Reading boss Kelly Chambers believes there will be no place to hide when the Royals face relegation rivals Leicester City in a crunch Barclays Women’s Super League clash on Sunday.
Both Reading and Leicester are yet to pick up a point this season, with goal difference the only reason the Royals are above their opponents in the WSL table. Chambers’ side came close to a first point of the season last weekend, just falling short of a stellar comeback in a 3-2 loss to West Ham - having been 3-0 down after 30 minutes.
And, though they are gearing up for just their fifth WSL match of the campaign, she and her squad recognise the significance of a positive result this weekend. She said: “There’s no hiding from this game. As much as it is still early on in the season, when you’re coming up against a team that’s pretty much in a similar position as you, you want to make sure you go into that game and come out on top.
“I haven’t had to lay that out to the girls this week. They know the pressures they want to put on themselves, they know what they want to go out and achieve. It’s still early days, but we go into every game hoping to get something out of it.
“We’re both in the same boat in the minute, and for us it's a case of just focusing on us and on what we need to do. What I’ve made clear to them is that we go in with our game plan and deliver our game plan, and hopefully then it turns into a result.
“In this league, anybody on their day can beat anybody. We’re not going into this game light-hearted and we know what it means to us that we get points on the board.”
Elsewhere, league leaders Arsenal will look to break the record for consecutive WSL victories when they host London rivals West Ham on Sunday night.
Jonas Eidevall’s side have won their opening four matches without conceding a single goal, and victory here would be a 13th straight in the division. West Ham have had an encouraging start to their campaign with three wins in five, though they will be underdogs against a side that beat them twice without conceding last season.
Manchester United will look to continue their similarly strong start when they travel to Walton Hall Park to take on Everton. Victory over Leicester last week means Marc Skinner’s side have also won their opening four matches, only trailing Arsenal on goal difference.
They will be favourites come Sunday but the Toffees have picked up their form, with victory against Aston Villa last weekend and an improved display against Chelsea the week before. Chelsea take on Villa, with the Blues now on a four-match WSL winning streak and sitting third in the league table after their opening weekend loss to Liverpool.
In contrast, Carla Ward’s side have suffered back-to-back league defeats following a promising start to the season and will be hoping to snap that run when they travel to Kingsmeadow.
After two losses to start the season, Manchester City are looking back near their best and will be targeting three points against Liverpool in what will be a symbolic match for the Citizens.
They will be playing in the WSL for the first time since it was announced they would be dropping their traditional white shorts to alleviate player concerns about the impact of periods.
Gareth Taylor’s side impressed in a 3-0 win over Tottenham and will be highly fancied against Liverpool, who have suffered three league defeats since their win over Chelsea.
Hope Powell’s Brighton will host Tottenham in one of the five 2pm kick-offs on Sunday. Brighton sit just above Reading and Leicester in the table with one win and three losses to date, though may fancy their chances against a stuttering Spurs side.
Rehanne Skinner’s team have beaten Leicester and Liverpool, though have suffered heavy defeats to Arsenal and Man City and will be keen to get back to winning ways.
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