Brighton & Hove Albion manager Hope Powell says that she is expecting a tough game this weekend against a Leicester City side who are fighting for their lives in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League.
The Foxes arrive at the Amex Stadium having not collected a point in their opening six Barclays FA Women’s Super League matches.
While Leicester City are still finding their feet in the top flight, Brighton & Hove Albion boss Powell is throwing caution towards their potential threat and she believes that the East Midlands club will come out fighting in Sussex.
“We go into the game on the back of two very good wins and doing very well in the league but I think that we have to be very mindful that we have to be professional going into this game,” Powell said. “Leicester are in the position that they are in but that doesn’t mean to say that they are not a decent side and that they can’t play.
“They keep the ball very well, they are absolutely fighting for their lives even at this early stage so we recognise that this is going to be a very, very tough contest.
“We can’t take anything for granted, we can’t take them for granted and we have to prepare in a very professional manner and that has been the message this week.”
Like Leicester City, Brighton & Hove Albion initially struggled in their first season in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League, particularly early in the season. The theme of being slow starters continued in the two seasons which followed but The Seagulls have really improved their early season form this year. Powell went on to say that the club were targeting a fast start to the season as one of their improvements this year.
She said “We recognised that we have historically done better in the second half of the season and that’s why part of the plan this season was to look at being more consistent across the season.
“When you take until Christmas to perform, it is too late. We recognised it, we highlighted it to the players and pointed to every league game across a chart and showed them the highs and lows of it, where the lows were compared to where the highs were and they were generally post-Christmas.
“For us, we have to make sure that come Christmas, we are consistent again and that it doesn’t flip to the other way round.”
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture against Leicester City at the Amex Stadium kicks-off at 2pm on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
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