Brighton & Hove Albion Women will welcome Aston Villa Women to for Sunday's Women's Super League opener at the Broadfield Stadium.
The Seagulls secured a fifth-place finish in the 2024-25 WSL campaign, while the Villans were just three points adrift in sixth position.
Match preview
Dario Vidosic would have been satisfied with a top-half finish in his first season as a WSL manager after seeing his side win eight, draw four and lose 10 of their 22 league matches.
However, the Brighton boss will be challenging his side to be a tougher unit to break down this season after finishing last season with the joint-fourth worst defensive record with 41 goals conceded.
Maelys Mpome and Moeka Minami have been added to Brighton's defensive ranks over the summer, while they have recruited goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie from Paris FC.
The Seagulls have also signed Manuela Vanegas, Fuka Tsunoda, Rosa Kafaji, Carla Camacho and England's Euro 2025 hero Michelle Agyemang, who has returned for her second loan stint with the club.
While there have been plenty of new additions, Brighton have also seen a number of players depart over the summer months, including Guro Bergsvand, Poppy Pattinson, Maria Thorisdottir, Pauline Bremer and Nikita Parris.
Brighton will attempt to begin the new season by claiming a second successive home victory over Aston Villa after running out 4-2 winners in this fixture in October 2024.
Meanwhile, former Real Sociedad boss Natalia Arroyo is set to take charge of his first full season as Aston Villa head coach after taking over the reins in January.
Arroyo made a poor start with five consecutive WSL defeats, before she oversaw a dramatic turnaround in form as Villa recorded five successive league victories to finish in sixth position.
While Villa would have been satisfied with their top-half placing, they would have been disappointed to finish the campaign with the joint-second worst defensive record, highlighting a key area of improvement for the new season.
Vill have strengthened their squad with the arrivals of Ellie Roebuck, Lynn Wilms, Lucia Kendall, and Oceane Deslandes on free transfers, while Maya Hijikata and Jill Baijings have both been recruited for undisclosed fees.
The Villa boss will hope her squad can start the 2025-26 campaign by claiming their third head-to-head win over Brighton in the calendar year.
The Villans picked up a 3-2 victory in February's FA Cup clash, before they recorded a 3-1 win over the Seagulls on the final day of the WSL season.
Team News
Aston Villa Women's manager Natalia Arroyo on May 4, 2025
The hosts are unable to call upon the services of Aisha Masaka, Vanegas and Mpome due to injury.
Vidosic could decide to line up with a centre-back pairing of Caitlin Hayes and Moeka Minami, while Marit Auee and Marisa Olislagers are pushing to feature as the two full-backs.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Kiko Seike, Kafaji, Agyemang, and Madison Haley could all be given the chance to start Sunday's WSL opener.
As for the visitors, forward Rachel Daly will have the honour of wearing the captain's armband after being named the club's new skipper following Rachel Corsie's retirement at the end of last season.
In goal, Roebuck will be hoping to get the ned for Sunday's fixture, although she is facing competition from Sabrina D'Angelo.
Arroyo could decide to line up with a back three, with Lynn Wilms, Anna Patten and Noelle Martiz among those who could feature in defence.
Brighton & Hove Albion Women possible starting lineup:
Baggaley; Auee, Hayes, Minami, Olislagers; Symonds, Cankovic; Seike, Kirby, Kafaji; Haley
Aston Villa Women possible starting lineup:
Roebuck; Wilms, Patten, Maritz; Grant, Bo Kearns, Staniforth, Tomas; Daly; Salmon, Hanson
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We say: Brighton & Hove Albion Women 1-3 Aston Villa Women
Aston Villa have already beaten Brighton on two separate occasions in 2025, and while both of those matches took place at home, the Villans will also draw inspiration from the fact that they have won three of their previous four away league matches.
With that in mind, we think the visitors will do enough to take all three points from the opening game of the 2025-26 season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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