United Women Preview | Atlético Madrid away

After a great win at Everton on Sunday, Marc Skinner's are back in Champions League action

That win over Valerenga at the Progress with Unity Stadium got our European campaign off to the perfect start, and now the aim is to build on that momentum.

Author | Pete Shaw

This match marks our first away trip of the competition proper, with Atletico providing the test. The Spanish side have also started strongly in Europe, so it’s shaping up to be a proper battle between two teams full of confidence.

Team news

Going into last weekend’s game at Everton, the main injury worries were Leah Galton, Millie Turner and Celin Bizet Donnum.

From what Marc Skinner said before the match, Galton looked the most likely to return. Having been sidelined since the end of last season, she finally made her comeback with a 10-minute runout at Hill Dickinson Stadium. That should mean she’s back in contention for selection again this week.

Turner and Bizet Donnum, however, didn’t make the squad on Merseyside. Turner’s out until around Christmas, so all eyes will be on how close Bizet Donnum is to making her own return ahead of our trip to Spain.

We’ll likely get an update from Skinner in his pre-match press conference, where he’s expected to give the latest on the squad and any fresh team news.

A closer look at our current form

United have made a superb start to the season across all competitions, with just one defeat so far, that coming against Brann in the qualifying rounds of this tournament.

We began our Champions League campaign with a narrow 1-0 win over Valerenga, captain Maya Le Tissier calmly scoring from the penalty spot. The momentum carried into the weekend as we came from behind to beat Everton 4-1, with goals from Melvine Malard, Jess Park (twice) and a Hikaru Kitagawa own goal.

As United look to make it three wins in a row, Atletico will be hoping to respond after their heavy 6-0 loss to Barcelona in Liga F on Sunday night.