READING FC WOMEN welcome title contenders Manchester United to Berkshire this Sunday.
In their first home match of 2023, the Royals will face a stern test up against a United side who are looking to break the mould by challenging for top spot in the Women’s Super League.
Marc Skinner’s team have had an outstanding first-half to the season which has seen them keep pace with both Arsenal and defending champions Chelsea.
They are currently on 25 points having won eight of their WSL matches which puts them in second place, just three points behind league leaders Chelsea and with a game in hand to play.
The Red Devils made a spectacular return to action after the winter break last weekend by smashing six past Liverpool without reply.
United showed their ability to find goals from all around the park with five different goal scorers on Sunday with strikes from Lucia Garcia, Alessia Russo, Hayley Ladd, Martha Thomas and Rachel Williams.
The Manchester side have dropped points in just two games this season. They earned a point in the Manchester derby away at rivals Manchester City after Laura Coombs replied for City following Leah Galton’s opener.
Their only loss of the season came against current title holders Chelsea who took the points with goals from Sam Kerr, Lauren James and Erin Cuthbert in a 3-1 win.
However, United recovered from that disappointment with arguably their most impressive performance of the season which saw them take victory at the Emirates against Arsenal.
The Gunners looked to have completed a comeback after goals from Frida Maanum and Laura Wienroither cancelled out Ella Toone’s opener for United.
But the visitors came roaring back with an incredible late show which saw Millie Turner level in the 85th minute before Russo popped up with a dramatic winner in stoppage time to take the game 3-2.
Reading travelled to United on the opening day of the WSL season and suffered a 4-0 defeat.
After going down 4-0 after 35 minutes, Reading managed to stop the flurry of goals with an improved second-half display.
