Man Utd vs Arsenal: Skinner & Eidevall 'heavyweight contest' in WSL title race

The race for the Women's Super League title is set to take another twist on Wednesday as Manchester United and Arsenal face off in at Leigh Sports Village.

Just three points separate the top four teams in the WSL, with United out in front and Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City tantalisingly close behind them.

United have played a game more than the third-placed Gunners and are just three points ahead, so a victory for either side could go a long way to deciding the final destination of the WSL trophy.

Marc Skinner's side made it through to their first FA Cup final by beating Brighton on Saturday, while Jonas Eidevall's team have not played since the international break and will have one eye on Sunday's Champions League semi-final first leg away at Wolfsburg.

United won the last meeting 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium back in November, but who will land a potentially devastating blow as the season approaches its fascinating conclusion? Here's what both managers have had to say ahead of the game...

Skinner: Title race will go down to the wire

Manchester United manager Marc Skinner: "Hopefully this game goes in our favour, so it can be pretty decisive [in the title race]. But I still think there's enough going in the games coming up. There are key injuries to some teams as well. As exciting as I think it will be, I still think it will go down to the last games.

"This is a key game, I'm not downplaying that, but I still think there's a lot to go ahead first before we start looking at that.

"There are two ways we can look at this match. Arsenal haven't played since the international break so could have some freshness, but the reality is we probably got our rustiness out against Brighton on Saturday.

"We were a little bit rusty and it wasn't our most vintage performance, so hopefully we've got that out of our legs and we can get into stride quickly and hopefully against Arsenal, they don't have that.

"It will be about key little details, but it will be a very difficult game. We know how good Arsenal are. They're in the semi-finals of the Champions League for a reason.

"I'm sure they and Jonas are going to be focused on trying to get the three points. We know the threat that they have, they way Jonas wants to play, we know their adaptations, so it will be a very difficult game.

"It's almost like a heavyweight contest. One punch from anyone can knock the other one out, so we have to make sure we're the team who is the aggressor.

"We're going to have to rely heavily on our fanbase as well, because we want to turn our home into a fortress."

Eidevall: To follow...

Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall's press conference coming up from 2pm on Tuesday...

Man Utd early team news

Manchester United will still have to cope without defender Maria Thorisdottir and midfielder Lisa Naalsund, who are both sidelined with injury problems.

Thorisdottir sustained a long-term mid-foot injury at the end of March and will miss the remainder of the season, but Naalsund is recovering well from a hamstring issue.

"Maria is due back in on Tuesday," Skinner said. "We gave her a little bit of time to go home and then she can start her rehab effectively.

"Lisa has been back on the field training individually and will hopefully be in contention, potentially, for the FA Cup final [on May 14]."

Arsenal early team news

Arsenal captain Kim Little, who signed a new contract with the club on Tuesday, will miss the rest of the campaign due to a hamstring injury suffered during last month's Champions League quarter-final with Bayern Munich.

Long-term absentees Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead also remain sidelined for the Gunners, while Steph Catley is expected to miss out through injury.

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