Everton Women travel to third-placed Manchester United on the back of four straight league wins and are looking as strong and organised as the they have done for a long time.
Interim manager Scott Phelan has found a settled team that has so far ground out results, with Tottenham Hotspur the latest to succumb to the Toffees, who left London with all three points in their last outing thanks to goals from Yuka Momiki and Kelly Gago.
With Phelan not one for making changes from the starting XI unless necessary, the former Everton academy coach will be forced into at least one switch, with Hannah Blundell ineligible to face her parent club, although the 38-year-old has confirmed there are no fresh injury concerns.
Now relegation is longer a worry and Spurs nine points clear in fifth place, the management team will be in no mood to let up if the current set up is to made more permanent come the end of the season.
But with Phelan stating the strength in depth at his disposal, particularly in the forward areas, does the fixture against Marc Skinner’s side represent a chance to try something different at Progress with Unity Stadium?
The Opposition
A mixed few weeks for Skinner’s team, with exits from both FA Cup and League Cup at the hands of Chelsea, the latter coming in last week’s final, United do have a Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich to look forward to later this month, while the Red Devils are right in the mix for a top-four finish.
A side full of quality, the Blues will be familiar with a number of the squad, with former Toffee Gabby George and previous loanee Jess Park now part of the United ranks.
The league’s second highest scorers and one of the meanest defences, Skinner’s team will go in as favourites for this one, having lost just two WSL fixtures in 17 games, with their last reverse coming all the way back in November at the hands of city rivals and table toppers Manchester City.
And unlike the Citizens, who have Khadija Shaw way out in front of her teammates in the scoring charts, United have spread their goals around, with Park, Melvine Malard and Elisabeth Terland all contributing to the team’s tally.
Previous Meetings
It was all going so well in the first hour for Everton, who led Skinner’s side at Hill Dickinson Stadium as early as the 13th minute through Honoka Hayashi, only for the visitors to strike back and score four in the last 30 minutes, with Park on the scoresheet twice in the October fixture.
An encounter that has not been kind to the Toffees, you would need to go back to February 2023 for the last time the Blues claimed a point against United, thanks in no small part to the goalkeeping heroics of Courtney Brosnan, who frustrated the Manchester crowd with a string of fine saves to help earn her team a hard-fought point on the road.
But with an away win against Chelsea already under their belt and the momentum of four straight league wins behind them, Everton will look to give Skinner plenty to think about, with stars potentially playing for their futures as the season draws to a close.
If Phelan loses this weekend, it will no way determine his long-term future at Everton Women.
If he were to orchestrate a win, however…
Everton Women take on Manchester United at Progress with Unity Stadium on Saturday, 21 March, at 12pm GMT (7am ET, 4am PT) before the Toffees welcome Merseyside rivals Liverpool to Goodison Park a week later.