Eidevall teases Conti Cup squad rotation

Jonas Eidevall has teased changes to the starting XI ahead of our Conti Cup opener against Bristol City on Thursday evening. 

"I think it's a great opportunity for me to test new things, to see different players as well," said Eidevall at his pre-match press conference. "Of course, we need to take that opportunity and I really look forward to that."

Kyra Cooney-Cross, who signed from Hammarby on the last day of the summer transfer window, is one of the new faces who'll be hoping to make an appearance against Bristol City. The young Australian midfielder has already made her club debut with a cameo against Aston Villa on the opening game of the Women's Super League season and featured heavily for the Matildas at the most recent FIFA World Cup. 

Elsewhere, 20-year-old Kathrine Kuhl is another player who has hugely impressed on international duty for Denmark and could provide something new in the middle of the park against the Robins. 

Not for the first time, when asked about how he is managing a bigger squad this season, our head coach put an emphasis on the entire team and not just the 11 players who start the match. 

"It's a case of defined roles and responsibilities that really fit what the team needs and understanding that different games have different contexts. That also changes what the best starting XI and what the best finishing XI looks like.

"But then I also think managing a squad is about understanding that football is not static. People develop and we need to do that on a daily basis and the competition needs to be alive for positions.

"The third part - and this is what I think it's really important - is that we don't build a squad where everybody can do the same thing. That enables us to learn things from each other, which hopefully is beneficial for everyone."

The only definite team news Eidevall did share in his pre-Bristol press conference is that Laia Codina is ruled out for the tie after the defender picked up "a little muscular injury" on international duty with Spain.