A place at Wembley is up for grabs at Meadow Park on Sunday as Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion contest their 2020/2021 Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final tie.
The North Londoners will be the overwhelming favourites to win the tie but opponents Brighton & Hove Albion are a team who are growing under manager Hope Powell and they will be keen to cause an upset.
Ahead of the match, FAWSL Full-Time have been looking at the statistics surrounding the fixture. Here are four facts which relate to the Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final tie between Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Arsenal have been ruthless at home in the 2020/2021 Vitality Women’s FA Cup
It has been a case of goals, goals and more goals for Arsenal in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup. The Gunners have fired the ball into the back of the net on 24 occasions in just three ties. Arsenal saw off FA Women’s National League South club Gillingham Women with a 10-0 victory in the fourth round before hitting nine without response against Crystal Palace in the fifth round. Arsenal were also 5-1 North London derby victors against Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter-finals.
Brighton & Hove Albion have shown defensive strength in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup
Brighton & Hove Albion go into the meeting with Arsenal having kept four clean sheets in their last five Vitality Women’s FA Cup ties. The Seagulls are also yet to be breached in the 2020/2021 competition after beating Bristol City, Huddersfield Town and Charlton Athletic ‘to nil’. Only Birmingham City have scored against The Seagulls in their last five Vitality Women’s FA Cup ties.
Van de Donk transfer a bonus for Brighton & Hove Albion
One positive for Brighton & Hove Albion is that Dutch international midfielder Danielle van de Donk no longer plays her football for Arsenal. The 30-year-old netted in five of the six Barclays FA Women’s Super League meetings between the two sides prior to her move to French club Lyon in the summer. The Seagulls will be delighted to have seen the back of her.
The Seagulls have beaten The Gunners in a domestic cup tie before
Brighton & Hove Albion’s best result against Arsenal came in the 2019/2020 FA Women’s Continental League Cup. The Seagulls held the North Londoners to a goalless draw in a group match at The People’s Pension Stadium before collecting a bonus point courtesy of a 4-2 penalty shootout success.
The Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion kicks-off at 4.45pm on Sunday afternoon and will be broadcast live on BBC Two.