After more than a month without a game, Remi Allen says Reading are raring to go against FA Women’s Super League 1 leaders Chelsea on Sunday.
Sunday 25th March (2pm)
FA WSL 1
Birmingham City v Liverpool (Solihull Moors FC) – live on FAWSL Facebook
Chelsea v Reading (Kingsmeadow Stadium) – live on BBC Red Button
FA WSL 2
Oxford United v Millwall Lionesses (Oxford City FC, 1pm)
Sheffield FC v Brighton & Hove Albion (Sheffield FC, 1pm)
Doncaster Rovers Belles v Tottenham Hotspur (Doncaster Rovers FC)
Watford v Aston Villa (Kings Langley FC, 3pm)
The Royals travel to Kingsmeadow Stadium for their first match since their comprehensive 4-0 victory against Bristol City on February 21.
With their scheduled fixture against Yeovil last week called off due to a waterlogged pitch, Allen admitted that a lack of match action has been frustrating for her and her teammates.
However, the 27-year-old midfielder is confident Reading will be ready to take on a Chelsea side who are unbeaten in their last nine games in all competitions.
“Everyone is excited as it’s been a long time since we last had a game,” she said.
“If you ask any player, all you want to do is play and it’s difficult but you have to stay focused and train every single day to make sure you’re ready to go again.
“I would love it to be different but we’re now ready to go again. We’ve got our game heads back on and we’re just raring to go against Chelsea.”
While Reading have been restricted to the training field, their opponents were in action during the week as they beat Montpellier 2-0 away in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Allen watched the game and said she was impressed by what she saw but she believes Reading can bring the hosts back down to earth if they execute their game plan.
“I thought it was a good win for Chelsea,” she said. “They deserved it and they will be coming into this game with momentum behind them and they will want to beat us.
“It’s going to be difficult but we have been working hard in training and I have confidence that we can get something from the game.
“We just have to focus on our own game plan, working hard and putting pressure on them to win the ball back as quickly as possible.”
Allen scored the opener as Reading claimed a dramatic 2-2 draw against the Blues in the reverse fixture earlier this season with a 92nd-minute own goal.
She said there is no reason the visitors cannot upset the odds once again and, with two games in hand, Allen has also not ruled out Reading finishing in the top three.
She added; “We want to finish as high as possible and anyone who watches this league knows that no game is a given, so there’s still plenty to play for.”
“It’s a league where you can go anywhere and get a result and there are no guaranteed three points, which is what makes it so good.
“It would take a lot of things to go our way for us to finish in the top three as we have dropped too many points in games we shouldn’t have this season.
“But at the same time, I’m confident we can get three points from most of our remaining games and if we keep on improving, I can’t see why not.”
Elsewhere in FA WSL 1, Bristol City welcome title-chasing Manchester City to Stoke Gifford Stadium, while Liverpool face Birmingham City at Solihull Moors FC.
A host of rearranged SSE Women’s FA Cup quarter-finals will also take place on Sunday, with Arsenal taking on Charlton Athletic, Durham welcoming Everton and Manchester City at Sunderland.
In FA WSL 2, Oxford United travel to Millwall Lionesses, Sheffield FC face Brighton & Hove Albion, Doncaster Rovers Belles take on Tottenham Hotspur and Watford visit Aston Villa.
To buy tickets to an FA Women’s Super League match near you click here: www.fawsl.com/tickets
