Vivianne Miedema is available again for Manchester City as the Women’s Super League high-flyers prepare to host third-tier Ipswich in the FA Cup.
The prolific Netherlands forward has been sidelined since October with a knee injury but could return for the fourth-round clash against the National League Southern Premier Division leaders.
City boss Gareth Taylor said: “We have Viv back, which is a real positive.
GARETH 💬 We have Viv back which is a real positive. We are not going to be able to go straight back into it with her. We will have to build her back up.
Bunny was with us last week, she was training separately. From what I saw she feels really good. Hopefully she can be back… pic.twitter.com/0o0doSijw1
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) January 10, 2025
“We’re not going to be able to go straight into it with her, we’re going to have to build her back up.
“To have Viv back is fantastic because we know what a top player she is. Just by being out there she really helps other players perform even better.
“She gives so much time and space to other players as well as being quality in herself. Good to have her back.”
Chelsea, who are six points clear of City at the top of the WSL, have also been handed a fitness boost with Lauren James back in full training following a calf injury and the forward could be in contention for their cup clash at home to Charlton.
Sonia Bompastor will take charge of her first FA Cup game since becoming Blues head coach last summer and the Frenchwoman is looking forward to getting their campaign under way.
She said: “We’re very excited to start this competition.
“We feel ready for the game on Sunday, we are ready to face an opposition who will be ready to give us a tough game. We know how big the FA Cup is in England.”
Arsenal face former top-flight side Bristol City while an all-WSL clash sees West Ham host Liverpool.
Fulham are the lowest-ranked team left and reached this stage of the competition with wins over Royston Town and Brentford in the previous two rounds.
The tier-five club – who won the FA Cup in 2002 and 2003 before the team were dissolved and reformed – have been handed a London derby clash against Championship side London City Lionesses and vice-captain Megalie Mendes is proud of the progress Fulham have shown.
“We’ve played and deservedly beaten two teams who were a league above us,” Mendes said in quotes reported on the FA website.
The #AdobeWomensFACup trophy visited @FulhamFCWomen ahead of their historic fourth round fixture, as they take on London City Lionesses at Craven Cottage this Sunday 🏆 pic.twitter.com/leUQUckxpb
— Adobe Women's FA Cup (@AdobeWFACup) January 9, 2025
“It’s always nice to beat teams that are higher up, and proves that we would be able to go and play in that league if we got promoted.
“Getting to the fourth round is the furthest we’ve got in this era of the Fulham women’s team, since the club was disbanded and reformed.
“So there’s a real element of pride in that, as well as progress because we can see how far we’ve grown so it’s all positive.”
Robert Vilahamn takes Tottenham to WSL rivals Everton on Sunday and is eager for his team to enjoy another great FA Cup run after they lost to Manchester United in last season’s final.
He said: “It was also a taste of what we want to do with this club. We want to be in those environments and make sure people talk about Tottenham Women as a competitor in the cups and the league. It was a glint.
“We are still inconsistent to show it all the time in the league, but we want to make sure we get to these games and you learn a lot from them.
“Hopefully we do like Manchester United did where they used that experience (of losing a final) because that was one of the key things they had which we didn’t have for this game.”
