Manchester United and Everton meet for the second time this season in midweek when they go head to head in the Continental Cup group stage.

These sides met in the WSL at the end of October, with United securing a 3-0 win at Walton Hall Park, which at the time was a fifth consecutive league win for Marc Skinner’s team.

Since then, United have been beaten by Chelsea but bounced back with wins over Arsenal and Aston Villa. Everton, meanwhile, have had a tough run but will take some positive from suffering what were only narrow defeats to Manchester City and Arsenal in recent weeks.

When is kick off? Wednesday 7 December, 19:00 (GMT)
Where is the match being played? Leigh Sports Village
TV channel/live stream? FA Player
Referee? Simon Mather

Marc Skinner has no new injury concerns ahead of this season, with Aoife Mannion the only player still missing. Now in the very final stages of her ACL recovery, even she could now return to a matchday squad before Christmas.

There will be some rotation that will rest key starters and hand minutes to fringe players, with the likes of Aissatou Tounkara, Vilde Boe Risa and Adriana Leon all looking for more minutes.

The United boss has included emerging talents on the bench in previous Conti Cup games this season but is not expected to this time as a result of injury ruling out a number of potential options.

Brian Sorensen intends to rotate his team for this one in a busy period of games for Everton.

Nicoline Sorensen played 15 minutes against Arsenal at the weekend in her first appearance for more than a year after recovering from long-term injury.

Megan Finnigan and Clare Wheeler will both be absent, but Izzy Christiansen is available. Nathalie Bjorn is also in contention despite coming off befor the end against Arsenal.

Manchester United’s Conti Cup status hangs in the balance here. Taking just two points from their opening games has left them at the mercy of others in the group, with Aston Villa currently leading the standings and only a point behind with a game in hand.

United will be out of the competition regardless if Aston Villa beat Durham to ensure they cannot top this group, and Manchester City beat Liverpool taking away the best runner-up spot also available.

Even with a home victory, which is still likely, it remains out of their hands with one game left.

Prediction: Man Utd 2-1 Everton

For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter!



Credit: 90min.com

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