Manchester City Women are gearing up for their first Women’s Super League Cup group game against Everton, but they face the challenge of entering the match without three key players. Leila Ouahabi, Alex Greenwood, and Lauren Hemp are all serving subsequent match bans after receiving red cards in the opening two games of the 2023/24 season.
The absence of these players poses a significant challenge for Manchester City as they head into the Continental Cup campaign. Ouahabi was shown a red card for kicking out at West Ham’s Emma Harries, while Greenwood received two yellow cards in quick succession, the second for time-wasting. On the other hand, Hemp accumulated two yellow cards for challenges in the match against Chelsea.
Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor expressed his disappointment with the recent decisions, stating, “Everyone will have seen most of those cautions that went against us, and obviously, the West Ham one as well that we did appeal, and we were very disappointed it wasn’t downgraded because it was very soft.”
Despite the setbacks, Taylor is focused on the Continental Cup and its importance to the team. He highlighted the significance of the competition, especially considering they won it two seasons ago. Taylor emphasized that it’s a challenging competition, particularly in the group stages, where teams need to perform flawlessly.
In their Continental Cup group, Manchester City faces Everton, Leicester City in November, and Liverpool in late January 2024. Taylor acknowledges the competitiveness of their group, stating, “We’ve found ourselves in a group that could also include potentially Manchester United if they don’t progress in the Champions League, so you’re talking about an all-WSL cup competition.”
Group B, featuring Manchester City, Everton, Leicester City, and Liverpool, is unique as it consists solely of top-tier teams, unlike the other groups, which include second-tier sides. Taylor emphasized the difficulty of their group, where they must strive for perfection to secure a spot in the knockout phases.
He concluded, “It’s a perfect competition and not something to be sniffed at. We’ve had success in it over the years and also in the FA Cup. We’re clear on what we want to do this season in winning the WSL but winning trophies; we’ll never get tired of that.”
Despite the challenges posed by the absence of key players, Manchester City has managed to secure four points from their first two league games, defeating West Ham 2-0 and holding Chelsea to a 1-1 draw. In contrast, Everton has faced two losses in their opening two games, highlighting the competitive nature of the Women’s Super League.
Originally posted 2023-10-10 21:06:08.
