Reading Women will aim to continue their three-match unbeaten run in all competitions when they host Brighton & Hove Albion Women in the Women's Super League.
The visitors are also in fine form in the league, and they head into the weekend in
third position after an impressive start to the season.
Match preview
Reading head into the weekend in eighth position in the WSL, with all seven of their points coming from their last three league matches.
The Royals earned consecutive 3-0 victories in the league against Aston Villa and Birmingham City, before drawing 2-2 with West Ham United last weekend.
In that encounter, the Hammers took a two-goal lead, but Reading were given a lifeline thanks to an Abbey Stringer own goal, and they claimed a point in dramatic fashion when Emma Harries equalised in stoppage time.
They followed that result with a comfortable 3-1 victory away to Crystal Palace in the League Cup in midweek, thanks to a brace from Brooke Chaplen after Gemma Evans had opened the scoring for the visitors.
Kelly Chambers's side seemed to have found their goalscoring touch of late with 11 goals in their last five competitive fixtures.
Brighton have been in fine form this season, and they will be aiming for their fourth consecutive league victory on Sunday.
After seven games, the Seagulls occupy a Champions League qualifier spot, although they do have a number of teams hot on their tail.
Hope Powell's side claimed a late victory against Leicester City last weekend, with Maisie Symonds netting in stoppage time to snatch all three points.
However, they were on the wrong side of a 1-0 result in midweek, when they hosted London City Lionesses in the League Cup with a second half strike from Karin Muya proving enough to condemn Brighton to defeat.
A major factor in Brighton's success has been their resilient backline, which has kept four clean sheets in the league this term, and they will be aiming for another shutout against Reading.
Reading Women Women's Super League form:
Reading Women form (all competitions):
Brighton & Hove Albion Women Women's Super League form:
Brighton & Hove Albion Women form (all competitions):
Team News
Reading are likely to still be without Rachel Rowe, who has missed the last three games due to injury.
Natasha Dowie and Deanne Rose have both netted twice in the league this term, and the pair will aim to continue their promising strike partnership on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Chaplen will be in a confident mood after coming on to score a brace in the League Cup in midweek.
Despite coming on to score the winner for Brighton last weekend, Symonds will likely have to settle for a place on the bench.
Powell could bring Inessa Kaagman into the side, which could result in Ellie Brazil dropping out of the starting lineup.
Reading Women possible starting lineup:
Moloney; Bryson, Peplow, Evans, Harding; Eikeland, Vanhaevermaet, Chaplen, Woodham; Dowie, Rose
Brighton & Hove Albion Women possible starting lineup:
Walsh; Koivisto, Le Tissier, Kerkdijk, Williams, Gibbons; Kaagman, Connolly, Whelan; Carter, Lee
We said: Reading Women 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion Women
Both sides head into the contest in a rich vein of form, but we think that Brighton's extra quality will shine through, with the hosts collecting a narrow victory on Sunday as they look to demonstrate that they can compete with the very best in England.
Read more.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 Reading Women win with a probability of 44.22%. A win for Brighton & Hove Albion Women had a probability of 30.97% and a draw had a probability of 24.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Reading Women win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.21%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.13%) and 2-0 (7.2%). The likeliest Brighton & Hove Albion Women win was 0-1 (7.47%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.68%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 7.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Reading Women would win this match.
