London City Lionesses head coach Melissa Phillips says that she is expecting her side to come up against a gritty Coventry United team at the Butts Park Arena on Sunday.
The two sides have very different ambitions this season with London City Lionesses chasing promotion and Coventry United adapting back to a part-time operating model.
Coventry United go into this weekend’s fixture cemented to the bottom of the Barclays Women’s Championship table and still seeking their first point of the new season. Despite The Red and Greens’ tricky start, London City Lionesses boss Phillips recognises the development of the Coventry United team over the last few weeks under head coach Lee Burch.
“We certainly won’t underestimate any opposition,” Phillips said when speaking to FAWSL Full-Time. “Coventry away is our next test and it is a difficult place to go and play. Despite them not picking up many results, you can see that it’s anyone’s game.
“Southampton have beaten Crystal Palace then Coventry beat Southampton so you really do have to put in a good performance on the day. Coventry have largely had single goal losses other than the Sheffield United match, they’ve been very competitive throughout. We know that they will be a gritty team to go and play against and it is a massive pitch so we will have to execute and look at the fine margins in the match.
“I think we are really excited about the four-match stint coming up and the opportunity for us to build momentum and our identity on the pitch.”
Coventry United are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table and Phillips expects her side to face a really gritty opponent this weekend.
She said “Lee always gets his teams scrapping, they are gritty and fight and we know that we must expect that going up there. He has got them very organised and he made the most of the first international window and break from games because they came back after the first two matches far more organised and competitive.
“He has had another international break to do the same so we certainly won’t be underestimating them going in there. It is always going to be about focusing on ourselves and where we can gain bigger margins in the game.”
London City Lionesses’ Barclays Women’s Championship fixture at Coventry United kicks-off at 2pm on Sunday afternoon.