Rosa Simkin (@rosatalksball)
Date – 27/01/24
Time – 14:00
Location – Ashton Gate Stadium
Where to Watch – The FA Player
My Prediction – Bristol City 2 – West Ham United
Today (28th January) will see relegation rivals West Ham United and newly promoted Bristol City go head to head, in a bid to secure three crucial points in their relegation battle. Rehanne Skinner’s Hammers currently sit 11th in the table on 5 points, with Lauren Smith’s Robbins equal with them, sitting in the relegation spot also with 5 points. Goal difference, so far is all that separates the sides, but whoever wins today would find themselves three points clear of that dreaded 12th place. Catch the latest team news, form guide, word from the managers, my predictions and more below!
Head to Head
Women’s Super League -> 5: West Ham (3), Bristol City (1), Draws (1)
Last Time Out:
West Ham and Bristol City have already come against one and other this season in the league, back in November, with the traveling Robbins taking all three points in a tense battle. The game ended at West Ham 2 – 3 Bristol City with goals coming for the Hammers from Viviane Asseyi (penalty) and Riko Ueki. The goals for victorius Bristol City came from Amalie Thestrup, Ella Powell and Brooke Aspin.
Due to Bristol City’s promotion to the league for this season, apart from that fixture, it has been a number of years since they have faced eachother in the league.
Bristol City
Bristol City have struggled in the WSL this season after their promotion into the top tier last year, with only one win (which came against West Ham) so far this season and with three losses in their last five appearances (across all competitions) Lauren Smith will be hoping her side can start the new year with a boost, and start building some positive momentum as they look to step away from the relegation battle. Facing fellow league strugglers West Ham United could be the perfect place to build a platform for more positive things, heading into the second half of the season.
Last weekend, the Robbins faced 9th place Brighton & Hove Albion in the league and their performance, in my eyes, was significantly more promising. Greater levels of possession and impressive building throughout the game, through playing out well from the back and good balls through to the attack. They came back from being behind twice, with the game being tied at 2 goals a piece heading into the 90th minute. Unfortunately for City, they couldn’t hang on, with Elisabeth Terland scoring for the seagulls in the 5th minute of injury time, making the final score Brighton & HA 3 – 2 Bristol City. The goals for Bristol came from Abi Harrison and Carrie Jones. Despite a loss, the Robins can take a lot of positives into their ‘6 pointer’ against West Ham this weekend.
“There is a way of looking at it that way, I guess if you win you feel like that, but we’ve got to go into it [game vs West Ham] knowing both outcomes could happen [relegation or safety] and at this point in the season, I still don’t think it’s that dramatic – we’re only going into the second half, Brighton was the first time we played them and we’re only starting that second chunk. So, the fact that it is the first game of the second set of fixtures, I think there is time on our side, which is great if it doesn’t go our way but also if it does we need to be aware of that because there is still time on our side right now. It’s very close, one win shifts you or two wins shifts you quite significantly. But, that doesn’t take away from how important Sunday’s game is.” – Lauren Smith on the importance of the game this weekend, after last weekends loss to Brighton
“At the end of a Sunday when you look at the table and everyone has played is probably the only moment that it [the stress of a relegation battle] comes true. I think everything we do in the week; the processes are good, the attention and the characters, the team work is all there so I’m not questioning that we’re doing anything which is preventing us moving up the table. We know we’re fighting every week but we’re still in this fight. Ultimately, you have to go week by week.” – Lauren Smith on the mental side of a relegation battle
Team News:
In – Lisa Evans (Transfer IN), Sarah Stratigakis (Transfer IN), Shae Yanez (Transfer IN)
Out – Fran Bentley (Injury), Rachel Furness (Injury) & Brooke Aspin (Injury), Jesse Woolley (LOAN to Reading), Mari Ward (Pro Contract)
The Robbins have been busy during the January transfer window, signing 3 players. Shae Yanez from the NWSL, Sarah Stratigakis from Damallsvenskan side Vittsjö GK and the big news being Lisa Evans, joining them from… West Ham United.
An unexpected hop across to fellow relegation rivals for Evans, who has struggled for game time since Rehanne Skinner joined the East London side and with new superstar signings, the opportunity for game time was unlikely to improve come the new year. It would be quite some story, hopping over to your relegation rivals and keeping them in the WSL, coursing your former side to be relegated!
Evans announcement video saw her popping a bubble, which are significant for West Ham United due to their song, “forever blowing bubbles.” An absolutely brilliant dig from the Robbins!
