Tottenham Hotspur Ladies and Brighton & Hove Albion Women enter their clash at The Hive Stadium on Sunday in poor form, but the home team remain just three points outside the top three.
The Seagulls have fallen to eighth spot in the Women's Super League, currently on a nine-game winless run in all competitions, while Spurs have lost their last three matches.
Match preview
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Spurs were knocked out of the League Cup at the semi-final stage on Thursday evening, losing 3-0 at the Academy Stadium against Manchester City, but also need to bounce back from defeat in the FA Cup last weekend.
Leicester upset Tottenham with a 3-1 win in the FA Cup, which followed a 3-0 defeat against Manchester United in the WSL, a result that could prove costly for Rehanne Skinner's side's hope of securing a Champions League qualification spot.
The Lilywhites have only netted 13 goals in their 12 matches so far this season, the lowest tally out of the division's top seven sides, and that will put pressure on their defence to keep clean sheets.
Three of Spurs' six WSL victories this campaign have come from 1-0 scorelines, and they will be confident of recording another 1-0 triumph this weekend, given Brighton's low scoring tally also.
Tottenham are still unbeaten on their own patch in the six games they have played on home soil, making them strong favourites for this encounter.
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Brighton have just been edged out by one-goal margins in their most recent games, including in the FA Cup last Sunday, when despite Emma Koivisto and Kayleigh Green's efforts drawing the score level, Reading went on to progress in that competition with a 3-2 win.
Koivisto was on the scoresheet again in the league last time out, but Hope Powell's side fell to a 2-1 defeat against Arsenal, who did dominate the game and put the Seagulls under a tremendous amount of pressure.
Powell's side did have their sights set on a top-three finish this season after their best-ever start to a WSL campaign, but the chances of achieving that now seem unrealistic, but they will be keen to finish the campaign as strongly as they can.
Three points against Spurs on Sunday will move them to within two points of Skinner's team, and with no League Cup or FA Cup to distract their focus, Brighton will be confident about their remaining part of the year.
The Seagulls secured a 2-1 win over Tottenham in the reverse of this fixture in October, when Geum-Min Lee and then Victoria Williams, who struck late on, secured the three points.
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Team News
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Kit Graham remains sidelined for Tottenham as she continues to recover from an cruciate ligament injury, which is expected to rule the midfielder out for the rest of the season.
The hosts will operate in a 4-3-3 formation, with Jessica Naz, Rachel Williams and Rosella Ayane making up the attacking three, looking to their seven goals between them so far.
Josie Green has seen more minutes in midfield for Skinner's side in recent weeks, and she is likely to start again, alongside Ria Percival and Maeva Clemaron.
Brighton midfielder Megan Connolly was forced off after just 22 minutes against Arsenal due to injury, but she was fit enough for a place on the bench last weekend, and the 24-year-old is expected to return to the starting lineup this Sunday.
Right-back Koivisto has been a big source of goals in recent weeks for the Seagulls, and she is helped by new signing Julia Zigiotti on the right wing.
Tottenham Hotspur Ladies possible starting lineup:
Korpela; Harrop, Zadorsky, Bartrip, Neville; Clemaron, Percival, Green; Naz, Williams, Ayane
Brighton & Hove Albion Women possible starting lineup:
Walsh; Kullberg, Williams, Kerkdijk, Koivisto; Connolly, Le Tissier; Brazil, Kaagman, Zigiotti; Carter
We say: Tottenham Hotspur Ladies 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion Women
Tottenham are unbeaten on their own patch this season, and Brighton's form does not suggest that they will be able to be the first away team to taste victory at The Hive.
The Seagulls are likely to cause Spurs problems, as they did so against Arsenal, but Skinner's team will be keen to bounce back from League Cup and FA Cup defeat, giving the hosts extra motivation.
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 Tottenham Hotspur Ladies win with a probability of 63.7%. A draw had a probability of 21% and a win for Brighton & Hove Albion Women had a probability of 15.33%.
The most likely scoreline for a Tottenham Hotspur Ladies win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.79%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.62%) and 2-1 (9.82%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.97%), while for a Brighton & Hove Albion Women win it was 0-1 (5.06%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 3.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Tottenham Hotspur Ladies would win this match.
