On Sunday, Manchester United Women will look to extend their current unbeaten run to five matches when they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion Women to Leigh Sports Village.
The visitors also enter the contest in impressive form after winning three of their last four Women's Super League matches.
Match preview
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Man United are currently embroiled in a fierce battle for Champions League qualification, with the Red Devils, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur all fighting it out for third spot.
Marc Skinner's side currently sit in pole position as they enter the weekend in third place, but with their competitors possessing games in hand, Sunday's hosts can ill-afford any slip-ups.
They do enter Sunday's contest in buoyant mood after making history against Everton last weekend, with United's women's side playing in front of fans at Old Trafford for just the first time in their history.
The women's side appeared at the Theatre of Dreams on one previous occasion, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, last season's contest against West Ham United took place behind closed doors, whereas last Sunday, over 20,000 fans piled into Old Trafford to witness the hosts sweep past a struggling Everton side.
Those that attended saw Alessia Russo score either side of a Katie Zelem spot kick to guide United to a 3-1 victory, and they will now have the chance to claim back-to-back wins when they face Brighton on Sunday.
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The Seagulls may sit 10 points adrift of their hosts, but they too have their own motivation to win Sunday's contest.
After finishing in sixth place last season, Brighton are currently on course to replicate that feat this term, but they have West Ham United and Reading hot on their heels.
Another top-half finish would represent success for Hope Powell's side, who enter the weekend in promising form after winning three of their last four matches.
Goals from Aileen Whelan and Inessa Kaagman helped the Seagulls clinch a 2-0 victory over West Ham in their most recent outing, while Powell would have also been pleased to see her team claim their seventh clean sheet of the WSL season in that contest.
Although they will be aware of the tough task that awaits them on Sunday, Brighton will be motivated to collect a third consecutive away victory.
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Team News
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Following an impressive performance against Everton at Old Trafford, Skinner could name an unchanged lineup for Sunday's contest.
That would mean that Hayley Ladd keeps her place in the side after coming into the backline to partner Maria Thorisdottir in the centre of defence.
Russo, meanwhile, took her league tally for the season to nine goals with her brace against the Toffees and the England international will be looking to hit double figures when she lines up against the Seagulls at the weekend.
As for Brighton, they are hoping to have Megan Walsh back in goal after the 27-year-old missed the win over West Ham due to illness.
Maya Le Tissier has been nominated for the WSL player of the month award for March, and she will be hoping to begin April in a similar vein of form when she features on Sunday.
The 19-year-old is expected to be joined in the backline by Victoria Williams and Danique Kerkdijk, who both came into the centre of defence for last weekend's victory.
Manchester United Women possible starting lineup:
Earps; Battle, Ladd, Thorisdottir, Blundell; Zelem, Groenen; Thomas, Toone, Galton; Russo
Brighton & Hove Albion Women possible starting lineup:
Walsh; Le Tissier, Williams, Kerkdijk, Kullberg; Koivisto, Whelan, Connolly, Carter; Kaagman; Brazil
We say: Manchester United Women 3-1 Brighton & Hove Albion Women
Man United are looking to complete a league double over the Seagulls after beating Powell's side 2-0 in December, and with the hosts enjoying an impressive run of form, we think that they will ease past Brighton to claim all three points.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester United Women win with a probability of 77.34%. A draw had a probability of 14.5% and a win for Brighton & Hove Albion Women had a probability of 8.19%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester United Women win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.19%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (10.51%) and 1-0 (9.44%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.85%), while for a Brighton & Hove Albion Women win it was 0-1 (2.65%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.4% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Manchester United Women would win this match.
