'She's my best friend, but on derby day we have a job to do' - Keira Walsh on unique midfield battle in Man City vs Manchester United and proving 'disrespectful' doubters wrong

13.02.2022 - 08:57 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

"I’ve played with Katie Zelem since I was 12 years old. I’m not going to sit here and say I don’t want her to do well. She’s one of my best friends and always will be," Keira Walsh explains.

"But when it comes to derby day, there is no hard feelings regardless of the result. Once we cross that white line - we don’t forget about our friendship - but we’re both there to do our jobs."

On Sunday, Manchester City and Manchester United Women both head into their most important fixture of the season when they face off at a sell-out Academy Stadium on Sunday. United are hoping to strengthen their top-three position against arguably the strongest challenger, while City know anything less than victory would likely spell the end of their own hopes for a Champions League spot in an ever-testing season.

To add another challenging dynamic to arguably the highest-stakes women's derby yet, many of the players on both sides are close friends, as Walsh tells MEN Sport this week.

"The rivalry is so intense between City and United and we both understand that," she continues, referring to her friendship with United captain and midfield rival Zelem.

"Once we come away from the pitch, and we’re at England or we both live in Manchester so see each other quite a bit. Once we cross the white line we don’t think about it and we’ve got a job that needs to be done. Ultimately, we need to beat them and take the points off them to push on for the Champions League."

Walsh says City are confident going into their first home derby with supporters since 2019, despite a frustrating defeat at Chelsea last time out. Gareth Taylor's side are sixth with nine games remaining, five points adrift of United in the last Champions League place. Taylor says City know