Man Utd Women vs Man City Women: WSL title and Champions League qualification add to bragging rights in Manchester derby

“Go out there and enjoy it. Give the best version of yourselves.”

That will be the final message from both managers when Manchester United host Manchester City in the WSL on Sunday live on Sky Sports, in both sides’ penultimate match of the season.

Everyone looks forward to a derby but this is more than that. Every game for these two sides has an influence on their end goals in a season lasting only 22 games, but with the finishing line now only a week away, it’s win or bust.

With every game pivotal at this point, their respective fates could be all-but decided ahead of kick-off by Chelsea’s clash with Arsenal earlier on Sunday. However, the right result at Kingsmeadow could yet turn this into a title decider – giving United the chance to leapfrog leaders Chelsea right at the last – or hand Man City renewed hope of sneaking into the Champions League at the Gunners’ expense.

Pressure goes beyond cross-town pride at this stage in the season. Their managers’ last words will be difficult to put into practice. But whoever does manage to enjoy the occasion more will give themselves a strong chance of emerging on top.

United boss Marc Skinner would rather his side didn’t even watch the earlier game, to avoid the pressure from that result getting into their minds ahead of kick-off.

“It’s not about Chelsea or Arsenal. We’ve got a big enough game,” he told Sky Sports. “If you’re focusing on them, you’re not right for our game against Man City. That’s as big a game, if not bigger anyway. For us, it’s just about focusing on us and I think if you explain it properly, the players understand it.

“There’ll be some that watch it, they’re human. Some of them just love watching football anyway, for us it’s all about putting in the best performance we can against Man City.”

Skinner’s side are back in action straight from an FA Cup final defeat at Wembley last weekend, against Emma Hayes’ Chelsea. Victory over their closest rivals would be a perfect tonic.

The adage goes that the best way to get over a defeat is with another game, but United’s performance at Wembley has given the manager enough heart to believe his players won’t be too downhearted.

“I felt there was a good vibe after the final, even though we lost. It felt like it was a precursor for things for us, in terms of we want to win – and they feel that energy that we’re going to win in future,” he said. “It was a learning experience, not a nice one because we lost the game, but reflecting on it, watching it back, we gave a good account of ourselves.

“We’ve had a week to prepare, the players are right at it and they want to challenge here, they want to try to win the title but also to make sure they’re playing against Man City, and also for our fans because the stadium is going to be close to being full.

“The good thing is we can project that from a big game last weekend into a big game this weekend, whereas Manchester City have been off for a week – and hopefully we can make that tell.”

While United have closed the gap at the top of the table this season, City have been shunted down the pecking order from third to fourth after a shock 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in their last game two weeks ago left them with only the slimmest of hopes of reaching the Champions League.

They now need to pick up four points more than Arsenal, or three with a 12-goal swing, in the final two matches of the season to stand any hope of surpassing them. It looks a tall order.

Their season does come with a caveat though. A mass exodus of seasoned talent left in the summer and though their replacements have shown promise, City lost both of their first two games while they adjusted to their new surroundings. Hypothetically, without that setback they would be right in the mix for the title.

If they can get a result on Sunday, they could still finish with more points than they managed last season – a sign of improvement, but not as quick as their rivals are improving.

Boss Gareth Taylor insists his side are progressing even if they do miss out on Champions League football.

He said: “We have the potential to exceed the points tally we had last season, that’s a step in the right direction. But you look at the players we lost, the amount of recognised WSL talent we had, it’s obviously quite difficult in those circumstances.

“But I’ve been impressed with this team, and impressed what we’ll be able to do in future years. It just shows how the levels have gone up, that’ll be apparent if we increase on last season and don’t make it into the Champions League.

“That’s football, it’s constantly evolving and improving, and so long as we can see an upward curve in what we’re doing with a fresh team then it’s something to be excited about.”

City signed seven and lost eight players last summer in an intense transfer window neither the club nor Taylor would have wished for, and whether or not they do reach the top three this year, more is expected of his side in 2023/24.

The manager is confident of a quieter few months around the Academy Stadium this time around, and admits he knows where his side have to improve going forward.

He said: “We need to finish off more chances, and if we do that – the margins are really high this season in terms of trying to gain points for the Champions League, to win the league, it’s continually pushing all of the time. That’s where we want to be.

“We won’t see too much upheaval in the summer this year, so hopefully that can give us a better chance to have a better start.

“There’s still no guarantees though and we have to work tremendously hard, but with the group of players we have we certainly have an opportunity to do that.”

Will either side enjoy such a highly-charged Manchester Derby? Quite possibly not. But come 9pm on Sunday night, one or the other could well be on cloud nine.

Watch Man Utd vs Man City live on Sky Sports Football on Sunday from 6.30pm, kick-off 6.45pm.