After suffering a surprise defeat to Aston Villa in midweek, Arsenal Women will look to bounce back when they travel to Broadfield Stadium for Monday’s Women’s Super League meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion Women.
The Gunners are sitting in second spot with two games left to play, while the Seagulls will head into the fixture in fifth position.
Match preview
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Brighton are currently on course to secure a top-half finish after winning seven, drawing four and losing nine of their 20 league matches.
The Seagulls will head into Monday’s fixture in a positive mood after they ended a three-game losing run with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Everton in their most recent outing.
Michelle Agyemang and Fran Kirby grabbed a goal apiece to help Brighton come from behind on two occasions, before Nikita Parris netted a 93rd-minute winner to seal all three points as the Seagulls completed a league double over the Toffees.
While they have won two of their last three away games, the Seagulls have been unable to replicate those results in their recent home outings, having failed to win any of their last five home league matches since they beat West Ham United in November.
They will at least fancy their chances of troubling the scorers, considering they are one of three teams that have scored in all of their 10 WSL home games this season.
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Arsenal are looking forward to face Barcelona for the Women’s Champions League trophy after they secured their place in the final with an impressive 4-1 away victory in last Sunday’s second leg against Lyon in France.
The European final represents the only chance for the Gunners to win silverware this season after their faint hopes of clinching the WSL title were ended in Wednesday’s disappointing 5-2 defeat against Aston Villa.
A much-changed Arsenal side conceded four goals before the hour mark, and while Stina Blackstenius and Alessia Russo netted two quickfire efforts, Villa went on to net a fifth to condemn Renee Slegers‘s side to their first league defeat since January.
Chelsea took advantage of Arsenal’s defeat to clinch the WSL title with a narrow win over Manchester United, leaving the Gunners to focus on securing second spot ahead of the Red Devils, who are two points behind in third position.
Incidentally, the North London club will face Man United in the final game of the season, but first, they will look to maintain their perfect record against Brighton, having won all 13 of their head-to-head matches in the WSL, including a commanding 5-0 victory in the reverse fixture.
Team News
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Brighton remain without the injured Madison Haley, while it remains to be seen whether Vicky Losada will prove her fitness in time for the final home game of the season.
Defender Jorelyn Carabali will be hoping to make the matchday squad after recently returning to training following a spell on the sidelines.
Agyemang, who has scored in Brighton’s last two matches, will have to drop out of the side for Monday’s fixture, with the Arsenal loanee ineligible to face her parent club.
As for the Gunners, they are unable to call upon Laia Codina and Lina Hurtig, while Daphne van Domselaar will have to be assessed after she missed the defeat to Villa.
After making changes in midweek, Slegers could recall Emily Fox, Leah Williamson, Frida Maanum, Kim Little and Caitlin Foord.
Russo is also set to return to the side to lead the line against the Seagulls, with the WSL’s joint top scorer looking to add to her 12-goal league tally.
Brighton & Hove Albion Women possible starting lineup:
Loeck; Auee, Bergsvand, Hayes; McLauchlan, Kirby, Symonds, Cankovic, Olislagers; Parris, Seike
Arsenal Women possible starting lineup:
Zinsberger; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Maanum, Little, Caldentey; Foord, Kelly, Blackstenius
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion Women 1-3 Arsenal Women
After suffering a surprise defeat in midweek, Arsenal will be looking to bounce back in Monday’s fixture, and given their impressive record in WSL meetings with Brighton, we believe the visitors will do enough to claim a relatively comfortable victory.
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