West Hamvs.Brighton

The Seagulls are currently sitting in fifth place in the WSL table, while the Hammers will start matchday 14 in ninth position.

Match preview

West Ham boast a five-point gap to the relegation spot after winning three, drawing two and losing eight of their 13 league matches.

The Hammers will be desperate to return to winning ways this weekend after losing each of their last three competitive matches without troubling the scorers.

They fell to a heavy 5-0 defeat in their fourth-round clash against Liverpool in the Women's FA Cup, before they were edged out by the Reds in their WSL rematch just a few days later.

Rehanne Skinner's side were then eliminated in the Women's League Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 away defeat against Chelsea.

While those results may not inspire confidence, the Hammers can draw inspiration from the fact they have won three of their last four WSL home matches (D1), including a 2-0 victory over Everton in their most recent league outing at the Chigwell Construction Stadium.

Brighton are seven points better off than their hosts, but they will head into the weekend off the back of a poor run of results, having failed to win any of their last five league matches since they beat West Ham 3-2 in November's reverse fixture.

The Seagulls have added just two points to their tally since that narrow win, with their most recent draw taking place in their derby clash against Crystal Palace earlier this month.

Dario Vidosic's side appeared to be on course to claim all three points until Palace's My Cato scored an 88th-minute leveller to cancel out a first-half own goal, denying Brighton an elusive win while extending their wait for a WSL clean sheet to seven matches.

Unfortunately for the Seagulls, they experienced more disappointment in last Saturday's Women's FA Cup clash against Aston Villa, with a Nikita Parris brace proving fruitless in a 3-2 defeat at Bescot Stadium.

They will fancy their chances of bouncing back on Sunday, having won seven of their previous nine WSL meetings with the Hammers.

West Ham United Women Women's Super League form:

L

W

L

L

W

L

West Ham United Women form (all competitions):

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

W

L

D

L

L

D

Brighton & Hove Albion Women form (all competitions):

Team News

West Ham midfielder Jessica Ziu remains sidelined with a knee injury, while Kristie Mewis is unavailable for selection after announcing in November that she was expecting her first child.

Defender Amber Tyisak will serve the final game of a three-match ban for a red card she received in last month's Women's FA Cup defeat to Liverpool.

Switzerland international Seraina Piubel is pushing for a recall after coming off the bench to play the final 30 minutes of West Ham's most recent outing against Brighton.

As for the Seagulls, Vidosic confirmed earlier this month that Bruna Vilamala faces an extended spell on the sidelines due to a thigh issue.

Aisha Masaka and Fran Kirby are expected to miss out, while Maisie Symonds will serve the second game of a three-match suspension.

Parris will continue to spearhead the Brighton attacker after scoring nine goals in 19 competitive appearances this season.

West Ham United Women possible starting lineup:

Szemik; Li, Nystrom, Zadorsky, Hanshaw; Piubel, Siren, Gorry, Asseyi; Ueki, Martinez

Brighton & Hove Albion Women possible starting lineup:

Loeck; Thorisdottir, Bergsvand, Carabali; McLauchlan, Losada, Cankovic, Pattinson; Haley, Noordam; Parris

We say: West Ham United Women 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion Women

Written by

Ben Sully

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