How to follow United Women v Arsenal

The stage is set for a lively atmosphere in front a sell-out crowd at Leigh Sports Village, as Marc Skinner's side aim to make it two wins out of two following Sunday's opening day victory at Aston Villa. 

Lucia Garcia's equaliser and Rachel Williams's injury-time header sealed the comeback victory at Villa Park, after Rachel Daly put the home side ahead. 

The Gunners will be looking to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium, in their WSL opener last weekend.

Keep reading for our detailed guide to Friday's big match...

HOW YOU CAN FOLLOW THE GAME

Our league clash with Jonas Eidevall's side is scheduled to kick off at 19:30 BST at Leigh Sports Village.

Live radio commentary will be available in the United App, where you can also find team news, as well as half-time and full-time summaries, followed by a match report.

The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports for fans in the UK.

WHAT'S THE TEAM NEWS?

"Everyone is fit for selection except Aoife [Mannion] and Emma [Watson]," said Skinner during his pre-match press conference. "It's important to be able to pick from the whole squad.

"The games are coming quickly, there will be adaptations going into the next three games. I have to see how my squad react.

"We have a really good medical team here, they will let me know which players are ready. There will be a rotation of players at some point."

For the Gunners, England international Beth Mead could be involved for the first time since December 2022, after being sidelined with an ACL injury.

Leah Williamson, Vivianne Miedema, Laura Wienroither and Teyah Goldie (all ACL) remain unavailable for selection.

Former United striker Alessia Russo is set to face the Reds for the first time since her summer move to Arsenal. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Regarded as one of the WSL's most versatile players, Arsenal's Katie McCabe has impressed in a number of roles across defence and midfield. The 28-year-old also captained the Republic of Ireland in their first appearance at the Women's World Cup in 2023, while also scoring her national side's maiden goal. 

Australian Caitlin Ford was one of the club's star performers last season, with 12 goals and nine assists in all competitions. The winger is likely to do battle with United's Hannah Blundell, making for an exciting duel out wide. 

Arsenal possess several more attacking threats in the form of Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius, who scored a combined 34 goals in 2022/23, while Russo is another player to be wary of, up against her former team-mates.

RECENT MEETINGS

In this fixture last season, United beat Arsenal 1-0 in a tight and tense affair at Leigh Sports Village. Russo scored the only goal of the game in first-half stoppage time, after latching onto to Nikita Parris's cross. 

A thrilling back and forth encounter took place in the league meeting at the Emirates in 22/23, as Ella Toone opened the scoring before Arsenal took a 2-1 lead with goals from Maanum and Laura Wienroither.

However, captain Katie Zelem produced two expert set-piece deliveries in the closing stages for Millie Turner and Russo, who both found the net via headers, to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory. 

RIVALS WATCH

Our fixture kicks off the weekend's action which also sees another heavyweight clash in the form of Manchester City v Chelsea. See the full schedule below...

Friday 6 October

UNITED v Arsenal (19:30)

Sunday 8 October

Brighton v West Ham (12:00)
Man City v Chelsea (12:30)
Tottenham v Bristol City (14:00)
Leicester v Everton (15:00)
Liverpool v Aston Villa (18:45)

All kick off times are in BST.

SUPPORT UNITED WOMEN

Tickets for Friday's WSL match against Arsenal are completely sold out, but tickets for next Tuesday's Champions League blockbuster with Paris Saint-Germain are still available to buy.

Kick-off at Leigh Sports Village is scheduled for 20:00 BST - secure your seat here.