Manchester City Women will travel to Brisbane Road for Sunday's Women's Super League clash against Tottenham Hotspur Women.
The Citizens are sitting in fourth place with 28 points to their name, while Spurs are 11 points further back in sixth position.
Match preview
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Spurs went into the international break in a downbeat mood after losing three consecutive games in all competitions, including a heavy defeat in the North London derby against Arsenal.
An early Clare Hunt own goal ultimately set the tone for a disappointing afternoon for Tottenham, as they slumped to a 5-0 defeat against their local rivals to go three straight matches without a goal.
Tottenham boss Robert Vilahamn will be disappointed with the fact that his side have the WSL's second-worst defensive record after shipping 31 goals in 14 league matches this season.
Spurs will be pleased to have home advantage for their first game from the international break, especially as they have won three of their previous five WSL home outings (L2).
However, they have lost each of their five WSL home meetings with Man City, including a 2-0 defeat in their most recent home encounter in January 2024.
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Man City have a fight on their hands to secure Women's Champions League qualification after losing four of their last seven top-flight matches (W3).
That run of results saw Man City lose to Chelsea, Everton, Manchester United and Arsenal, with those defeats leaving the Citizens in fourth place and two points adrift of the top four.
The Citizens did at least win two of their three league matches before the international window, including a commanding 4-0 victory over Liverpool in their most recent outing, which came courtesy of a Bunny Shaw brace and goals from Jill Roord and Gracie Prior.
They would have been particularly pleased with the clean sheet after conceding 12 goals across their four games prior to the comfortable win.
Gareth Taylor's side will be looking to produce another dominant performance in Sunday's away trip, especially as they cruised to a 4-0 win in November's reverse fixture against Tottenham largely thanks to a Shaw hat-trick.
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Team News
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Spurs remain without the injured duo of Amy James-Turner and Kit Graham, while Hunt will serve a one-match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards.
Hunt's suspension could present Switzerland international Luana Buhler with the chance to feature in central defence alongside Molly Bartrip.
Eveliina Summanen is available following a six-game injury absence, but it remains to be seen whether she will be risked from the start.
As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon defender Rebecca Knaak, who picked up a hamstring injury while on international duty with Germany.
Defender Alex Greenwood and attacker Lauren Hemp remain unavailable for selection, but there is hope that the pair could return to fitness at some point in March.
Laura Coombs is closing in on a return to fitness, although it is unclear whether she will be ready for Sunday's away trip.
Tottenham Hotspur Women possible starting lineup:
Kop; Neville, Buhler, Bartrip, Nilden; Vinberg, Oroz; Raso, Thomas, Naz; England
Manchester City Women possible starting lineup:
Yamashita; Prior, Aleixandri, Layzell, Ouahabi; Roord, Hasegawa, Miedema; Fujino, Fowler, Shaw
We say: Tottenham Hotspur Women 1-2 Manchester City Women
Man City may have experienced an inconsistent run of results before the international break, but we still believe that their extra quality will help them claim a narrow victory over a Tottenham side that have lost four of their last five competitive outings.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
