WSL Preview: Albion face Spurs on Saturday

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A look ahead to Saturday's clash at the Broadfield Stadium.

Bruce Talbot

2024-12-13T15:15+00:00

Albion will be looking to finish the first half of the season with victory over Spurs. 📷 by Kyle Hemsley.

Albion finish the first half of the season by entertaining Tottenham Hotspur at the Broadfield Stadium in the WSL on Saturday. A victory could lift Dario Vidosic’s side up to fifth.

Team news

Albion still have seven players out injured but there are no new worries after Wednesday's 6-2 win over Bristol City in the League Cup. “There are no changes to the squad,” said Vidosic.

Dario Vidosic on…

Spurs… “They are a good side and it’s going to be a tough game. They have the best pressing stats in the league and set really good pressing traps so that is something we need to be wary of. I think we’ll see two attacking teams and it should be a good showcase for the WSL, but they are a tough opponent.”

On going into the break on a high… “We’re fifth at the moment and it would be nice to go into the break higher but I’m satisfied so far. It’s not so much about the ladder, because that’s only relevant at the end of the season, or reaching the quarter-finals of the League Cup, it’s more about the evolution of the team and how much we have progressed. The girls have done a really good job but there’s loads more we can improve on.”

On player adaptability… “Especially when we have got injuries in the squad it’s important that players are comfortable in multiple positions and we have that. On Wednesday we had Bruna Vilamala in a wide position but she can also step inside and is good in tight areas, which makes it difficult for the opposition.”

Bruna Vilamala loves the opportunity to show off her skills. 📷 by Kyle Hemsley.

Stats and facts

Albion have failed to win any of their last five WSL meetings with Tottenham Hotspur {02 L3), since a 2-1 home win in October 2021 under Hope Powell.

Tottenham Hotspur have won their last two away games against Brighton in the Women's Super League, the first of which was an 8-0 victory in October 2022, comfortably Spurs' biggest ever win in the competition.

Brighton are unbeaten at home in the WSL this season with their four victories from five games {01) as many wins as they recorded across their previous 25 matches on home turf (D4 L17).

Tottenham beat Everton 2-1 last time out and will be looking to win back-to-back WSL matches in the same campaign for the first time since March, with the second win in that instance also their most recent away league victory (1-0 at Bristol City).

Albion are the only team to have both scored (16) and conceded (15) 15+ goals in the Women's Super League this season with their league games averaging 3.4 goals this term; only one of their previous six WSL campaigns has averaged more goals {4.0 in 2022-23).

Tottenham Hotspur's (5 - F2 A3) and Brighton's (4 - F2 A2) WSL games have seen the most and second most penalties awarded in the WSL this season with nine of the total 13 penalties given in the competition this season coming in games involving Spurs or the Seagulls.

Only the WSL's current top three teams {Man City - 69%, Arsenal - 58%, Chelsea - 56%) have averaged more possession In the Women's Super League this season than Brighton (53.2%) while only Man City (6072) and Arsenal (4898) have recorded more passes than the Seagulls (4397).

Kiko Seike is Albion's top goal scorer in the WSL this season with five goals from just 15 shots, giving the Japanese forward the best conversion rate of any player to net three or more times in the top-flight this term (33%).

Only Beth Mead (8) and Khadija Shaw (8) have scored more goals against Brighton in the Women's Super League than Spurs' Bethany England (7), who is now just three goals away from levelling Vivianne Miedema (who hasn't played since October) at the top of the all-time WSL goalscoring chart.

Brighton's Michelle Agyemang is the youngest player to have both scored (1) and assisted (1) in the WSL this season, though the 18-year-old is yet to start a top-flight game, making four sub appearances for Arsenal and eight for the Seagulls.

Match officials