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WSL: Arsenal launch their first attack into the Spurs box as Russo and Stanway combine nicely, with the midfielder stubbing a shot at Kop, who scrambles to get it clear and out for a corner. Stanway’s shot from the edge of the box is then blocked.
Championship: Oh, Lyndon Dykes. Portsmouth are level against Millwall as the striker scrambles to meet a free-kick at his near post and ends up smothering it past his own goalkeeper. 1-1.
WSL: Tottenham’s Eveliina Summanen gets a nasty early one off Olivia Smith – studs on foot. It was an accident as they fought for the ball in midfield and, well, it’s a derby. Carry on.
WSL: The teams are out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It’s a bit drizzly in London today after the carnage of storm Austen yesterday. Thankfully the wind has dropped, for the moment anyway.
Spurs go into a north London derby ahead of Arsenal for the first time in WSL history.
Championship: Jenson Metcalfe has given Millwall the lead at Fratton Park after a howler from the Portsmouth keeper Nicolas Schmid, who gave the ball straight to him on the edge of the box.
Charlton are in front against Norwich too thanks to Charlie Kelman’s lovely finish after rounding the keeper. He pulls the John Stones ‘oh my shoulder hurts’ celebration. Sheffield Utd v Derby is the other early kick-off.
Here are the starting XIs for the north London derby. Martin Ho makes three changes from Spurs’ 6-2 defeat to Chelsea last weekend, while Jess Naz is back on the bench after a long spell out with an ACL injury.
Renée Slegers has made four changes from the disappointing 1-1 draw with Birmingham – Ona Batlle and Stina Blackstenius are among those to drop to the bench – and captain Kim Little misses out with injury.
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Kop; Dijkstra, Sombath, Blakstad; Summanen, Spence; Gaupset, Pelova, Vinberg; Tandberg. Subs: Panengstuen, Morris, A Nilden, Naz, Holdt, M Nilden, Hanson, Gunning-Williams, Martinez.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Misa; Fox, Williamson, Catley, Hinds; Cooney-Cross, Stanway; Baum, Smith, Foord, Russo. Subs: Van Domselaar, Borbe, Wubben-Moy, De Almeida, Batlle, Holmberg, Reuteler, Blackstenius.
Hello and welcome to coverage of the afternoon’s football across the UK. Later on, we’ll have the very latest from the 3pm kick-offs in the Premier League (including Arsenal v Everton), EFL and Scottish Premiership. Before then, our attention is on the north London derby in the Women’s Super League as Spurs host Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The teams will be emerging from the tunnel shortly, with kick-off at 12.45pm (BST).
The Arsenal head coach, Renée Slegers, will be desperate for a result today to relieve some of the pressure on her position. The 2025 European champions have already seen their WSL title hopes all but evaporate after failing to win their last five matches. Spurs had enjoyed a decent start to the campaign but have shipped 12 goals (!) in their last two games. Tom Garry previews this one …
double quotation mark In discussing doubts on her future Slegers has repeated her belief she can help the team. She maintained after last weekend’s draw with Birmingham that Arsenal will recover when they fix some “details and margins”. Perhaps taking on a Tottenham side who have become only the second team in history to concede six or more goals in consecutive WSL games is the perfect opportunity.
