Reading Women v West Ham United
Barclays Women’s Super League, Select Car Leasing Stadium, Sunday 5 March 2023, 2pm
West Ham United Women are back in Barclays Women’s Super League action for the first time since early February when they make the short journey to Berkshire to take on Reading.
The Hammers currently sit in seventh place in the table on 16 points, whilst Sunday’s opponents are in eleventh, having amassed seven points so far this term.
Paul Konchesky’s team are without a win in the league since returning from the Christmas break, having lost to Manchester City and Everton before performing brilliantly to draw 0-0 with Arsenal on 5 February.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the contest.
Tickets..
West Ham United supporters can purchase tickets for the fixture at the Select Car Leasing Stadium online. Adults tickets are priced at £12, whilst Concessions are priced at £8, 17 and under are priced at £6, and 12 and under are priced at £4.
How to follow
Sunday’s WSL match against the Royals will be broadcast live on The FA Player, with coverage beginning just before the scheduled 2pm kick-off.
Travel...
The Select Car Leasing Stadium is a simple ground to reach for West Ham United supporters travelling from London and Essex.
If you have a sat nav, enter the postcode RG2 0FL. Otherwise, take the M25 to the M4, then head west to Junction 11. Follow signs towards Reading. The Select Car Leasing Stadium is on your left-hand side after less than a mile.
Matchday parking permits are available in Car Park 3 Red Zone priced at £5 in advance For details of this, and Disabled parking, click here or call 0118 968 1313.
By train, head to Reading station from London Paddington. From there, the 50A Greenwave Park & Ride bus takes you directly to the Stadium, with an average journey time of less than ten minutes. Alternatively, a taxi from the railway station or town centre to the Select Car Leasing Stadium should cost approximately £10.
Team News
Both Jess Ziu and Amber Tysiak will be unavailable for selection on Sunday afternoon.
Republic of Ireland international Ziu is continuing with her rehabilitation after sustaining an ACL injury against London City Lionesses in early October. The winger is not expected to be available again this season.
Tysiak is also continuing her own recovery but will not be involved against the Royals.
Team news will be announced at 1pm GMT on Sunday afternoon.
The Opposition
It has been a difficult 2022/23 season so far for Reading.
The Royals have picked up two wins from their 13 games played in the WSL so far this season, with those coming against Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.
Indeed, Reading have only won two of their last 24 matches in the league, a run that leaks into last season, which saw them fail to win in their final ten matches and ultimately cost them a place in the top half of the table and they finished eighth, two places and two points below the Hammers.
Manager, Emma Chambers will be hoping to see an improvement from her side in the league, and they can perhaps draw on their penalty shootout win over Spurs last weekend, which saw them book a quarter-final tie with Chelsea.
A former Reading captain, Chambers’ playing career was ended by an ACL injury in 2012. She first took over the Royals in 2013 and guided the club to promotion from the third tier.
After Jayne Ludlow, who was appointed following Reading’s promotion to the second tier, left to manage Wales, Chambers was re-installed in the dugout. What followed was nothing short of remarkable.
The 37-year-old took a group of players working part-time to promotion. Last season, Reading secured another middle-table finish – a placing that has become commonplace for the Royals since their promotion to the WSL in 2015.
But since finishing fourth in 2017-18, the Royals have seen a slight downward trajectory under Chambers. Consecutive fifth placings in 2018-19 and 2019-20 have been followed by seventh and then the aforementioned eighth-placed finish in each of the last two seasons.
West Ham came out on top in the earlier meeting this season, with Viviane Asseyi scoring a brace and Brynjarsdóttir heading home to take all three points in a 3-2 win back in October.
