Manchester United Women will face local rivals Manchester City Women in Sunday's Women's Super League clash at Old Trafford.
The Manchester derby will be pivotal in the race for European qualification, with third-placed Man United sitting four points clear of the Citizens in fourth position.
Match preview
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Man United occupy a top-three position after winning 13, drawing four and losing three of their 20 league matches this season.
However, their bid to secure Women's Champions League qualification has lost some momentum in recent weeks, having won just two of their previous five league games (D2, L1).
They bounced back from a defeat against Liverpool with consecutive WSL victories over Aston Villa and Everton, before they were stopped in their tracks by a frustrating goalless draw against West Ham United.
Man United then missed the opportunity to secure a top-three finish in Wednesday's meeting with Chelsea, as Lucy Bronze scored the only goal of the game to clinch the WSL title for the Blues and condemn the Red Devils to their first home league defeat of the season.
Despite their midweek disappointment, Man United know that a draw on Sunday would be enough to secure European qualification, although they will be looking to beat their rivals for the third time this season after winning two of their previous three competitive meetings in 2024-25, including a 2-0 victory in the Women's FA Cup semi-finals earlier this month.
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Man City know that they have to overturn a four-point deficit to Man United in their final two matches if they are to secure back-to-back top-three finishes.
They gained three points on their local rivals with a narrow 1-0 victory in last Sunday's away clash against Leicester City.
Jess Park's 70th-minute effort proved enough to secure the win as the Citizens stood firm at the opposite end of the pitch to claim their first WSL away clean sheet since November.
The result also represented their fourth win in five away league games, which has ultimately kept them in the race for European qualification, given the fact that they struggled to replicate that sort of form in front of their own supporters, having won just one, drawn one and lost three of their previous five WSL home matches.
While they have lost two of their three meetings with Man United this season, they have managed to win their last two competitive away games against their local rivals, including a narrow 2-1 victory in January's Women's League Cup quarter-final.
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Team News
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Man United have reported no fresh injury concerns, although they remain without the services of long-term absentee Evie Rabjohn.
England international Ella Toone could return to the starting lineup after dropping down to the bench for the midweek defeat to Chelsea.
Elisabeth Terland is also in line for a recall, with the striker looking to add to the nine league goals that she has scored this season.
Meanwhile, the visitors are still unable to call upon the services of Risa Shimizu, Vivianne Miedema, Mary Fowler and Bunny Shaw due to injury.
Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp are pushing for starting spots after returning from injury to play over half-an-hour against Leicester City.
Cushing has also confirmed that Laura Blindkilde Brown and Aoba Fujino have returned to training and are in contention to feature in the matchday squad.
Manchester United Women possible starting lineup:
Tullis-Joyce; Riviere, Le Tissier, Turner, George; Bizet, Toone, Miyazawa, Clinton, Galton; Terland
Manchester City Women possible starting lineup:
Keating; Casparij, Knaak, Greenwood, Ouahabi; Hasegawa, Aleixandri; Park, Coombs, Hemp; Kerolin
We say: Manchester United Women 1-2 Manchester City Women
After Man United lost their unbeaten home league record in midweek, we think that the Citizens may sense this as a good time to play their local rivals, especially as they have had a full week to prepare for Sunday's fixture.
We ultimately believe that Man City will do enough to claim all three points, especially as they have won four of their previous five away league games.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
