Brighton v Manchester City: Women’s Super League – live | Women’s Super League

Half-time: Brighton 0-2 Manchester City

45+3 min: Thorisdóttir is back on the pitch but she is struggling. The defender will surely have to come off at the break. It doesn’t help that she is up against Hemp at the moment…

45+2 min: Concern for Brighton here as Thorisdóttir goes to ground completely unchallenged and off the ball. It looks as though she will be unable to play on.

45+1 min: Two minutes have been added on. I imagine Brighton are desperate to hear the half-time whistle at this point. Manchester City have barely given them time to breathe in the last 15 minutes.

44 min: Another chance for City as Shaw squares the ball across to Fowler in the box. The winger goes for goal but her effort is blocked by Kullberg, who immediately falls to the floor. That looked like a painful one, but the defender is able to play on.

41 min: Hemp plays a one-two with Coombs before crossing the ball into the box from the left. Fowler is left unmarked in plenty of space at the back post, allowing her to tap the ball past Baggaley with ease.

GOAL! Brighton 0-2 Manchester City (Fowler, 40)

38 min: Manchester City split open the Brighton defence with a series of clever passes before Park goes for goal. Bergsvand makes an important block in a bid to combat the threat, but City keep piling the pressure on.

35 min: Huge chance for Manchester City to score another as a corner is sent into the penalty area. Coombs goes for goal with a header but her effort is blocked on the line by Zigiotti. A big let-off for Brighton.

32 min: Hemp picks up the ball inside the centre circle and makes a beeline for goal. She is allowed to run straight through several Brighton players before going for goal, but the hosts can eventually clear.

Robinson heads straight down to the other side of the pitch, shrugging off a challenge from Hasegawa in the process. She crosses the ball to Terland in the middle, but there is too much on her pass and the ball runs through to the other side.

31 min: A poor clearance from Greenwood falls to Carabalí in the midfield third. The defender takes a touch before lining up an audacious shot from distance, but her effort runs wide.

28 min: Park receives the ball from Fowler in midfield and splits the Brighton defence with a phenomenal pass through to Hemp in the box. The winger takes a quick touch before slotting it past Baggaley. Advantage City!

GOAL! Brighton 0-1 Manchester City (Hemp, 27)

25 min: Manchester City have been the better team so far, but you certainly can’t count Brighton out. The hosts have already created some positive goalscoring opportunities and given Gareth Taylor’s side a fright.

23 min: Hemp receives the ball on the left and looks to cut inside, but Carabalí does well to dispossess her before sending a long pass forwards.

20 min: Chance for Brighton as Losada sends a free kick into the box from midfield. It deflects off Greenwood and into the path of Bergsvand, but she runs the ball out of play and City have a goal kick.

17 min: Some Manchester City staff members tend to Greenwood on the sidelines. It could potentially be for an injury, but the defender is able to carry on.

14 min: Mikey Harris is urging his side to press high when Manchester City are in possession, but the visitors are playing incredibly well while on the ball. The hosts have to make sure they don’t tire themselves too early.

11 min: Coombs wins a free kick in a dangerous position following a challenge from Carabalí. Greenwood steps up to take it and sends the ball over to Shaw in the box. The striker attempts to chest it down but her touch is slightly too heavy and Brighton can make the clearance.

9 min: Manchester City are playing some great football in these early stages. Keating kicks off an attack by passing the ball out from the box, with Hasegawa, Fowler and Hemp all getting involved before it finds Park, but the midfielder loses possession in the final third.

6 min: The visitors patiently pass the ball around the back while waiting for an opening. It finally comes as Greenwood sends a long pass over the Brighton defence to Hemp, who goals for goal, but her effort is comfortably saved by Baggaley.

3 min: Manchester City have a corner in the early stages. Greenwood’s cross floats into the box, but Brighton are able to clear the danger. The visitors are beginning to press high.

1 min: Brighton get off to a positive start. The ball is played back to Baggaley who attempts to play it long, but Coombs wins possession in midfield. The hosts win it back and Terland is sent through on goal, but she is penalised for a foul on Hasegawa.

Kick-off

Here we go… The teams are out and kick-off is just a few minutes away!

Don’t forget you can email in this afternoon with your thoughts, feelings, predictions, reactions and all that jazz. I’ll be with you all afternoon!

Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor tells BBC Sport: “It’s the one competition we have left. Outside of what Chelsea have done, nobody has done it for a long time. We’re right in there. Our league form has been fantastic. Our start to the season has been really good.

“A little bit of disappointment in the cup competitions but the margins were really tight. I expect the same today. I don’t expect it to be an easy game. Opportunity for us to go level on top and that’s really exciting. If you had given us that with seven games to go we would have really taken it.”

The WSL’s two most in-form strikers go head-to-head this afternoon. Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw currently leads the Golden Boot race with 15 league goals to her name, while Brighton forward Elisabeth Terland has 11. The only player that separates the two is Chelsea’s Lauren James, who has scored 13 goals since the start of the campaign.

Will either of the two stars add to their tally today?

Elsewhere in the WSL

Manchester United currently lead Bristol City 1-0 at Leigh Sports Village. Meanwhile, Liverpool vs West Ham is goalless. Tottenham are set to face Leicester City this afternoon.

• Chelsea 3-1 Arsenal

• Everton 1-2 Aston Villa

Here is what the WSL table is looking like ahead of kick-off.

Chelsea have a three point advantage over Manchester City, but that gap could be closed today. Meanwhile, Brighton sit comfortably above the danger zone.

Manchester City’s season reached a turning point last week, and not a positive one. On Monday the club’s treble hopes were still well and truly alive, but a midweek defeat to Chelsea ended their Continental Cup dreams. Another loss, this time to Tottenham, subsequently put a stop to their FA Cup run in dramatic fashion, meaning the only piece of silverware City can win this season is the WSL. But, of course, they will have to be on top form for the remainder of the season – and Brighton will provide a tough test today.

Team news

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