. 

Though Lauren Hemp has created the most chances and big chances this season, she will be unavailable after a previous surgery on a knee injury; there is no timeline when she will be back. However, beside her in statistics and an equally talented player, is Mary Fowler. She has 3 goals in her last 2 games as a left winger and has 19 chances created this season. She is known for her creativity on the pitch to find different angles of scoring and her dribbling ability. I think she will be flexible, dropping into midfield but also in her natural position. She will be hard to beat - many City players have similar styles, which compliment each other's play and create a success system.

Leicester City’s key player has to be Missy Goodwin. She scored the deciding goal against Liverpool, which created a shock win as Leicester are a few points from relegation in the WSL table. Goodwin’s speciality is dribbling, having the most successful dribbling rate of the team, having three a game. She always has regained the most possession in the final third per 90, showing she has good high pressure on goalkeepers and defenders, which will come in handy when going against a team like City. 

Leicester’s top rated player this season has been Yuka Momiki. She has created the most chances this season for the team, however, these have not been capitalised on. She scored an assist in their last game, contributing to her game making qualities; this was from a through ball which was slid to goalscorer, Shannon O’Brien. Momiki has consistently been towards the top of the rankings in every game, not having a bad game despite the scoreline. I think her presence will give the team quite a bit of confidence due to her skill in the attacking midfield position.

The Statistical Predictions

This could be a close game due to their recent forms, however, due to City’s dominance over Leicester in the WSL table, they will be likely the favourites.

Predicted lineups; these may differ from their last matches due to them both losing their last match in all competitions.

MCI XI: Keating, Fowler, Miedema, Fujino, Shaw, Hasegawa, Roord, Ouahabi, Caspariji, Knaak, Aleixander.

LEI XI: Leitzig, Mace, Goodwin, Tierney, Cayman, Momiki, Howard, Bott, Ale, Thibaud, O’Brian.

You can watch the match on the Women's FA Cup YouTube and The FA Player.