Manchester United will get their Women’s Super League campaign underway this weekend with a highly anticipated clash at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils, who are looking to improve on last season’s fifth-place finish, will host West Ham United on Saturday at 12pm local time (7am ET).
United have had a fruitful summer transfer window, signing the likes of Elisabeth Terland, Celin Bizet and Dominique Janssen to strengthen their ranks. They also made Melvine Malard’s status at the club permanent following her successful loan spell from Lyon last season.
Meanwhile, the FA Cup champions will have to adapt to life without key players like Mary Earps and former captain Katie Zelem, who both left the club upon the expiration of their contracts. Nikita Parris also recently departed, signing for WSL rivals Brighton and Hove Albion to link up with fellow Lioness and summer recruit Fran Kirby.
Man United preseason verdict and fitness updates
As Man United prepare to open up their WSL campaign at the Theatre of Dreams, manager Marc Skinner has provided squad updates and outlined what he hopes to see from his team in the coming months.
“What I've seen in pre-season is a fresh commitment and energy. I've seen adaptable skill, more physicality,” Skinner said in his pre-match press conference. “I felt in some of the big games, we lacked a bit of physicality. At times we could get overrun and we had to defend effectively in last-ditch stuff. When you bring new players in, it re-energises a group anyway.
“I feel you've got that psychological energy. I think, above all, we feel like we're together like we were in my first season, if that makes sense. I feel like they're fresh again and I feel like they're ready to go.”
Skinner has confirmed that almost all of his players are fit for selection this weekend, apart from Evie Rabjohn, who is recovering from an ACL injury. He also admitted that he may have to make some cut-throat decisions to leave certain players out of the squad due to the volume of eligible players.
Reflecting on Man United’s WSL preparations over the summer, Skinner said: “We've had a hard pre-season. We went to the Marbella camp and we chose not to have a game based on the fact that we wanted to get different levels of fitness and psychology into our players, to test their resilience. I think we've done that but I think it's the balance in relationships, adding the midfield dynamics in just allows us different tools to unlock different games. That's what I'm going to hope that I see this season.”
