If you’re feeling a sense of déjà vu about facing Brighton this weekend then rest assured you aren’t going mad.

Charlton travelled to Crawley in the Players Cup to play Brighton  before the Man City game and lost 4-0 and they come into Sunday's game off the back of another Players Cup defeat - this time 3-0 to Crystal Palace. Both games featured heavily rotated squads and are hard to read too much into and the main benefit of the Palace game was Ashleigh Neville being able to shake off the rustiness following her ban.

In the league performances are improving. Last week's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City was full of positives. The opening stages were characterised by enthusiastic pressing and scrambles in the City box following set pieces. Jodie Hutton forced and excellent save from one time Charlton stopper Eartha Cummings but the luck wasn’t quite on the Addicks side and they couldn’t capitalise on their good start. Man City grew into the game before Alex Greenwood scored a direct free kick. the foul that led up to it was unnecessary and the less said about the wall the better. The second half saw Karen Hills’ side need to be more defensive but they did so well. City dominated possession but didn’t truly look like scoring. The only real chance fell to Bunny Shaw but was well stopped by Hawa Cissoko.

The biggest negative of the game was the injury to Emily van Egmond. The Aussie came off midway through the first half and it’s yet to be seen if she’ll be available against Brighton. It was positive to see her called up to her national team squad. Neville will be available and should provide a big boost as the backline has been pieced together somewhat in recent weeks but has coped admirably. The experience and bite of Neville will be a boost to those around her.

Brighton line up in a 5-4-1 shape and will expect much of the possession. Fran Kirby is the obvious danger to look out for but it’s worth keeping an eye on centre back Gabrielle George who sits in the centre of the back five and is the main distributor. If Charlton can press as well as they did against Man City then there is a chance to disrupt this key cog in the way that Brighton play.

Despite their poor start to the campaign Charlton Women are by no means doomed.  A win could move them up four places and Brighton represents a fixture where points are possible. The Seagulls are yet to win in the league and Charlton are starting to get used to the level. With the international break coming up it would be great to leave things on a high.

Karen Hills was disappointed after the Palace defeat but maintains that: "Every single game you're seeing a better Charlton performance and we're being braver on the ball, and  we're creating more opportunities. Now we've just got to finish them."

On Tuesday 6th October (6pm) you have the opportunity to quiz Karen, Ash Neville and Kiera Skeels directly at the CAST Q&A. It is free and open to all fans. You can register here:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-90f5d8dQumGlpNeuasc-g

Photo by Rhea Spencer-Newell