Manchester United prepare for "historic" battle against Bayern Munich
Champions League quarter-final marks major moment for Marc Skinner's side
Manchester United face the biggest game in their history when they take on European giants Bayern Munich at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
The Champions League quarter-final clash marks a huge moment for Marc Skinner’s side, who have progressed to the last eight in their first ever full-European campaign.
For Skinner, this is a exciting moment as his team prepare to do battle in “two historic arenas”, but the challenge facing his side is seismic. Bayern head to Manchester on a 22-game unbeaten run in all competitions. They are 11 points clear at the top of the Frauen Bundesliga and only lost once in the Champions League league phase, a 7-1 defeat to Barcelona in the opening round of games.
Manchester United started their first main-draw campaign with three consecutive victories before losing to their highest-seeded sides in their grouping in Wolfsburg and Lyon. United ultimately finished sixth in the league phase and managed to progress to the quarter-finals after beating Atletico Madrid 5-0 in the play-off round.
Where United can win but also lose this tie is efficiency in front of goal. Chance creation has not been an issue in the majority of fixtures United have played this season, however converting those chances has been. With Bayern on a long, unbeaten run and only having conceded six goals in the league, United are going to have limited opportunities to score so will need to take those chances when they come.
The fatigue of the squad is certainly going to be stretched with the many injuries that Skinner is currently navigating, and the squad halfway through a block of six games in 17 days. A big win Wednesday night under the lights at Old Trafford could be exactly what this teams needs going into Saturday’s Manchester derby.
A player who knows United’s opposition very well is midfielder and former Bayern player Julia Zigiotti Olme. Speaking alongside Skinner in Tuesday’s pre-match press conference, Zigiotti Olme said it was a “a special moment” to reunite with her old club.
Skinner has confirmed that Asian Cup champion Hinata Miyazawa is back in contention to start after arriving back in Manchester on Monday. Right-back Jayde Riviere is also back in contention to start after her injury. Dominique Janssen, Ellen Wangerheim, Anna Sandberg, Ella Toone and Leah Galton are all still out through injury.
The return of Miyazawa is a huge positive for Skinner’s side, with the balance seemingly shaken in recent weeks with her absence.
The midfield partnership of Zigiotti Olme and Miyazawa will be crucial to United’s success over these two legs, as it will allow the former to play further forward as she has done for the majority of the season - only dropping deeper into the six position while Miyazawa was at the Asia Cup with Japan over the last three games.
The return of Riviere is also a huge positive with so much of United’s attacking output coming from the full-backs.
A difficult run
Skinner called last week’s run of three games in seven days a week of “cup finals”. It was a stretch that brought mixed results for his side. Defeat in the League Cup final against Chelsea was followed by a 0-0 draw with West Ham in the WSL, and a narrow 2-1 win over Everton.
Saturday’s late victory against Everton, again exposed United’s issues in front of goal. Melvine Malard and Elisabeth Terland had opportunities in the first half but failed to trouble the Everton goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan. Often it came down to indecision in front of goal with the United forwards opting to try to play an extra pass to score the perfect goal.
The second half against Everton was a lot more controlled from a possession point of view, but a lot fewer chances created, with half the amount of shots in the second half (five) and just the two on target compared to six in the first half. The press dropped its intensity, which isn’t surprising considering the amount of games this squad has played this season - however it did highlight how reliant United’s chance creation came from turning over possession higher up the pitch earlier in the game rather than build up play to break down Everton.
Every game feels a must win fixture for this team now, with a top-three finish in the WSL and Champions League football, the most important goal.
 | A guest post by
|