Rehanne Skinner has made four changes to her West Ham United women’s team for their Barclays Women’s Super League trip to Arsenal on Sunday.
Last time out, the Hammers were 3-1 winners against Brighton & Hove Albion, and following the international break, are back in action at the third-placed Gunners.
For the clash at Meadow Park, Amber Tysiak returns to the starting XI after her three-game ban, and she will be joined in the Hammers’ backline by Camila Sáez, who is fresh from making her 100th appearance for Chile during the international break.
It was also a memorable two weeks for Dagný Brynjarsdóttir, who was called up to Iceland’s squad for the first time since becoming a mum of two, and she is restored to Skinner’s line-up, as is forward Seraina Piubel.
Having not long returned to east London from international duty, Shelina Zadorsky, Katrina Gorry, Riko Ueki and Manuela Paví are the four players who drop out of the starting XI, but are all named on the substitutes’ bench for Sunday’s derby.
With Skinner’s captain and vice-captain starting on the sidelines, Viviane Asseyi will don the armband against the Gunners.
That means Kinga Szemik - who kept back-to-back clean sheets with Poland in the UEFA Nations League during the break - starts her 15th successive WSL match, and she is likely to be supported by a back five containing Kirsty Smith, Eva Nyström, Tysiak, Sáez and Verena Hanshaw.
Brynjarsdóttir will be paired with Finland international Oona Siren in midfield, who is set to start her eleventh league match this term, and the duo will hope to support Asseyi, Shekiera Martinez and Piubel in attack.
As well as the aforementioned Zadorsky, Gorry, Ueki and Paví, Skinner has five other substitutes at her disposal at Meadow Park.
Megan Walsh is the goalkeeping alternative, while Anouk Denton, who will look to get some more minutes against her former club, and Li Mengwen are the two other defenders on the bench.
Meanwhile, Marika Bergman Lundin will hope to provide some support in midfield, and Emma Harries is one of Skinner’s three attacking options.
Arsenal: Van Domselaar, Fox, Williamson, Catley, Mariona, Little ©, McCabe, Maanum, Walti, Kelly, Russo
Subs: Zinsberger, Ilestedt, Reid, Nighswonger, Cooney-Cross, Pelova, Mead, Foord, Blackstenius
West Ham United: Szemik, Smith, Nyström, Tysiak, Sáez, Hanshaw, Siren, Brynjarsdóttir, Martinez, Asseyi ©, Piubel
Subs: M.Walsh (GK), Zadorsky, Denton, Mengwen, Bergman Lundin, Gorry, Paví, Harries, Ueki
Referee: Ade Soneye
