Tottenham Hotspur Ladies have had their best ever start to a Women's Super League season, winning four out of four at the beginning of this campaign, and they will be looking to extend their winning league run to five games when they travel to face Brighton & Hove Albion Women on Sunday.
The Seagulls have lost their last two domestic outings after claiming six points from their opening two fixtures, but Hope Powell will view this weekend's clash as a good opportunity to get back to winning ways.
Match preview
Brighton faced a trip to Kingsmeadow last weekend when they met an in-form Chelsea side, and despite Danielle Carter giving her side hope of a comeback when she pulled a goal back at 2-1, Emma Hayes's team secured a 3-1 victory over the Seagulls.
Given Chelsea's quality and the expectation for them to challenge for the WSL title every season, that defeat last weekend may not have disheartened the Brighton camp, but they will want to get back to winning ways in the league after dropping three points at home against Aston Villa two weeks ago.
Goalkeeper Megan Walsh will also want to claim another clean sheet to add to the two she earned at the beginning of the season, but her side will have to prevent gifting Spurs any opportunities, which they did so at Chelsea last weekend.
Sunday's outing is Brighton's last league game before their FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal at the end of this month, with a League Cup game against Birmingham on Wednesday being their last outing before that, and Powell will want her side to gain back some momentum from the next two games prior to their semi-final appearance.
Arsenal reached the last four of the FA Cup with an emphatic 5-1 victory over North London rivals Tottenham, but Rehanne Skinner's side bounced back from that disappointment in good style last time out against Leicester.
Goals from Rachel Williams and Angela Addison ensured a 2-0 victory for Spurs in the Midlands last weekend, meaning that the Lilywhites remained one of the two sides still with a 100% WSL record this campaign.
A second consecutive league clean sheet for Becky Spencer to add to the one earned by Tinja-Riikka Korpela on the opening day means that Tottenham have the best defensive record in the top flight, only conceding one goal in their opening four fixtures.
Spurs have already earned more than half of the total amount of points they claimed throughout the whole of last season, and after their brilliant start to this campaign, Skinner will be setting their goals for this season high, and they should be on course to better their eighth-placed finish last year.
Despite achieving six more points than Brighton so far this season, Tottenham and the Seagulls are expected to be evenly matched in this encounter, and Powell will be confident that her side can end Spurs' 100% record.
Tottenham last travelled down south to Brighton in March, when the home side earned a 2-0 victory courtesy of a brace from Inessa Kaagman, but Spurs had won the previous meeting 3-1 in December last year.
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Team News
Powell changed the shape of her side slightly for their game against Chelsea, and young defender-by-trade Maya Le Tissier played a role in central midfield against the reigning champions, but she is expected to drop back into the defensive line on Sunday.
Carter's goal last weekend will boost her confidence and she could be the home side's biggest threat in the attacking third this weekend, with Ellie Brazil, Kaagman and Rinsola Babajide providing the creative spark from attacking midfield positions.
Skinner could name an unchanged lineup from the side that started against Leicester, with Maeva Clemaron and Ria Percival expected to start in front of a back four including, Kerys Harrop, Shelina Zadorsky, Molly Bartrip and Ashleigh Neville.
Experienced forward Williams has been directly involved in half of Spurs' goals this season, scoring twice and providing one assist, and she will be looking to continue that attacking form.
Tottenham nullified Leicester to no shots on target last weekend, and created 18 attempts themselves, giving the whole team confidence which they should be able to carry over to this clash with Brighton.
Brighton & Hove Albion Women possible starting lineup:
Walsh; Koivisto, Williams, Kerkdijk, Le Tissier; Whelan, Simpkins; Babajide, Kaagman, Brazil; Carter
Tottenham Hotspur Ladies possible starting lineup:
Spencer; Harrop, Zadorsky, Bartrip, Neville; Clemaron, Percival; Ubogagu, Graham, Naz; Williams
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion Women 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur Ladies
Brighton will want to find the form in front of goal that they did against Birmingham in gameweek two, but Spurs' resilient defensive stats suggests that they will be able to limit the home side to few chances.
Tottenham are looking to continue their 100% record, but the Seagulls will be a tough test for Skinner's side, and their winning run is likely to come to an end eventually.
Top tip
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 Brighton & Hove Albion Women win with a probability of 51.16%. A draw had a probability of 24.5% and a win for Tottenham Hotspur Ladies had a probability of 24.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Brighton & Hove Albion Women win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.07%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.59%) and 2-0 (9.11%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.66%), while for a Tottenham Hotspur Ladies win it was 0-1 (7.09%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Brighton & Hove Albion Women would win this match.