Image Credit – Bristol City Women
“I wasn’t really expecting to leave West Ham in this window but as it happened the opportunity came along I was delighted and I took it with both hands. I spoke with Lauren Smith and got a great impression of the club and I know Bristol is a wonderful city too.” – Lisa Evans on her move
Form:
Bristol City Top Goal Contributors (23/24 Season – All Competitions)
1. Amalie Thestrup – 5 (5 Goals, 0 Assists)
2 (=). Abi Harrison – 3 (1 Goal, 2 Assists)
2 (=). Rachel Furness – 3 (1 Goal, 2 Assists)
4 (=). Carrie Jones – 2 (2 Goals, 0 Assists)
4 (=). Mari Ward – 2 (1 Goal, 1 Assist)
West Ham United
The Hammers, like Bristol City, also come into today’s clash off the back of three losses in a row, in all competitions and just one point from their last five WSL games. Having been knocked out of the FA cup in the fourth round by Chelsea, and failing to get out of their group in the League Cup full focus now turns to staying in the top tier of women’s football. They sit, rather dangerously, in 11th place on equal points with today’s opponents Bristol City and just three goals separating them in goal difference.
There latest defeat came at the hands of championship side Birmingham City in the league, loosing 2 – 1 away from home in the group E battle. There sole goal coming through Riko Ueki in the 2nd minute of injury time, at the end of the game. Last weekend, they suffered an agonizing 3 – 4 loss to Tottenham Hotspur at home in the league, with the dominant Hammers unable to net an equalizer or winner after a 75th minute goal from Tottenham’s Jessica Naz. The Hammer’s will be looking to transform their fortune as we enter the second half of the league season, starting with a win at Ashton Gate today.
“I’m really disappointed. I think this is the first time this season where I didn’t feel that the basics were good enough. We didn’t come out of the changing room in the first half well enough, we were too slow to things, and we didn’t work hard enough, and that’s not something that I’ve been able to say.” – Rehanne Skinner on defeat against Birmingham City
“We believe in always being on the front foot and trying to get pressure on the ball and anticipate the things that are going to lead to chances, it’s just being a little bit sharper to those things. It’s fine margins, isn’t it? Because in this league, if you don’t do those two yards, then a goal is scored, and that’s something that we’ve learned the hard way in a couple of situations, and we certainly want to keep working on.” – Skinner on West Ham’s approach to Bristol City
Team News:
In – Kristie Mewis (Transfer IN), Shelina Zadorsky (Loan IN) & Katrina Gorry (Transfer IN)
Out – Abbey-Leigh Stringer (doubt), Lisa Evans (Transfer to Bristol City), Jessie Stapleton (Loan to Reading) & Izzy Atkinson (Transfer to Crystal Palace)
West Ham United, similarly to Bristol City, have been busy so far this January transfer window. Buying the services of Kristie Mewis from Gotham FC in the NWSL, Australian midfielder Katrina Gorry from Vittsjö GIK in Sweden and Canadian defender Shelina Zadorsky in on loan from Skinner’s former side, Tottenham Hotspur, for the remainder of the season. They have also, in return let three players go this window, Stapleton on loan to Reading and Lisa Evans & Izzy Atkinson on permanent deals.
Abbey-Leigh Stringer is also a doubt for the Hammers, with the midfielder carrying a slight knock.
“I said at the very start when I came into the Club, it was about evolving the squad and making sure that we had everyone that was the best fit for the Club. In the summer because I came in late, we still had a little bit of money available because it wasn’t really going to help us to get people at that time due to the way that we were trying to evolve our recruitment strategy, being very specific to the style of play, which we obviously have in place now.” – Rehanne Skinner on her squad and further recruitment
“We’re looking fairly positive. We’ve had a couple of little knocks in games last Sunday and on Wednesday. We’re hoping to be in a good position with all of those heading into Sunday.” – Skinner on team news
Form:
West Ham United Top Goal Contributors (23/24 Season – All Competitions)
1. Viviane Asseyi – 5 (4 Goals, 1 Assist)
2. Riko Ueki – 4 (4 Goals, 0 Assists)
3 (=). Izzy Atkinson – 2 (1 Goal, 1 Assist)
3 (=). Lisa Evans – 2 (1 Goal, 1 Assist)
3 (=). Honoka Hayashi – 2 (1 Goal, 1 Assist)
3 (=). Kirsty Smith – 2 (1 Goal, 1 Assist)
Match Week 12 Fixtures (28th – 29th January) – All Times GMT:
28th:
Brighton & Hove Albion 0 – 4 Chelsea (MATCH COMPLETE)
29th:
Manchester United vs Aston Villa – 12:00, The FA Player
Everton vs Leicester City – 12:30, The FA Player
Bristol City vs West Ham United – 14:00, The FA Player
Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City – 14:00, The FA Player
Liverpool vs Arsenal – 16:30, Sky Sports*
*All games can also be streamed on the FA Player, Overseas only.*
WSL Table:
