We’re back on the road for Sunday’s early kick-off (11.55am UK) as we make a trip to London City Lionesses for our first ever visit in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
As we prepare for another London derby this weekend in the competition, we spoke to Sylvain Jamet, the Women football reporter for footofeminin.fr, to give us the lowdown on the newly promoted side…
What have you made up of London City Lionesses start so far? Although it ended in defeat against Chelsea, it seemed like a good performance against the champions?
Sylvain: “They’re a team in transition that went through a huge rebuilt during the Summer bringing in sixteen new players including a world record fee for Grace Geyoro from Paris Saint-Germain.
“As the promoted team, they knew they needed fresh blood to be able to stay in the WSL. As they are led by an ambitious owner Michelle Kang, they went all-in recruiting a mix of seasoned players and 18 to 21 years old with great potential. Their results have been good so far for a promoted team with nine points out of seven games and defeats only to Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.
“What we saw against the league champions was a team looking to compete with the best, but with not enough maturity to get something from the best team in England. What they need is time to build relationship on the pitch between players to gel and they will be really competitive in a few months’ time.”
Which of the new signings has caught your eye so far? And who would be your ‘one to watch’ on Sunday?
Sylvain: “I think winger Freya Godfrey, who was permanently signed this Summer from Arsenal, is showing promises and she has a huge potential. She’s a direct player who can go one-v-one with defender and has plenty of pace to run into the spaces.”
Anything differently tactically Jocelyn Precheur from last season?
Sylvain: “Tactically Jocelyn Precheur uses a back four, with a 4-2-3-1 system. The backbone of his team is composed of experienced players Elena Linari at the back, Grace Geyoro in the middle, Kosovare Asslani at 10 and Nikita Parris on the wing.
“His main aim is to play possession based attacking football mixed with direct play when needed. What we saw against Chelsea is they can counter attack also very quickly, if space opens in front of their forward.”
What can we expect from London City Lionesses this weekend?
Sylvain: “I think it will be a tight game this weekend. Martin Ho’s team identity is well defined with high pressure and being aggressive on the ball - big components of the Spurs playbook. A consistent starting XI means the Spurs players mean know each other very well while the London City players are still working on it.”