Tottenham Hotspur Ladies are aiming to remain in third spot in the Women's Super League on Sunday, when they host Everton Ladies at The Hive Stadium.
The Toffees are currently on a three-game unbeaten run in the WSL, but need to bounce back after defeat in the League Cup last time out.
Match preview
© Reuters
Spurs sealed their spot in the League Cup knockout rounds after a 3-2 victory over Championship outfit Coventry United ensured Tottenham topped Group C with a 100% record.
Rehanne Skinner's side left it late as Rachel Williams scored an 89th-minute winner in that match, and the experienced striker was the match-winner last time out in the league as well.
On Sunday, Tottenham visited Aston Villa and came away from the West Midlands with three points, having turned the game around to claim a 2-1 win.
Spurs have netted 11 times in nine WSL matches and it is likely that they will need to improve on that stat if they are to remain in third spot and maybe even look to catch second-placed Chelsea, currently sitting just four points behind the reigning champions.
Skinner's side are aiming to continue their unbeaten form at home this season, winning twice and drawing twice in North London, but they have not collected three points on their own patch since the end of September.
Everton are currently sitting ninth in the table on 11 points, and last weekend they earned a 1-1 draw when West Ham United visited Merseyside.
Zaneta Wyne gave the Hammers a half-time lead in that game but Toni Duggan was on hand in the 75th minute to equalise for the Toffees, which was her first WSL goal of the campaign.
Jean-Luc Vasseur's side were knocked out of the League Cup on Wednesday, when Manchester United won 2-0 at Walton Hall Park, leaving Everton in third spot in Group B, not enough to qualify for the next rounds.
The Toffees can take confidence from their last away game when they claimed three points against Leicester, but that outing came almost one month ago and Spurs are likely to provide a sterner test for Everton.
Sunday's visitors completed the league double over Tottenham last season, but this meeting is certain to be a different encounter with both teams in very different places to where they were at last year.
- W
- L
- D
- D
- L
- W
- D
- D
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- D
- W
- D
- L
- D
- W
- W
- D
- L
Team News
Tottenham are expected to line up in a similar fashion to how they did against Aston Villa last weekend, with Williams certain to lead the line for the home side and continue her goal-scoring form.
So-Hyun Cho was handed her first full 90 minutes of the WSL season on Sunday and she could start in midfield along with Maeva Clemaron and Ria Percival.
Spurs' back four have remained quite consistently picked from the start, meaning that Ashleigh Neville, Kerys Harrop, Molly Bartrip and Shelina Zadorsky will all be named on the starting team sheet.
Duggan will be joined by Simone Magill and Kenza Dali in the attacking three for Everton, while Izzy Christiansen, Lucy Graham and Aurora Galli make up the midfield trio behind them.
Goalkeeper Sandy MacIver will be keen to keep a clean sheet having only claimed two so far this season, and she will need the help from her back four consisting of Danielle Turner, Gabby George, Rikke Sevecke and Nathalie Bjorn.
Tottenham Hotspur Ladies possible starting lineup:
Korpela; Neville, Harrop, Bartrip, Zadorsky; Cho, Clemaron, Percival; Naz, Williams, Simon
Everton Ladies possible starting lineup:
MacIver; Turner, George, Sevecke, Bjorn; Galli, Graham, Christiansen; Magill, Duggan, Dali
We say: Tottenham Hotspur Ladies 1-0 Everton Ladies
Neither of these sides have scored a lot of goals in the WSL this season, which is why Sunday's encounter is likely to be a low-scoring affair.
Spurs are likely to edge this game as they use their home advantage, and capitalise on Everton's disappointment in the League Cup during midweek.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Everton Ladies win with a probability of 41.41%. A win for Tottenham Hotspur Ladies had a probability of 33.76% and a draw had a probability of 24.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Everton Ladies win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.84%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.62%) and 0-2 (6.55%). The likeliest Tottenham Hotspur Ladies win was 2-1 (7.85%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.63%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 7.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Tottenham Hotspur Ladies in this match.
