Crystal Palacevs.Brighton

The Seagulls are sitting in third spot in the Women's Super League table, while the Eagles will head into the weekend in eighth position.

Match preview

Newly-promoted Crystal Palace experienced a difficult start to their first WSL campaign, losing 4-0 in their opening match against Tottenham Hotspur, before falling to a heavy 7-0 defeat to reigning champions Chelsea.

Aston Villa then piled the misery on Palace, with Kirsty Hanson and Katie Robinson finding the net to condemn the Eagles to a 2-0 defeat in the Women's League Cup.

However, Laura Kaminski's side showed great character to clinch a confidence-boosting win in last Sunday's away game against Leicester City.

Annabel Blanchard broke the deadlock in the 55th minute, before she scored from the penalty spot to wrap up her brace and Palace's first-ever WSL victory.

Buoyed by that success, Palace will now be targeting their first home victory in the WSL as they prepare to face Brighton for the first time since February 2020.

Brighton boss Dario Vidosic has made a positive start to his tenure, having overseen three wins in his first four competitive matches.

The Seagulls kicked off the campaign with a commanding 5-0 win over Everton, before they fought valiantly in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.

Brighton have bounced back from that narrow loss to claim consecutive victories over Birmingham City and Aston Villa in the Women's League Cup and WSL respectively.

They swept past Birmingham via a 3-0 scoreline, before they beat Villa 4-2 thanks to goals from Nikita Parris, Pauline Bremer, Fran Kirby and Michelle Agyemang.

Brighton will now turn their focus to Sunday's fixture, where they will attempt to claim their WSL away victory since beating Leicester in March.

Crystal Palace Women Women's Super League form:

L

L

W

Crystal Palace Women form (all competitions):

Brighton & Hove Albion Women Women's Super League form:

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W

Brighton & Hove Albion Women form (all competitions):

Team News

Palace remain without the services of long-term absentee Elise Hughes, who is working on her recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Shanade Hopcroft is making progress in his injury recovery, but the 27-year-old is not expected to be ready for Sunday's home fixture.

After seeing her side clinch their first win of the season, Kaminski could be tempted to select an unchanged starting lineup.

As for the Seagulls, Poppy Pattinson will serve a one-match suspension after being sent off for two bookable offences in the closing stages against Villa.

Brighton are also expected to be without the services of Bex Rayner, Dejana Stefanovic and Charlize Rule due to injury.

Kiko Seike was recently named the WSL's Women's Super League Player of the Month, and she will hope to mark the achievement by returning to the starting lineup after dropping down to the bench last weekend.

Crystal Palace Women possible starting lineup:

Yanez; Green, Everett, Veje, Woodham; Potter, Cato; Gejl, Blanchard, Weerden; Stengel

Brighton & Hove Albion Women possible starting lineup:

Baggaley; Thorisdottir, Bergsvand, Carabali; Kirby, Losada, Symonds, Olislagers; Seike, Bremer, Parris

We say: Crystal Palace Women 1-3 Brighton & Hove Albion Women

Palace would have taken confidence from their win over Leicester, but they will face a tougher test against a Brighton side that has high expectations for this season.

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