Ipswich Town Women will be looking to maintain the improved form which has taken them off the bottom of WSL2 when they host Sheffield United at the JobServe Community Stadium in Colchester this afternoon (KO 2pm).

The Blues are unbeaten in WSL2 since David Wright took over as interim-manager, drawing twice before defeating Portsmouth 2-1 away last weekend, only their second league win this season, both against the same opposition, to move ahead of Pompey on goal difference.

The Blades are third-bottom of the table, three points ahead of Town and Portsmouth. A Blues win would put them level on points with the South Yorkshire side but still behind them on goal difference.

Earlier in the season at Bramall Lane, the home side won a hard-fought match 3-2, Town ending the game with 10 women after Bethan Doe was sent off.

More recently, the teams met in the Women’s FA Cup in Wright’s first game in charge, the Blades winning 2-1 in a tie staged back at Town’s former home, the Martello Ground in Felixstowe.

Wright says he’s delighted with the recent run of form: “Really pleased, we’ve had another really good training week this week. The girls were working really hard and they’re looking forward to Sunday.”

Reflecting on the victory against Portsmouth, the one-time full-back added: “It was a really big win. Obviously, then it took us off the bottom of the league, which is a big psychological relief.

“But we can’t rest now. The girls have been great for the last few weeks, we’ve got to keep moving forward. We’ve got to keep this positivity going and keep picking results up.”

Quizzed on his recollections of the FA Cup tie and what he learned from that game, Wright continued: “They’ve got good players, they’ve got a good style. I know they’ve got a new manager [head coach Stephen Healy, who took over from interim boss Luke Turner, who returned to his role as assistant], but I’m not sure the style is going to change too much because they’re a good footballing side.

“Their structure might change slightly, but they’ve got dangerous players. But we’ve prepped, we’ve had a good week this week. We’ll prep properly, we’re going into the game with a plan and if the girls execute it, like they’ve done in the last three weeks, then the result takes care of itself.”

Blues midfielder Shauna Guyatt, who recently joined the Blades on loan, is ineligible against her parent club.

Photo: Matchday Images/ITFC