Brian Sorensen believes his Everton Women team need to focus on themselves if they are to have a chance against Manchester City this weekend, as the Blues kick-off 2026 with a trip to Joie Stadium against the FA WSL leaders.
The Toffees have a number of absentees and will be without Rion Ishikawa, who is out for the weekend with sickness, while Hikaru Kitagawa is being assessed after feeling her hamstring during training.
Elise Stenevik, Megan Finnigan and Lucy Hope are all still unavailable.
The versatile Katie Robinson will also not feature in Royal Blue this weekend after the 23-year-old returned to Aston Villa following her loan spell at Goodison, in which she made 12 appearances for the Blues.
Speaking in his press conference, Sorensen discussed the January transfer window and insisted that while the club will look to do business it won’t be a major turnover, with the Dane purely focused on a ‘extremely hard’ game against Andrée Jeglertz’s table-topping side
”They [Manchester City] have a very good team and we have to put a performance in. We have the confidence to know that we can do it if we get it right.
“But, it is going to be extremely hard. We have to be right in the defensive department.
“We know how good they are. We need to focus on ourselves and make sure we get our things right.
“Then, we will have a chance on the day. We need to be aligned.”
The league’s highest scorers with just one reverse in 11 games, the Citizens will take some stopping as they look to dent the dominance of Chelsea and claim their first WSL title since 2016.
And since the West London outfit bested City in September, Jeglertz’s side have been on a relentless streak which has seen them establish a six-point lead at the top while also booking a place in the Women’s League Cup semi-finals.
A team full of quality, Khadija Shaw yet again tops the scoring charts, although both Vivianne Miedema and Aoba Fujino have not been shy in finding the back of the net.
Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw has a shot on goal during the Subway Women’s League Cup, quarter final match at Chigwell Construction Stadium, London. Picture date: Sunday December 21, 2025. (Photo by Nigel French/PA Images via Getty Images) PA Images via Getty Images
Former Toffee and England veteran Alex Greenwood is still at the peak of her defensive powers, while fellow England stalwart Laura Coombs continues to mentor the many rising stars rising through the team’s ranks.
A one-sided rivalry was turned on its head in December 2024, when goals from Hope and Honoka Hayashi secured Everton a well-deserved victory over the Citizens at Walton Hall Park.
Sorensen’s side would go on to claim four points over City during the 2024/25 season with a 1-1 draw in April 2025, and the two clubs have already met twice this season, with Jeglertz’s team winning both encounters.
Kitagawa’s late strike proved nothing more than consolation as the Blues went down 3-1 in the League Cup at Joie Stadium in September 2025.
Two months later and Goodison Park played host to a competitive encounter which saw Miedema fire the visitors ahead only for Kelly Gago to level with a fine finish five minutes before the break.
Everton’s Kelly Gago (left) scores their side’s first goal during the Barclays Women’s Super League match at Goodison Park, Liverpool. Picture date: Sunday November 9, 2025. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images) PA Images via Getty Images
Shaw’s header nine minutes after the restart proved to be decisive, although few teams have provided a sterner test so far to the league leaders, and Sorensen will be hoping his team can produce something similar in terms of performance with the hope of being on the right end of the scoreline this Sunday.
Everton Women take on Manchester City in the WSL at Joie Stadium on Sunday, 11 January.
Kick-off for the Blues’ 2026 curtain raiser is at 12pm GMT (7am ET, 4am PT).