Proudly sitting atop the ladder with a perfect five wins from five games, the Birch Avenue outfit has been drawn to face South Hobart in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

United won 3-1 at Darcy Street in round two and co-coaches Frank Compton and Lynden Prince are quietly confident their side can double up at home in the cup.

"The big games just keep coming but we're really excited about that," Compton said.

"I was really pleased that the attitude of the girls was great that we had drawn South Hobart who we think have been our best opponent so far and that's who we want to test ourselves against. They try and play good football, are strong and show good ambition.

"We learned a lot about ourselves in that game. There was a fair apprehension about playing them but we deserved to win and learned we are in that company and should not fear anyone.

"We don't want to be arrogant but go in just hoping to get through because any league campaign can be supported by a good cup run."

United have bounced back from the disappointment of losing Canadian import Montana Leonard to a season-ending knee injury inside the first half hour of the campaign with fellow recruits Ellie La Monte and Alexis Mitchell filling the void.

La Monte has bagged seven goals already while her fellow 23-year-old housemate Mitchell also excites Compton who describes her as a "busy midfielder with exemplary attitude".

"We were looking into who might be open to a move and were really happy to see that she was keen. She got her visa sorted out, we had a couple of Zoom chats and she came in for the games against Taroona and Kingborough.

"She took 30 minutes to get used to the pace and realise she had a bit more time than she realised and against Kingborough really orchestrated things nicely and will only get better.

"It was always going to be a case of who can step up and we're very fortunate to have Ellie take the mantle on to be the goal-scorer. Madi Gilpin (four goals) is continually chipping in from midfield while Dani Gunton and Annie Reitsema (two each) have also offered valuable contributions."

Leonard has returned to Calgary for surgery but Compton said she hasn't ruled out coming back in the future.

United will re-focus on league action next week at home to Olympia hoping to complete a perfect opening round of fixtures.

In the Lakoseljac Cup, NPL outfit Riverside and Northern Championship leaders Northern Rangers face equally tough propositions.

Peter Savill's Rangers boast five straight wins, a +13 goal difference bolstered by the experience of Luke Eyles and will be full of confidence following 3-0 and 5-0 derby wins against City and United respectively.

Fresh from 4-0 (v University) and 6-0 (Somerset) wins in previous rounds, Rangers host an Olympia side sitting second bottom of NPL Tasmania with one win and five losses to date.

Riverside are the only team below Warriors and face a daunting trip to South Hobart fresh off a 4-0 thumping of Clarence.

Rob Murray, who has taken the coaching reins following the sacking of Alex Gaetani, said Olympic face a tough month with another league encounter with Ken Morton's men plus fixtures against top two Devonport and Glenorchy.

Murray said his side were still in the contest for 65 minutes against Strikers on Saturday before superior fitness and a full bench proved the difference.

"We've just got to put our best foot forward, keep working on what we have to do to get ourselves going and not worry about the opposition," he said.

"We haven't had great numbers so are still trying to settle everybody in."

Murray said he would not know his full squad until Thursday night but had already lost skipper Will Humphrey and Mackye Jago with COVID plus Simon Lucas who dislocated a shoulder against Devonport.

With the club's under-17s playing in the Development League at Kingborough and other players cup tied through the under-20s competition, Murray said he would be bolstering his squad from the Northern Championship team which picked up its first win against a strong Devonport outfit last weekend.

Jack Carter (knee) and Isael Carvalho (groin) should return with JP Rutabayiro (hamstring) hopeful of a long-awaited debut.