MATCH INFO:

Manchester United vs. Arsenal

Leigh Sports Village Stadium, Leigh, England

Kickoff: November 8th, 2020 at 7:00 a.m. EST

WHERE TO WATCH: The FA Player

It is shaping up to be an exciting weekend of soccer in the FA Women’s Super League, with six matches set to take place between Saturday and Sunday. On our radar is the upcoming tilt between Arsenal, who currently sits atop the WSL standings, and Manchester United, currently in third. The match will be played this Sunday, November 8th at 7:00 a.m. EST at Leigh Sports Village Stadium in Leigh, England.

Straight back to it ????

All eyes on Sunday ????#MUWomen pic.twitter.com/b8357cB995

— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) November 5, 2020

Arsenal has had quite an impressive start to the 2020-2021 season, maintaining an undefeated streak and a 5-0-0 record with five wins in five matches played. In those five matches, Arsenal has scored 29 goals while simultaneously only allowing 4 goals against — earning a perfect 15 points to reign atop the league standings, though only a mere 2 points separate Arsenal from both second-place Everton and Manchester United.

Manchester United has likewise been off to a hot start, winning four and drawing one of their five league matches for a 4-1-0 record. Thus far, the squad has recorded 14 goals and limited their opponents to only 5 goals against. Like Everton, Manchester United has 13 points, with only goal differential separating the two.

Here's how the #BarclaysFAWSL table looks after gameweek 5️⃣ ???? pic.twitter.com/LRDARmefhy

— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) October 18, 2020

Needless to say, Sunday’s matchup will be a fight —  especially given Manchester United’s recent additions. In September, the club signed US women’s national team stars Tobin Heath and Christen Press. Heath, who left the Portland Thorns to play in Manchester, has recorded 168 appearances with the USWNT, scoring 33 goals and assisting 40 for her country. Press, on the other hand, joins Manchester United from the Utah Royals and has logged 138 appearances for the USWNT, in which she’s netted 58 goals and assisted 37. The pair have also won two World Cup trophies for the United States in 2015 and 2019.

Since their signings, the two have already left a notable impression on Manchester United — each opening their scoring account with the club in their third appearance for the team, boosting Manchester United to a 4-2 win over West Ham United on October 18th.

Red & Ready! @ManUtdWomen pic.twitter.com/hZudQBEwKR

— Christen Press (@ChristenPress) September 24, 2020

This expert @TobinHeath finish for #MUWomen is on the October shortlist for Goal of the Month! ????@OfficialPES

— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) November 3, 2020

Arsenal has not faced Manchester United since the team added Heath and Press to their roster, meaning this match could be anyone’s game. The last meeting between the two squads took place back in February, with Arsenal holding onto a 2-1 win to knock Manchester United out of the Continental Tyres League Cup. Dutch-born forward Vivianne Miedema recorded the brace for Arsenal while Mollie Green notched Manchester United’s lone goal in the late minutes of the match, sparking hope for a comeback that fell short as the final whistle blew.

Providing Everton loses to Chelsea on Sunday, Manchester United has the opportunity to dethrone Arsenal and move into first place in WSL League 1 standings should they secure the win and three points. There’s a lot on the line, which means there’s plenty of reasons to wake up early for this powerhouse showdown on Sunday.

WHAT’S NEXT IN THE FA WSL:

 

November 14th 

Manchester United vs. Manchester City @ 7:30 a.m. EST

Aston Villa vs. Birmingham City @ 9:30 a.m. EST

Everton vs. Reading FC @ 11:30 a.m. EST

Bristol City vs. Tottenham @ 1:30 p.m. EST

November 15th

West Ham vs. Brighton & Hove Albion @ 7:30 a.m. EST

Arsenal vs. Chelsea @ 9:30 a.m. EST

Deja Kelly has landed on her final destination, with the former North Carolina star announcing her commitment to Oregon on Monday. 

A three-time All-ACC guard, Kelly averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game in her four years in Chapel Hill. She led the team in scoring in each of the last three seasons, but opted to transfer elsewhere for her fifth and final year of NCAA eligibility.

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The 5-foot-8 Texas native finishes her UNC career eighth on the team’s scoring list, having helped carry the Tar Heels to a Sweet 16 in 2022. 

Kelly is the seventh new addition for Oregon Ducks coach Kelly Graves this offseason, as the program faced a number of big name departures at the close of the 2023 NCAA tournament. She will join Texas' Amina Muhammad, Arizona's Salimatou Kourouma, Washington's Ari Long, BYU's Nani Falatea, UC Santa Barbara's Alexis Whitfield, and Siena's Elisa Mevius in Eugene this fall.

