By Rachel Gore (27/9/25)
Above: Tottenham’s Lize Kop and Martin Ho. Photo: The WSL.
On Sunday, in game week four of the WSL, Spurs will take on Leicester City away. After a disappointing 2024-25 season, Tottenham are aiming for improvement: a mid-week cup win against Aston Villa and a 2-0 win over Everton sandwiching a heavy 5-1 loss to Manchester City.
Context
Spurs are currently in fifth place in the WSL table and have experienced two wins and one loss so far this season. On the other hand, Leicester City have won only one match and are in eighth position in the league.
For Spurs, winning Sunday’s match against Leicester is vital as a victory would secure a momentary place in the top five – which they can subsequently aim to hold on to. Speaking on the need to win this weekend, Ho said:
“Every game we go into, we want to win, and I don’t see us going into any game and thinking, we’re not going to win this.”
He added:
“Leicester’s the same as every other game. We need to go in with the right mindset. If we do that, we give ourselves a chance of winning.”
Team News
According to Ho, players who have been out with injuries are “coming back in” and “people are back in training properly now”. For example, Molly Bartrip is “back on the pitch and training well”. Bartrip will, however, miss this weekend’s fixture.
On the contrary, Ahleigh Neville could make her first appearance of the season as she has now recovered from a knock which she picked up during pre-season training.
Ho also answered questions regarding Jess Naz and the racial abuse that she has faced. According to Ho, Naz is doing well. When asked whether Naz wants to take part int his weekend’s fixture, the manager answered:
“I will liaise very closely with Jess, and I have done over the last few days, along with staff leadership, with the club and whatever Jess feels, we will support Jess with that and we’ll see how she is tomorrow.”
Form
Tottenham have had a difficult week: last Friday they lost heavily to Manchester City and on Wednesday their Women’s League Cup match against Aston Villa went to penalties. Spurs ultimately won the shootout. This mix of outcomes has led to “different emotions” but despite these ups and downs the team have “trained really well”.
The head coach does not want his team to dwell on their recent matches and results. Rather, the squad must focus on where they are going. Ho knows that Leicester bring challenges. On what he expects from the Foxes, Ho was pragmatic:
“When you look at the games, they’ve just tied, the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea, which is a close contest, they’ve held on, they’ve held numerous chances themselves. They’ve won against Liverpool, even though they went to 10, they still performed really well. They’re well organised, very fruitful defensively, very brave with the ball, and can cause a lot of problems with their front line.”
Leicester being in eighth place in the WSL table could lead to the assumption that they will be an easy side for Spurs to beat. Although, as Ho described Leicester’s recent results have shown what the side can bring; they beat Liverpool despite having a player sent off, suffered a narrow defeat to WSL title holders Chelsea and beat Ipswich Town 5-1 in the Women’s League Cup.
To nullify the threat from Leicester, Spurs will stay “organised behind the ball to try and stop their transitions”. To ensure that this can be achieved, Spurs have focused on ball work and their organisation away from the ball in their recent training sessions.
Difference makers
Leicester’s Olivia McLoughlin is a player to keep an eye on during Sunday’s match. The player signed with the at the start of this month; she’s resilient and gets involved everywhere on the pitch.
Another Fox to look out for is Emily van Egmond. The Australian player scored a lovely header against Liverpool when she was left unmarked near the penalty spot. This goal proved that Leicester will take advantage of any opportunity that they are given to score.
Van Egmond is a strong midfielder who has a range of experience. She is accurate on the ball and creates opportunities for her teammates by providing strong passes from a distance. As she showed against Liverpool, she is also able to score – many of her goals have been shot from a long-range. Her experience also brings experience, which is vital when playing in big WSL matches, like this weekend’s fixture against Spurs.
Spurs’ goalkeeper Lize Kop has been on top form lately and will be ready to stop Leicester’s attack. Kop made two crucial saves during Tottenham’s penalty shootout against Aston Villa. Speaking on Kop’s performance in this match, Ho said:
“She’s a really brave goalkeeper. She’s someone who prides herself on those big moments.”
Against Manchester City, it was Spurs’ Olivia Holdt who scored the North London side’s only goal of the match. Holdt is a promising young midfielder who creates chances and scores goals. With strong technical skills and fast dribbling, Holdt will pose a threat to Leicester on Sunday.
Spurs will face Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Sunday at 12pm UK time. The match will be broadcast live on the WSL Youtube channel.
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