Manchester City midfielder Laura Coombs sees the rise of Manchester United as a major force in the Women’s Super League as something to be welcomed. After being relaunched in 2018, winning the Championship and then coming fourth in the WSL for three successive years, United this term have had their best top-flight campaign to date. Marc Skinner’s side had been top of the table and are close to securing Women’s Champions League qualification for the first time. City, who United face in Sunday evening’s derby at Leigh Sports Village, are in danger of missing out on Europe. But on the topic of United’s rise, Coombs told the PA news agency: “I think every player prefers the league more competitive. “I think it now puts our league as probably the best in the world, because it’s the most competitive. So the more teams that can rise up, the better in my opinion.” With two rounds of games to go, United are second in the table, two points behind Chelsea. Arsenal, Chelsea’s opponents at Kingsmeadow on Sunday, are three points further back in third, with fourth-placed City another two points behind in the battle for the three Champions League berths. Asked about the fact that if Chelsea win, City could then end their derby rivals’ title push, Coombs said: “We want to beat United. If that result then stops them, I wouldn’t say that’s why exactly. The more teams that can rise up, the better in my opinion. Laura Coombs “We just want to go in and get the result to give us every chance to get top-three, that’s really our main motivation.” City are looking to avoid what would be a first finish outside the European places since 2014, their inaugural WSL campaign. Yet to be beaten by United in six WSL meetings, winning three of those, City take them on a week after Skinner’s side lost 1-0 to Chelsea in their debut Women’s FA Cup final appearance. Coombs – scorer of an equaliser in December’s 1-1 Manchester derby draw at the Etihad Stadium, a moment she describes as a “highlight of my career” – has no doubt United will “come all guns blazing”. And the 32-year-old added: “Like us, they lost their last game so they want to put that right straight away. They always give us a good game, and I think every year the games between us are getting more and more competitive. It’s really exciting to be a part of.” After a notable turnover of players last summer, City started their WSL campaign with back-to-back losses before going unbeaten across the next 14 games, winning 12. That momentum has slowed with two defeats in the last four for Gareth Taylor’s side, 2-1 at Arsenal and then Liverpool last time out. Coombs, whose season has included signing a new deal with the club running to 2025 as well as returning to the England squad, said: “I think it has been a bit of a rebuilding year. “We bounced back pretty quickly after the first two games of the season and we’ve got ourselves in a place now where we’re a solid group, and there won’t be a big turnover at the end of the year. “So I think going into next year that puts us in a really strong position. We have had large periods of the year where we’ve played some really great stuff and we’ve got back to a competitive place in the league. So I think if we look at it as a building year, it makes next year really exciting for us.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live On this day 2016 – Liverpool lose to Sevilla in Europa League final Man City crush holders to book Champions League final return Recent history not on Rory McIlroy’s side as he aims to win US PGA Championship

Daniil Medvedev defeated fellow Russian Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in scorching conditions Wednesday to reach his fourth US Open semi-final and set up a possible...

Gal Gadot confirms "Wonder Woman 3" is in development, Florida State looks for ACC exit, Liam Hendriks had Tommy John surgery and more in the Roundup.

The German soccer federation has appointed Andreas Rettig as its new sporting director in charge of all its national teams and youth academy

Gonzalo Pineda praised his entire team after their dominant win against Inter Miami.

The surest path to the NFL playoffs is a division championship, which isn’t a far-fetched goal if you’re part of the less-than-imposing NFC South

Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou will go head to head in the boxing ring this weekend, in a unique heavyweight clash. Fury reigns as WBC heavyweight champion, while Ngannou will be making his boxing debut and fighting for the first time since leaving the UFC. The Cameroonian retained the UFC heavyweight title last year before ultimately giving up the gold in January and joining the Professional Fighters League this spring. Ngannou, 37, will make his promotional debut with the MMA company in 2024, but first, he crosses into boxing to face Fury. The Briton, 35, is unbeaten and on course for an undisputed-title fight with Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia, if he can avoid a shock defeat by the heavy-handed Ngannou in Riyadh. Here’s all you need to know. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. When is the fight? The fight will take place on Saturday 28 October in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The main card is expected to start at 6pm BST (10am PT, 12pm CT, 1pm ET). Ring walks for the main event are then expected at around 10.45pm BST (2.45pm PT, 4.45pm CT, 5.45pm ET). How can I watch it? In the UK, the event will air live on TNT Sports Box Office at a cost of £21.95 for viewers in the UK. In Ireland, the event will cost €29.99 if purchased in advance or €34.99 on the day of the fights. Viewers do not need to have a TNT subscription in order to purchase the event. In the US, the event will stream live on ESPN+ pay-per-view, and outside of the afore-mentioned countries and Canada the card will be purchasable on Dazn PPV. If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the event, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are and also with the terms of their service provider. Odds Fury – 1/14 Ngannou – 15/2 Draw – 28/1 Via Betway. • Get all the latest boxing betting sites’ offers What are the rules? This will be a heavyweight boxing match, with no MMA rules involved. The fight is scheduled for 10 three-minute rounds, with a victor being decided on points or via knockout/TKO. The result is expected to count towards Fury’s professional boxing record – which is 33-0-1, and Ngannou’s, which is 0-0 – but the Briton’s WBC title will not be on the line. What is the prize money? Fury has said, via the Mirror, that Ngannou will be earning $10m for the fight. Meanwhile, Derek Chisora has claimed, via The Sun, that Fury will be making $50m. That is not believed to factor in sponsorships. Full card (subject to change) Fabio Wardley vs David Adeleye (heavyweight) Joseph Parker vs Simon Kean (heavyweight) Martin Bakole vs Carlos Takam (heavyweight) Arslanbek Makhmudov vs Junior Anthony Wright (heavyweight) Moses Itauma vs Istvan Bernath (heavyweight) Jack McGann vs Alcibiade Duran (super-welterweight) Read More Wilder demands AJ fight to avert ‘major disaster’ of duo never meeting Francis Ngannou drops hint over Tyson Fury rematch and Anthony Joshua fight How much money are Fury and Ngannou earning for fight this weekend? How many rounds is Fury vs Ngannou and do knockouts count? Who is fighting on the Fury vs Ngannou undercard this weekend? What time does Fury vs Ngannou start this weekend?

All-Star left-hander Clayton Kershaw is getting closer to his return for the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels said that wide receiver Davante Adams earned the right to voice his displeasure about the direction of the team.This offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders made moves to try and make it back to the playoffs after drastically underperforming expectations last...

An American boxing trainer has been charged with possession of a firearm as he prepared to board a flight at Manchester Airport in northwest England

England fast bowler Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the upcoming Ashes series against Australia because of ongoing problems with his right elbow that have limited his playing time since 2021

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has posted a single emoji as speculation about his future at the club remains up in the air. The Spanish shot-stopper has been at The Red Devils since 2011 and has gone on to become one of the top players in his position in the world winning numerous trophies and individual awards with United, as well as keeping the most clean sheets in a Premier League twice in that time. However, the 32-year-old has come under fierce scrutiny from fans and pundits during this time with many holding him responsible for numerous goals and dropped points. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter There were thoughts that De Gea could be leaving Old Trafford this summer as his contract expires on June 30th but The Athletic have reported that he has signed a new contract with the club but at a wage cut of £375,000 per week. However, the club then backed out of this deal and are now contemplating offering him an even lower salary with reported interest for the player coming from Saudi Arabia. De Gea has now appeared to make an allusion to the situation by posting a single yawning emoji on Twitter with no context to what it was about. The post has sparked a mixed reaction from supporters of the famous club with many feeling the player deserved more respect for the loyalty that he showed to the team. De Gea has played more than 500 games for United and won their Player of the Year award four times. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.