Manchester United boss Skinner expecting tough test against confident Liverpool | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that he is expecting a tough test when his side take on Liverpool at Anfield on Friday evening.

The Red Devils have lost just once in the Barclays Women’s Super League this season but they come up against a Liverpool side that defeated Arsenal last time out.

When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Manchester United boss Skinner said that Liverpool are performing well under the interim management of Amber Whiteley and that the team’s DNA remains unchanged from the former regime.

“I’ve seen them adapt their shape but they still have some things that were the same under Matt [Beard],” Skinner said. “I respected the result [against Arsenal] because Liverpool can deliver that, they have that quality.

“I know Amber and Scott [Rogers] well. They were with Matt for a long time and so they’ll continue that rhythm and DNA. I expect them to be full of confidence because in the two games that she’s had, they’ve won two.

“It’s going to be difficult. It’s at Anfield, so it’s something that we are going to have to battle with. As well as tactics, we’ve got to battle the spirit of the game. I’m expecting them to be on top form, so for us, we have to be the same to win the game.”

Liverpool face Manchester United at Anfield for the very first time and Skinner admits that there are elements of the unknown about the occasion.

He said “It’s an historic stadium, one of a few in the country. We know it’ll be tough going to a team that are in a different position to where they were when Matt left but also, with the same DNA. There’s some familiarity but there’s the unknown with the Anfield challenge.

“What I do know is that our fans will travel extremely well and I expect that we will hear their voices. We want a famous night but we have to earn it.

“They’ll be a really tough, really aggressive team who are going to play well and we have to try and rise above that to win.”

Should Manchester United continue winning games, there is a chance that they could take the Barclays Women’s Super League title race the distance. Skinner admits that having the opportunity to become league champions would be nice but the focus is on the next game.

He said “It’d be nice but we work game-to-game because you can’t take focus off it. We are human and we understand in the background, there are questions about whether you could do more or win the title but it’s not in our hands; what is in our hands is trying to beat Liverpool, that’s why we focus on that. The reality is that if we take our eyes off Liverpool, they can win the game and that’s what we want to avoid.

“Of course, we want to finish as high as possible, qualify for Champions League. If the opportunity comes to win the league, of course, we would love that but all we can do is focus on the game-by-game model and that’s what we will do.”

Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Liverpool kicks-off at 7.15pm on Friday evening.