Man City must win derby to keep spiralling season alive

Gareth Taylor has to start producing results for Manchester City

Manchester City are in desperate need of a win (Manchester City FC via Getty Images)

Manchester City need to defeat Manchester United in their Women’s Super League derby on Saturday to reignite their season.

Gareth Taylor’s side have now lost three league games on the bounce for the first time ever making the 21/22 campaign their worst start in WSL history.

Rumours have started to swirl that Taylor could be out of a job if they don’t get a win over United but nothing has been confirmed.

And while City head into the clash from a 2-0 loss to West Ham, their rivals United defeated Birmingham City 2-0 to continue Marc Skinner’s good start to his tenure.

The Red Devils will be favourites for the fixture but United’s manager has dismissed the claims, saying: “We all know that a derby, any form goes out of the window, it’s all about moments, concentration, knowing your opponent. I expect a wonderfully electric moment.

“We have to keep it in perspective, how we want to approach it is that it’s another team we have to play with the added emotion of it being one of these games. We need to be ruthless regardless of the opponent, we have to play like a derby every game. It’ll be a great game, two really good teams going at it and a good one for the spectators to follow.”

Elsewhere, Arsenal play Everton on Sunday and the Gunners will aim to continue their perfect start to the season. They top the WSL table with four wins from four.

Manager Jonas Eidevall can claim an unblemished record in the league but he fell to his first defeat as Arsenal boss on Tuesday as they were beaten 4-1 in the Women’s Champions League by Barcelona.

While the defeat shows Everton that Arsenal have weaknesses, the London club could put out a huge performance to heal their wounds.

Meanwhile, defending champions Chelsea take on newcomers Leicester City on Sunday who are looking for their first points of the season.

Leicester have shown promise and were dominant last season in the Championship but they are yet to make their mark in the top-flight.

The other three matches will also take place on Sunday which sees Brighton play Tottenham, Reading compete against Aston Villa and West Ham go up against Birmingham City.