Brighton vs Arsenal: WSL preview, predictions, team news and TV info
Arsenal won only one of their three meetings with Brighton last season. The Seagulls dumped the Gunners out of the FA Cup in Borehamwood in April, before the pair played out a 1-1 draw the last time they met.
Overall, Arsenal have won 13 of their last 16 clashes with the Albion, but have not won in Sussex since November 2023, so will not be taking anything for granted.
This Women's Super League match is live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports UHD in the UK and Ireland. The fixture is also on Sky One, for non-Sky Sports subscribers.
In the United States, viewers can watch this match on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+. Other global broadcasters include Sportsnet One in Canada, sportdigital+ in Germany, and Stan Sport in Australia.
Could this finally be Arsenal's year in the Women's Super League? Despite being the record 15-times champions of England, the Gunners' most-recent league title came all the way back in 2019. Last time round, Chelsea's streak of six WSL titles in a row was finally broken, but this was by Manchester City, with Arsenal forced to settle for second spot.
Nevertheless, Renée Slegers' side believe that now is their time to become champions again. Already this weekend, London City Lionesses have beaten Manchester United while, in a major surprise on Saturday, Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge. Thus, the latter in particular should certainly be a warning that the Gunners cannot take any opponent lightly.
As for Brighton & Hove Albion, they finished seventh in the WSL last season, a slight regression on a fifth place finish 12 months earlier. Dario Vidošić's side did though reach a first-ever FA Cup Final, ousting Arsenal en route, before being hammered 4-0 by Manchester City at Wembley.
That proved to be his final game in charge, with Arturo Ruiz the new man in charge, having previously led Real Sociedad to third place in Liga F. Brighton have big ambitions, currently building the first-ever purpose built women's stadium in the UK, but on the pitch, they are along way from being competitive. Thus, if Arsenal have serious title aspirations, this clash at Broadfield is surely must win.
In their final pre-season game, Brighton were beaten 3-1 by European champions Barça Femení at Estadi Johan Cruyff. That though should certainly have helped Arturo Ruiz's team prepare for this WSL opener.
Fran Kirby and Jelena Čanković will be Brighton's most dangerous attackers, while there will be plenty of debutants. One of the new signings is Lia Wälti, who has arrived from Juventus, set to face the club she spent seven years representing.
Renée Slegers has certainly bolstered her squad during this summer window. Georgia Stanway will start in midfield, with Ona Batlle the new first-choice right-back. Misa Rodríguez and Lisa Baum also started the most-recent pre-season friendly against Charlton, with Géraldine Reuteler and Selina Cerci coming off the bench, so how many debutants will feature in Sussex?
In terms of existing players, the likes of Leah Williamson, Alessia Russo and Stina Blackstenius will have benefited from a rare summer off, so will be ready to go.
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