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Manchester United’s Marc Skinner is expecting the birth of his second child with partner Laura Bassett and may not be in the dugout on Sunday for United’s clash with Bristol.
Assistant manager, Charlotte Healy, took the reins in the pre-match press conference on Friday in Skinner’s absence.
Speaking about opponents Bristol City, Healy said: “I think every game is dangerous in this league. You only have to look at results across the league to see that every team can cause threats on the day.
“We know Lauren Smith’s team will be organised. We know they’ll have a lot of fight and from the games I’ve watched, Bristol have played really well in some of those games, even when they haven’t picked up the results.
“I saw Lauren’s press conference yesterday when she said that people will have them already beaten. We definitely don’t.”
Last weekend, United put in an energetic performance against Brighton to secure a spot in the semi-final of the FA Cup as they beat them 4-0 on the road.
After last week’s game, Skinner called on his players to carry that momentum on into the league.
Healy reiterated that message: “We’ve worked really hard this week to make sure that we’re prepared, that we build on the Brighton performance and there’ll be no underestimating Bristol this week, that’s for sure.”
Healy could well step up and manage the team against Bristol in Skinner’s absence.
She has been a part of United’s set-up for a number of years now and was the head coach who led the Under-21s to a domestic double in 2022.
The squad has been met with an injury blow in Leah Galton who is side-lined through a thigh strain but the squad will have been boosted by the return of the slightly jet-lagged Geyse who is back training with the squad after Brazil lost to the USA in the final of the CONCACAF W Gold Cup.
Skinner trusts Healy and she will probably be given free rein with substitutions. Alyssa Aherne has found herself on the bench in a few games so far this season and with Healy knowing the capabilities of the academy graduates so well, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see her in the second half.
Evie Rabjohn played 60 minutes of the U21’s game on Wednesday and was named on the bench against Brighton so could also get some minutes against Bristol.
Kick-off is at 12 noon at Leigh Sports Village.
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