Ipswich Town Women host MK Dons at the AGL Arena in Felixstowe this afternoon (KO 2pm).
The fourth-placed Tractor Girls are unbeaten in their last five in all competitions, four wins prior to a 1-1 draw away against then-leaders Oxford, who are now second, in their last game a fortnight ago. MK are ninth but having played only five league games so far this season, the fewest of anyone in the division.
In 2021/22, the teams met three times, the Blues winning 3-0 at home and drawing 0-0 away in the league, and claiming a 2-0 victory from an FA Cup first round tie away from home.
Town boss Joe Sheehan believes the Dons have improved since last season when the finished ninth, five points away from the relegation zone.
"A team that are a good team and I think they’ve strengthened since last year,” he said. "So they’ll have improved and I think they’re really committed to what they’re trying to do and the way they play, so they’ll be better than they were I’m almost certain.
"They’ve started the season a little bit better than they did last year, so they’ll be full of confidence and we’ll almost certainly have to be in a really good frame of mind to perform to try and get the win.”
The game is the first of two back-to-back home fixtures with Hashtag United visiting in the FA WNL Cup next Sunday.
"We’re constantly trying to grow our supporter base,” Sheehan added. "Bring more people through the door to watch us and it’ll be up to us so they keep wanting to come back.”