Updates from the 3pm BST kick-off at Etihad StadiumArsenal’s Daniëlle van de Donk on the new seasonWSL: Where to watch all the gamesEmail Ben here and tweet at @benfisherj 2.58pm BST The voices inside the dressing room speak. “We’re super excited to play here at the Etihad and to play a derby against Manchester United,” says Nick Cushing. “It’s brilliant for women’s football, Manchester City but it’s also an opportunity to get the 30,000 that come today to come to the academy stadium week in, week out. We would love to have 7,000 fans there week in, week out, but we know we have to put in a performance in to make them come back.” Casey Stoney says: “It’s a great opportunity for us as a football club, for the players, but most importantly for the women’s game. We’re new to the league, we’ve just been promoted but we are going to go out there and give it a real go.” 2.54pm BST Five minutes until kick-off. Abbie McManus spent 12 years at Manchester City across two spells but lines up for United at the Etihad this afternoon. The defender was part of the England squad in France over the summer. “Five years ago, I was training in a park in Wythenshawe and my dad would give me a Mars and Snickers bar and a bottle of Lucozade before a game,” she said in April, before crossing the divide to join Casey Stoney’s squad. “Versatility is a good thing to have but right now, with my age, I’m 26 and I want to cement my role at centre-half. That was a big reason why I chose to move from City to United.” Continue reading…
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Categories: English News