Rehanne's five-point preview - Manchester City

Spurs Women Head Coach Rehanne Skinner looks ahead to Sunday’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League clash against Manchester City at the Hive (2pm) in her latest preview.

1 - North London derby

What were Rehanne’s thoughts on last weekend's game and the impressive setting of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?

“It was a great opportunity to play at the stadium and we had a fantastic audience that tuned in to watch the game, but we were disappointed with our first half performance out of possession and felt that we should have been more proactive in the game to make life difficult for Arsenal and get higher up the pitch to affect them more.

“We looked to resolve this at half-time and I felt we were much more effective in the second half which led to us creating better opportunities, but the challenge we faced was that we were 2-0 at that point before we started to be more effective.”

2 - Response in training

What could Rehanne tell us about the reaction from the players in training this week?

"We are not a team that sits back and watches the game happen in front of them, we haven’t done that all season. When you do that against teams in the top four, you face an uphill struggle to get back into the game.

"We recognised that and the team have worked hard on certain aspects in training to make sure we are more positive and assertive in and out of possession."

3 - Chance to bounce back

Our Head Coach on Sunday’s game and the chance to give a better account of ourselves…

“Games come thick and fast in this league, and we need to quickly pick ourselves up, take the learnings from the derby and put into practice what we have been working on in training. We need to keep learning from those experiences and making sure that we put into practice what we have learnt to give ourselves a better opportunity to get points from games. We want to be tested and challenged to see where we are as a team.”

4 - Team news, including Ria Percival

What could Rehanne tell us about the latest on Ria Percival, who was notably absent from the team?

“Unfortunately, Ria sustained a calf injury in training just before the game last weekend. She is likely to be out for a few weeks, but we are hoping to have her back before the end of the season. Everyone else apart from Ash [Neville] is involved with the squad and available for Sunday which is great news.”

5 - Ashleigh Neville nearing a return

How is full-back Ashleigh Neville getting on and was she likely to feature before the end of the season?

“Ash is working hard every day behind the scenes to get back and her rehab is going well. We are hoping she will be back involved with the team after the international break which will be a real positive for us.”

Supporters can watch Sunday's match live online for free via The FA Player.

Remember, if you haven’t yet done so, you can sign up for free here on tottenhamhotspur.com to receive the official digital matchday programme on the day of the game. Sign up once to receive every home matchday programme online for free while our matches are played behind closed doors.