London City Lionesses head coach Melissa Phillips says that games against local rivals Crystal Palace are always a battle.
The Pride meet The Eagles at Princes Park in Dartford this afternoon as both clubs get their respective campaigns underway.
When speaking to FAWSL Full-Time ahead of the match, London City Lionesses head coach Phillips said that she is expecting another gruelling battle against promotion rivals Palace.
“Pre-season has gone really well and the squad are full of belief and are prepared for the new season,” Phillips said.
“We know from previous years that it is always a battle against Palace. It’s not just a derby game, there’s a lot of history between the two clubs. They’ve done a great job with their recruitment to revamp the squad similar to what we did last summer so we know that it’ll be a very high level game.”
London City Lionesses haven’t been named amongst the favourites for the Barclays Women’s Championship title this year but Phillips said that the club are more than happy to be underdogs.
She said “We know that it is going to be a tough season, the Championship gets better and better each year and more competitive.
“We are quite happy to play the underdog role and we know that it is about focusing on us, our performances and our ability to respond. If we execute our style of play then we put ourselves in a position to be competitive in every match.”
London City Lionesses’ opening Barclays Women’s Championship match of the 2022/2023 season against Crystal Palace kicks-off at 12.30pm.