PREVIEW: Crystal Palace v Brighton & Hove Albion

Crystal Palace will be hoping to cause an upset when FA Women’s Super League side Brighton & Hove Albion are the visitors to Hayes Lane this afternoon in the fifth round of the Women’s FA Cup.

The Eagles are fighting for survival in the FA Women’s Championship and their Women’s FA Cup fifth round tie will come as a welcome distraction.

Palace find themselves facing Brighton & Hove Albion after beating Southampton Women twice in their fourth round tie. The Eagles were 3-0 up in the initial match before the tie was abandoned after 78 minutes due to a waterlogged pitch. The Football Association harshly made the decision that the tie should be replayed with Dean Davenport’s side winning 4-0 on neutral territory in Carshalton.

While the South Londoners have played just two matches in the FA Women’s Championship so far in 2020, the results haven’t been good with a 3-2 defeat at fellow strugglers Coventry United being followed by a 3-1 home loss to Leicester City. Victory over Brighton & Hove Albion this afternoon would provide Davenport and his side with a major boost ahead of the end of season run in.

The visitors have seen something of an upturn in their recent results and arrive at Hayes Lane unbeaten in three matches in all competitions. Albion recorded an impressive 3-2 victory at Aston Villa in the last round while they have since taken four points from Everton and Manchester United in the FA Women’s Super League. Those results have helped steer Hope Powell’s side away from the relegation zone with Albion now having a seven-point cushion.

This afternoon’s fixture kicks-off at 2pm with admission available on the gate.

Daniel Pentland

I am the editor and owner of FAWSL Full-Time magazine. I have been reporting on men’s and women’s football at various levels since summer 2015. Some of the events which I have reported from include the 2017 UEFA Women’s European Championship, 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, SSE Women’s FA Cup final, Emirates FA Cup final, UEFA Europa League, English Football League and various international matches.

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