Preview: United Women v Durham
Manchester United Women return to action on Sunday, following the February international break, with an FA Cup fifth-round tie at home to Durham.
The Championship outfit are our final opponents of the month and visit Leigh Sports Village for a 12:00 GMT kick-off.
A place in the quarter-finals will be at stake, meaning a win for Marc Skinner’s side would match our best-ever run in the competition, coming back in the 2018/19 season.
There are tickets available and live coverage info for you to know about too, so here are all the key details ahead of this weekend’s outing…
When could Naalsund and Riviere play for United?
ArticleMarc Skinner provides an update on our two January signings who are working their fitness up.
HOW TO WATCH AND FOLLOW
Tickets for Sunday’s midday kick-off at Leigh Sports Village are available to purchase here.
If you won’t be at LSV, we will have updates in the United App over the course of the afternoon.
The game will also be streamed live and for free on The FA Player.
TEAM NEWS
Marc Skinner is expecting to welcome back the team’s international players over the coming days and told reporters in his pre-match press conference that those returning would be assessed before the weekend.
The boss also explained that our two January signings who are yet to make their debuts – Jayde Riviere and Lisa Naalsund – are continuing to work their way up to full fitness and could be available as soon as next month.
FORM GUIDE
Before the international break, United picked up a big three points in the WSL away to Tottenham, continuing our unbeaten run in the new year. That now stretches five matches – it goes back 10 if you look prior to the winter break – and includes wins in the league and the FA Cup.
As for our visitors, they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the second tier before the season paused for the international games. Previous to that loss, they had only been beaten once in five matches since the mid-season hiatus.
United and Durham have met five times in the past – two of which have come in the last two seasons’ Continental League Cups. Both of those matches – played in the North East – finished 2-2, with our opponents earning an extra point in that competition on both occasions via penalties. The clubs also faced each other in that tournament in 2018/19 – a 1-0 win for United – along with twice in the Championship in that campaign. Our home game finished 0-0, before Durham won the reverse 3-1.
90 in 20: Durham v United Women
After streaming the full game live, we now offer you extended highlights of our second Continental Cup tie in 2022/23...
WHO ELSE IS PLAYING?
This weekend’s tie is the first of the eight fixtures being played in the fifth round, all of which take place on Sunday. Here is the schedule…
SUNDAY 26 FEBRUARY
UNITED v Durham (12:00 GMT)
Brighton & Hove Albion v Coventry United
Bristol City v Manchester City
Charlton Athletic v Birmingham City
Chelsea v Arsenal
Lewes v Cardiff City
Tottenham Hotspur v Reading
West Ham United v Aston Villa (15:00 GMT)
All kick-offs are 14:00 GMT unless stated.