Kelly wasn't the only noteworthy transfer shaking up women's college hoops this week, with Marquette's Liza Karlen and Pitt's Liatu King both announcing their commitments to Notre Dame within a span of roughly 18 hours.

The San Diego Wave are without some key players, and they don’t expect to get them back anytime soon. 

Alex Morgan, Sofia Jakobsson, Melanie Barcenas, Abby Dahlkemper, and Naomi Girma are all currently on the team’s injury list. On Monday, head coach Casey Stoney was asked if she expected any of them to return to the pitch in the near future. 

"No, unfortunately not," was her response. The Wave is set to play Utah on Wednesday.

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While Stoney hasn't yet provided anything else definitive, absences from Morgan and Girma leave behind a pretty big hole in the team roster, particularly with the Olympics — not to mention the preceding USWNT send-off friendlies — just around the corner. Morgan has been sidelined with ankle trouble since the team's late April match against Orlando, while Girma’s first game on the injury list was against Seattle. 

Stoney, however, has said that the Wave doesn’t play any differently with or without the missing players.

"It doesn’t really affect the way we play," she said following the team’s recent loss to Seattle. "We just needed to have more patience. We still had some senior players out there tonight that could have impacted that and needed to impact that and did in the second half."

San Diego currently sits in 10th place with seven points, having won two games in their last five matches.

Angel Reese celebrated her 22nd birthday in style, turning out for the Met Gala. 

The Chicago Sky rookie wore a custom dress by British label 16Arlington. Reese is just the second WNBA player to ever grace the Met Gala carpet, following Brittney Griner's appearance last year.

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"I’m just excited to see everyone’s outfits. Everyone looks amazing in here. Being here on my 22nd birthday is amazing," Reese told WWD ahead of the event. "I feel beautiful and I feel sexy."

She later took to Twitter, writing that "being able to play the game I love & live my dream in the fashion world all on my 22nd birthday is a blessing."

Wow! God is so good! Being able to play the game I love & live my dream in the fashion world all on my 22nd birthday is a blessing. 🥺😭🥳

— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) May 7, 2024

Reese wasn’t the only women's sports athlete to grace the Met Gala this year. Rolex Women's World Golf Ranking No. 1 Nelly Korda arrived as a guest of Wasserman Media Group chairperson Casey Wasserman, making her the first LPGA golfer to attend the event. Korda wore Oscar de la Renta. 

Icon ✨@NellyKorda at the 2024 #MetGala pic.twitter.com/nziEROYb5V

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 7, 2024

Former host and red carpet regular Serena Williams showed up in a gold Balenciaga gown. She reunited with tennis great Maria Sharapova at the event, while sister Venus Williams was also in attendance.

Gold and @serenawilliams just go together 🥇

The 4x Olympic gold medalist showed out at the #MetGala. pic.twitter.com/ZsNHxu1DSg

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) May 7, 2024

Maria Sharapova arrives at the Met Gala.

Stunning. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/zZzAcR35V6

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 7, 2024

#MetGala with @MarcJacobs 🌟 #ReawakeningFashion

📷 @GettyImages pic.twitter.com/JEepMkjgU8

— Venus Williams (@Venuseswilliams) May 7, 2024

This year's Met Gala theme was "Garden of Time."

Kamilla Cardoso will not make her regular season WNBA debut with the Chicago Sky for some time, with the Chicago Sun-Times reporting Monday that she's expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks with a shoulder injury. 

The No. 3 overall pick in last month’s WNBA Draft suffered the knock in the team’s preseason game this past Friday. She hasn’t fully participated in practice since, and will await reevaluation while undergoing recovery measures. 

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That timeline means that she won't be suiting up for the team’s May 15th season opener, with her potential return estimated around June 17th. Depending on her status, Cardoso might miss up to 13 games total, an absence that could have a serious impact on team development.

Fellow Sky rookie Bryanna Maxwell — drafted by Chicago No. 13 overall this year — will also be out three to four weeks with a knee injury.

"They’re working their butts off to get better and get themselves back into it," Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon told Sun-Times reporter Annie Costabile. "This is a long season. We want to make sure we take care of each player."

Cardoso is coming off of an undefeated NCAA national championship run with South Carolina, where she was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. A two-time national champion, the 6-foot-7 center racked up six points and four rebounds in 13 minutes of Friday's 92-81 loss to the Lynx before exiting the game due to injury.