Manchester United Women's forward Alessia Russo has claimed that playing at Old Trafford is "nothing" without the support of the Red Devils' fanbase in the stands.
Marc Skinner's side will welcome Everton Ladies to the Theatre of Dreams for Sunday's Women's Super League fixture - the first time in the women's team's short history that they will take to the field at Old Trafford in front of a crowd.
Man United Women did secure a 2-0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford last season, but the fixture was played behind closed doors at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Striker Russo missed that encounter due to the serious hamstring injury which largely scuppered her debut season at the club, but the 23-year-old has recovered to lead the team's scoring charts with nine in total in the 2021-22 season - seven of which have come in the WSL.
Only Sam Kerr and Vivianne Miedema have struck more league goals than Russo in the current campaign, with the Man United forward joining Beth Mead as the highest English goalscorer in the competition this term.
© Hatch
Russo is optimistic about the prospect of new faces coming to support the women's team at Old Trafford, telling Sports Mole: "It will be more special for everyone [to have the fans there], obviously last season was great to have that occasion and play on such an incredible pitch, but at the same time it was nothing really without our fans.
"They drive us every week and they are the best fans in the league. It's a payback and experience for them, we've just got to go out there and put on a performance for them.
"Hopefully we'll see a lot of new fans come on Sunday and we'd love that – maybe they haven't heard about us or haven't had a chance to watch us live, but if we put on a performance on Sunday maybe we can get even more fans the following week at Leigh, but also for our existing fans that are there every game – it's going to be amazing to have them.
"We are trying to be the future of women's football and Sunday is a great opportunity to get your eyes open."
Skinner's side head into Sunday's game at Old Trafford occupying third place in the WSL table - level on points with bitter rivals Manchester City Women in the race for Champions League football.
We have conducted this interview with Alessia Russo in collaboration with Manchester United's Official Electrical Styling Partner, Remington. Check out their Manchester United Styling collection here.
Ben Knapton
