Manchester City v Spurs Women – Karen and Juan’s preview

Following a disappointing exit from the 2019/20 Women’s FA Cup last week, Spurs Women are back in league action tomorrow (Sunday 4 October) with our first visit to the Academy Stadium to take on Manchester City.

Our Barclays FA Women’s Super League (WSL) fixture, against last season’s runners-up in the competition, kicks-off at 12.30pm and will be broadcast live on BBC Red Button. The match will also be shown on The FA Player for fans based outside the UK.

In search of our first win of the new campaign, Karen Hills and Juan Amoros’ side face a tough challenge against a City side who have picked up four points from their opening two WSL matches and recently booked their place in the 2019/20 Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley following a 2-1 victory over Arsenal on Thursday night (1 October).

Focussing on the positives from our last game which ended in a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal last weekend, Juan said: “I think against Arsenal, specifically in the first half, we showed again that we can compete against a top team, not only that, but before their first goal, we had a big chance to be able to win the game and that created a lot of belief within the group and shows that we are going in the right direction. Yes, we lost the game and we are out of the Cup and that’s disappointing but there’s another FA Cup coming this season so we will, again, look to progress further next time.”

Karen added: “We frustrated Arsenal in the first half and stuck to our game plan well and there were a lot of good individual performances. We also came out very strong in the second half and remained focussed but unfortunately, we couldn’t maintain that for the latter stage of the game. But Arsenal are a fantastic side, we knew it was going to be a big ask and when you concede goals late on in games, it’s always going to be hard to come back and it becomes a mountain to climb.”

With one point from two league matches so far this season, Karen and Juan have a busy period ahead with three games scheduled in seven days, starting with tomorrow’s trip to the north west.

“The results haven’t gone our way so far,” Juan commented. “If you look at the West Ham game, we could have taken three points, but we walked away with just one. We feel we’ve made a positive start and there’s good spirit within the group and I think the team are heading in the right direction. I know the results haven’t gone our way but the conviction and the way we are working has been very positive so hopefully we can get some points on the board soon.”

Karen added: “Yes, the upcoming schedule is going to be challenging and demanding but that’s what we want. We had not played a game of football for a number of months and now we’re back and the fixtures are coming thick and fast. The girls are in good shape, we have a fantastic squad here and we trust in every member of our team. It’s a hard week but we feel ready to push on.”

On Man City’s strengths, Juan said: “They have a lot of threats in their squad and they added players to a team that was already full of experience and quality. They have a lot of tools in their box and have probably signed one of the best players in the world with Rose Lavelle. We know all their players cannot all play at once, and hopefully we’ll be able to expose any weaknesses they may have and get a positive result. I think to reach that next step against these big teams, we must be clinical in front of goal and better on the ball. We seem to always create good chances but haven’t been able to convert them.”

On new signing Alex Morgan’s progress in training, Karen commented: ”Alex is doing really well and getting stronger and sharper. Will she play on Sunday? We’re not sure as she’s still a little way off but ultimately, she is doing everything she can to get back on the pitch and as soon as we’re all comfortable that she’s ready then she’ll make her debut.”