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Everton Women vs Tottenham Hotspur: WSL Match Preview

Brian Sorensen is looking forward to Everton Women’s upcoming games and remains focused on how his team are performing rather than the current position occupied by the Toffees in the WSL.

Next up is a trip to Tottenham Hotspur and the Blues boss may be boosted by the return or Elise Stenevik, who is training again and may feature in the trip to North London.

Clare Wheeler is also in contention following some injury troubles, while Heather Payne has trained but is dealing with a niggle following international duty.

Veatriki Sarri has been battling sickness and did not train yesterday and Karen Holmgaard is back on the pitch but still not ready for competitive action.

Everton v West Ham United - Barclays Women’s Super League Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images

But despite wanting a few more players at his disposal, Sorensen believes his side is more than capable of picking up points in the upcoming fixtures and praised the team’s spirit and hard work during the international break.

“We have many games in front of us and a job to do,” he said. “But, it was good to get the three points (against Liverpool), but it is now back to business. We must get our heads down.”

“We do not look at the table, we look at the performance and where the team is at. Many times, I have been happy with the performance.

“We are good enough to get something from Spurs. We had the same issues before the Liverpool game, but gave a good performance.

“We have three games coming up where we can certainly get some points. I am not worried about anything, I would like to have some more players in but we are where we are and we will be looking to get some more points.

“We tied with them (Spurs) twice last season. It is going to be a tough challenge - they have very good players.

Everton FC v Tottenham Hotspur - Barclays Women´s Super League Photo by Jess Hornby/Getty Images

“We will try and see if we can hurt them. They have attacking threat, they have invested a lot over the last couple of years.

“We have had really good sessions (over the break). There has been smaller sessions but you can give more detail.

“We have a really positive camp. Inside, we are calm. We know the job we have to do and we know that we have the players that are capable of that.”

The Opposition

Robert Vilahamn’s team sit one point and two places higher the Everton today and could welcome back midfielder Maite Oroz for the weekend’s clash at Gaughan Group Stadium.

Defender Luana Buhler will be assessed ahead of kick-off, but Ella Morris is set to face a spell on the sidelines after suffering a Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) injury while on international duty for England Under-23s.

The league’s highest scorers in the bottom half of the table with 12, Spurs’ issues have been at the other end, having shipped 21 goals in eight games, making them the WSL’s leakiest defence.

Victory over West Ham United in their last game was only their second win of the season, but with stars like Beth Engalnd and Eveliina Summanen in the ranks, Vilahamn’s side is always dangerous, and capable of scoring.

Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United - Barclays Women’s Super League Photo by Paul Harding - The FA/The FA via Getty Images

Previous Meetings

With just one loss in ten WSL meetings between the two sides, Everton go into the fixture with history on their side.

A late Aurora Galli penalty rescued a point for the Blues in last season’s fixture. The Italian’s spot kick cancelling out Grace Clinton’s first-half goal.

Spurs would return the favour at Walton Hall Park in May of this year with two goals just after the restart cancelling out a dominant opening from Everton, who had Courtney Brosnan to thank in preserving a point that looked like three if the first 20 minutes were anything to go by.

Sorensen’s substitutions may well be a factor in the fixture with Everton scoring in the last five minutes in four of the last five WSL meetings with the North London side.

Everton will look to follow up their derby success and make it two league wins from two at the Gaughan Group Stadium on Sunday 8 December (1pm GMT).

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