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Following five wins in a row in all competitions, we travel to Broadfield Stadium to face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Barclays Women’s Super League.

A win could see us close the gap on Chelsea at the top of the table.

Last time out

 

We won 4-0 at Broadfield Stadium in May, Stina Blackstenius scoring a brace early on.

She almost had a hat-trick but the flag was raised for offside, before she then hit the crossbar.

Frida Maanum headed into the bottom left corner for 3-0 before Victoria Pelova scored for four at the near post.

Seagulls finding flight

Since a 2-1 win away to Everton on the opening day, Brighton had lost to West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in the league, but did put three past Birmingham City without reply in the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup during that period.

There have been signs of improvement in November though, as Melissa Phillips’ side secured a 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United and then produced a stunning 1-0 win away to Manchester City last week.

Facts and stats

• Brighton have lost all 10 of their Women’s Super League matches against us. Only Everton vs Man City (14 games, 14 defeats) have played more times against an opponent without picking up a point.
• We have won all five of our away WSL games against Brighton without conceding a single goal, while scoring 20 ourselves. It’s the most a team has played away against another without conceding in WSL history.
• Brighton are looking to win consecutive WSL matches for the first time since March 2022 – they have played 33 league games in between that run and their win last week.
• Beth Mead has been involved in 11 goals in her nine WSL appearances against Brighton (7 goals, 4 assists), including seven in her last four against the Seagulls (4 goals, 3 assists).
• Only Aston Villa (9) have dropped more points from winning positions in the WSL this season than Brighton (8), while we have won the most points from losing positions (7).

What the managers say

Eidevall on Brighton: “If you go into the WSL this season and are complacent towards any game, I think you must have been sleeping and not watching any games. That time is way past. This is the most competitive season there has ever been in the WSL and that will show in every game. 

“We need to be 100 percent all the time. For a 22 match league, it’s not a big ask to be 100 percent for each one of those games. That has to be the standard that we set.”

Read every word of Jonas’ presser.

Phillips on us: “We’re excited to be back home again this weekend. The atmosphere was absolutely electric against Manchester United the weekend before last and we hope for the same thing.

“We need all our fans their to will us on. Arsenal often travel quite deep with their fans, so we need a big performance from them as well in the weekend ahead.”

Match officials

Referee: Tim Robinson

Assistants: Nicoleta Bria and Laura van Lier

Fourth official: Lauren Impey

Team news

In his pre-match press conference, Jonas Eidevall provided the latest team news: “Like before the Leicester game, we ran into a handful of minor ones. They are all still being assessed and managed and trying to be progressed. What’s going to be the outcome for Sunday? I can’t really tell right now, but there aren’t any new concerns.

“Vivianne Miedema, Kim Little, Lia Walti, Laia Codina and Jen Beattie are all in contention for the weekend, we just need to see which ones can make it through in a safe and good way.”

Leah Williamson, Laura Wienroither and Teyah Goldie continue their ACL rehabilitation at London Colney. 

How to watch

The action at Broadfield Stadium kicks off at 2pm (UK). Those supporters not making the trip to Crawley can watch the match live on Sky Sports, with coverage starting at 1pm.