Women's Preview: Saints vs London City Lionesses
Southampton FC Women kick off the Easter weekend as they host league leaders London City Lionesses in the Barclays Women's Championship.
THE MATCH
Saints vs London City Lionesses
Barclays Women's Championship
St Mary's Stadium
Friday 18th April, 7pm
Buy tickets
Saints will step out for their penultimate home game of the season looking for a much-needed return to winning ways to end the campaign on a positive note.
Marieanne Spacey-Cale's side have drawn three of their last five games, but are still hunting a victory after a difficult run of form.
Before the April international break Saints were narrowly beaten by Blackburn, with their last home game ending in a goalless draw against Portsmouth in the south coast derby.
Fran Stenson made some crucial saves in the south coast derby. (Photo: Chris Moorhouse)
London City Lionesses are ending the season on a high as they leapt to the top of the table above Birmingham City with their recent run of results.
The league leaders are unbeaten in the Barclays Women's Championship since November, and come into the game with four wins in their last five games.
Their top scorer, Isobel Goodwin, was on target in their last victory - a hard-fought 2-1 win over Newcastle - whilst Swedish international and former WSL winner Kosovare Asllani has impressed in her debut season for the club with five goals and five assists.
PREVIOUS MEETING
Saints suffered a 3-1 defeat against London City Lionesses in the reverse fixture this season, as an Emma Thompson consolation was too late to mount any comeback at Hayes Lane.
Last season at St Mary's however, an impressive Saints display saw Marieanne Spacey-Cale's side win 3-1 themselves thanks to another Thompson goal alongside strikes from Rianna Dean and Molly Pike.
SUNDAY'S OFFICIALS
Referee: Laura Van Lier
Assistant Referee: Michael Butcher
Assistant Referee: Maya Korpal
Fourth Official: Aaron Ford
MANAGER PREVIEW
Speaking after Saints' last outing, Marieanne Spacey-Cale issued a rallying cry to her side to target a positive end to the campaign.
"This will be a really good learning season for everybody, staff and players, but what we've got to do is see this season out with some passion and some real pride - there's three games to go and let's just attack them."
TICKET NEWS
Tickets for this fixture are still available to be purchased, priced at just £10 for Adults and £4 for Under-18s
These tickets, as with all home games this season, will still be on the Saints Tickets App once claimed.
Supporters should download the app and their tickets prior to coming to St Mary's Stadium.
MATCHDAY INFORMATION
This Friday evening kick-off time will see a host of new and returning pre-match activities to kick-off the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. For full matchday information, activation times, and FAQs, supporters are advised to read our dedicated article.
CAN’T MAKE IT ON FRIDAY?
Friday's game has been selected to be streamed live on the Barclays Women's Championship's YouTube channel, with coverage starting shortly before kick-off.
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 Saturday:
