Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Women’s Super League clash between Tottenham Hotspur Women and West Ham United Women, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Tottenham Hotspur Women will welcome fellow London side West Ham United Women to Brisbane Road for Sunday’s Women’s Super League clash.
The Hammers are currently propping up the WSL table, while Spurs are sitting in eighth place ahead of matchday six.
Match preview
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Tottenham will be underwhelmed with their start to the season, having taken four points from their five WSL matches.
Spurs collected those four points in their first two games of the campaign, beating Crystal Palace 4-0 before playing out a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa.
Tottenham were unable to build upon their solid start, as they went on to concede three goals in defeats against Liverpool and Manchester United, before shipping five more goals in a loss to Chelsea.
Amanda Nilden and Eveliina Summanen got on the scoresheet against the Blues, but their efforts ultimately proved to be fruitless in a 5-2 defeat at Kingsmeadow.
Having shipped 13 goals in five league games, Spurs currently share the WSL’s worst defensive record with Crystal Palace, highlighting a key area for improvement if they are to have any hope of matching last season’s top-half finish.
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West Ham are sitting at the foot of the table on goal difference after drawing two and losing three of their five league games.
Their two points have come from 1-1 draws against Liverpool and Everton, while their three defeats have taken place against teams that are expected to be fighting near the top of the tap.
West Ham suffered away defeats against Manchester United and Manchester City in their first two away league games of the season, before they fell to their most recent defeat in a home clash against Arsenal before the international break.
The Hammers kept Arsenal at bay for 70 minutes, before Mariona Caldentey and Rosa Kafaji grabbed a goal apiece to condemn Rehanne Skinner‘s side to a 2-0 loss.
Having gone 14 league games without a win, West Ham will head into Sunday’s fixture with hopes of claiming their first league victory since February.
Tottenham Hotspur Women Women’s Super League form:
Tottenham Hotspur Women form (all competitions):
West Ham United Women Women’s Super League form:
West Ham United Women form (all competitions):
Team News
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Tottenham are unable to call upon the services of Maite Oroz and Kit Graham, who are sidelined with quad and knee injuries respectively.
Goalkeeper Katelin Talbert is ineligible to face her parent club, but Robert Vilahamn is hopeful that Hayley Raso, Shuang Wang and Amy James-Turner will be available for selection.
Forward Martha Thomas could come into the starting lineup after dropping down to the bench for the clash with Chelsea before the international break.
As for the visitors, they will be without Kristen Mewis and Jessica Ziu, with the pair currently sidelined with knee problems.
Skinner may decided to opt for consistency and select the same side that put up a strong fight in the defeat to Arsenal.
Amber Tysiak could come into the backline to feature in a back four alongside Li Mengwen, Shannon Cooke and Shelina Zadorsky.
Viviane Asseyi will look to open her WSL account for the season when she lines up alongside Riko Ueki in the front two.
Tottenham Hotspur Women possible starting lineup:
Spencer; Neville, Bartrip, Hunt, Nilden; Ahtinen, Summanen; Naz, Spence, Vinberg; Thomas
West Ham United Women possible starting lineup:
Szemik; Li, Tysiak, Cooke, Zadorsky; Denton, Siren, Gorry, Piubel; Asseyi, Ueki
We say: Tottenham Hotspur Women 2-1 West Ham United Women
Tottenham have experienced an underwhelming start to the WSL season, but we still believe they will do enough to get the better of a West Ham side that have lost two of their three away games in the top flight this term.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.