Women's Preview: Portsmouth vs Saints
Southampton FC Women travel to Fratton Park to face Portsmouth in the first south coast derby of the Barclays Women's Championship season.
THE MATCH
Portsmouth vs Saints
Barclays Women's Championship
Fratton Park
Sunday 13th October, 2pm
Ticket information
Saints come into Sunday's derby looking to return to their winning league form after suffering a narrow cup defeat last Thursday.
Remi Allen's side sit fifth in the table after four games played, with a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United their last league result.
September's positive start to the season saw Rachel Rowe nominated for the division's Player of the Month award, whilst four of her teammates - Aimee Palmer, Rianna Dean, Molly Pike, and Freya Gregory - earned a place on the Goal of the Month shortlist.
Saints are looking to build on a positive start. (Photos: Chris Moorhouse)
Jay Sadler's Portsmouth side were promoted as Women's National League Southern Division champions last season, but have found their start to life in the second tier a tricky one.
Adapting to full-time football and the challenges of the Barclays Women's Championship, Pompey are still yet to pick up a point with defeats in their first six games in all competitions.
They've scored just once in the league, with 17 goals conceded as they were beaten 5-1 by London City Lionesses in their last outing.
FAMILIAR FACES
There is one former Saint in the Portsmouth ranks, as midfielder Georgie Freeland swapped red for blue after departing the club in 2023.
After helping Pompey achieve promotion last season, she has started four of her side's first six games in all competitions so far.
PREVIOUS MEETING
It's been two years since the last south coast derby in the league, but in 2023/24 both sides met in the Adobe Women's FA Cup with Saints coming out on top at Westleigh Park.
Jemma Purfield headed home the winning goal just under 20 minutes from time to earn a fourth consecutive win in the last four derby clashes.
SUNDAY'S OFFICIALS
Referee: Isabel Chaplin
Assistant Referee: Phoebe Horner
Assistant Referee: Julia Kings
Fourth Official: Joanne Horwood
MANAGER PREVIEW
Ahead of her derby debut, Head Coach Remi Allen shared her excitement but kept full focus on Sunday's task at hand.
"I'm excited, I've heard a lot about it even before this week, so it's an exciting time - the players are prepared, we've had a great training week so we're ready to get out there and play.
"I've played in a lot of derbies myself and emotion can take over, we'll respect the fact it's a derby and respect the opposition but ultimately if we play with our game plan we have a great chance of winning."
TICKET NEWS
Tickets for this fixture must be purchased through Portsmouth's ticketing website, with block North Lower J (NLJ) reserved for away fans.
Tickets are priced at £9 for Adults, £6 for Over-65s, and £4 for Under-18s.
MATCHDAY INFORMATION
Parking at Fratton Park is available to purchase on Portsmouth's website for £12, with disabled parking access for £6.
All further matchday information can be found in the hosts' dedicated matchday guide.
CAN’T MAKE IT ON SUNDAY?
This weekend's game has been selected for live YouTube coverage on the Barclays Women's Championship YouTube channel, which will also be shown live in the Northam Fan Zone at St Mary's Stadium.
The stream will begin shortly before kick-off, with a full match replay available 24 hours after the game.
There will be live coverage and plenty of behind-the-scenes access on our dedicated social media accounts, with full match highlights to follow on Monday:
