THE LOWDOWN
Arsenal take on bottom of the table Yeovil Town in the WSL on Wednesday night, as they bid to dust themselves off following Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at Chelsea in the FA Cup. In truth, the Gunners will be able to rationalise FA Cup elimination with the Conti Cup Final to look forward to on Saturday and with the WSL title firmly in their sights.
Arsenal sit 2 points behind Manchester City in the table, but with 2 games in hand on Nick Cushing’s side, who play at home to Everton. A home game against Yeovil ought to be an absolute gimme for Montemurro’s team. Yeovil have only won once this season so far, losing their other 12 games. A rampant Arsenal team beat Yeovil 7-0 in the reverse fixture in September.
@YeovilLadiesFC v @ArsenalWFC ? pic.twitter.com/cxN9fsJV4V
— Kunjan Malde (@kunjanmalde) September 19, 2018
However, the team will remember well the draw away at Yeovil last April that ultimately cost them Champions League qualification. That match represented 50% of Yeovil’s points haul last season and such a slip up on Wednesday would probably constitute Arsenal’s worst ever league result. Even with the injury situation, they ought to have plenty in the tank to win this comfortably.
Arsenal have anointed this match their Junior Gunners takeover match, with young members given the opportunity to assist in duties such as kit preparation, tannoy announcement, official match photography, programme design and player media duties. U-16s will also be permitted free entry on the night.
TEAM NEWS
Lisa Evans made her comeback from a knee injury as a substitute against Chelsea on Sunday, the Scottish international will still likely not be risked from the start with Saturday’s final against Manchester City on the horizon. Leah Williamson was also only fit enough for the bench on Sunday after a heavy cold stopped her training for most of last week. But she should be ok to start.
Jordan Nobbs (knee), Dan Carter (knee), Jess Samuelsson (foot), Lia Wälti (knee), Tabea Kemme (knee) and Viki Schnaderbeck (knee) are all out. Vivianne Miedema appeared to be slightly struggling with a hip problem during the Chelsea game and could be rested to the bench. Sari van Veenendaal will be pressing for a recall after Pauline Peyraud Magnin’s shaky performance in goal on Sunday.
? @VivianneMiedema “I think we’ve disappointed ourselves and everyone in the stadium this afternoon. We’ll make sure to put it right.”#WeAreTheArsenal ? pic.twitter.com/47EVmkiEAn
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) February 17, 2019
LAST TIME OUT
The Gunners thrashed Yeovil 7-0 in Dorchester in September with two goals from Jordan Nobbs as well as strikes from Beth Mead, Kim Little, Katie McCabe, Vivianne Miedema and Dominique Bloodworth. In this fixture last season, Arsenal ran out 4-0 winners at Meadow Park, with a brace each from Dan Carter and Beth Mead.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Beth Mead leads the WSL in assists this season having played a wide attacking role as a foil for Vivianne Miedema. But her confidence in front of goal has dropped in recent weeks. At Chelsea on Sunday, she spurned a presentable chance at the end of the game that the Mead of old would have gobbled up. The Whitby born forward scored 78 goals in 77 games for Sunderland prior to signing for Arsenal.
FULL-TIME: @ChelseaWFC 3-0 #AWFC
A disappointing afternoon in the @SSEWomensFACup… ? pic.twitter.com/TzVGNLwPVd
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) February 17, 2019
She has adapted well to a creative role, but goals are very much her motivator and she only has 3 in the WSL so far this season, with Opta measuring her at a goal every 311 minutes. Yeovil offers a chance for Beth to regain her confidence in front of goal having not registered since November. If Miedema is rested, she might even get an opportunity in her favoured centre forward role.
PREDICTED LINE-UP
HOW TO CATCH THE GAME
The game takes place at Boreham Wood’s Meadow Park on Wednesday evening at 7.30pm. Tickets are available on the door at £10 adults, but U-16s go free of charge. The match is not being streamed or screened live anywhere else.
U-16s get free entry for Arsenal Women’s WSL match against Yeovil on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/ZsLQ2l3GjU
— Tim Stillman (@Stillberto) February 14, 2019
COMING UP
We’ll have exclusive player reaction on the site on Wednesday evening, after which we’ll start to build towards Saturday’s Conti Cup Final. There will be the usual match preview, as well as a recap of the Gunners’ route to the final. On Wednesday, we will also have an exclusive player preview of Saturday’s final which, should the audio turn out acceptably, will go out as a bonus podcast. We will also have exclusive player and manager reaction to Saturday’s final on the site on Saturday evening.
