West Ham Women v Spurs Women - Karen and Juan's preview

Spurs Women are set for the big stage once again as we take on our London rivals West Ham at the London Stadium this Sunday (29 September), kick-off at 2.30pm.

Our opening fixture of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League (WSL) saw us play in front of nearly 25,000 fans at Stamford Bridge and another great turnout is expected for Sunday’s London derby.

It will be the first time that Matt Beard’s side have played at their men’s 60,000-seater stadium with over 20,000 supporters projected to attend on Sunday. 

Ahead of the big match, Head Coach Juan Amoros commented: “The girls are really buzzing to play, not even just in front of a big crowd, but to play another game. They are all eager to compete, we have a squad of players who all want to be on the pitch – every single player wants to be involved in an occasion like the one coming up this weekend.

“We’ve played West Ham many times, and through the years they have been big rivals of ours, they are a really physical side, very organised and we know they have many strengths in their squad.

“I know the girls are ready for it, they’re all looking forward to it and if we can go there and get three points and bounce back before the international break, it will be fantastic.”

We picked up our first three points in the league with a 1-0 win against Liverpool at The Hive on matchday two, as did the Hammers who defeated Birmingham 1-0 at the Rush Green Stadium, but both sides go into the game on Sunday following defeats in the Continental League Cup last weekend. 

“We’ve been on a bit of a wave so far this season, with plenty of positives from our games against Chelsea and Liverpool, but it’s massively important that we bounce back from defeat in the cup against Reading,” Head Coach Karen Hills continued.

“We’ve been working hard and the girls have come into training this week with a positive mindset and we’ve analysed the performance against Reading, we’ve regrouped and feel ready for the challenge ahead on Sunday - we know we need to be more clinical in front of goal and ensure that we stay switched on at the back.

“Our experience of playing in front of large crowds out in Spain during pre-season, and at Stamford Bridge, will help us deal with our emotions and levels of excitement – I think we’re able to cope with that a lot better now and participating in these big occasions will only help us on our journey.”

How to watch the game

Kick-off on Sunday at the London Stadium is at 2.30pm. If you don’t have a match ticket, you can watch the game live on BT Sport.