London City Lionesses boss Phillips expecting tough tie against third tier Portsmouth | OneFootball

London City Lionesses head coach Melissa Phillips has done her homework on Sunday’s Vitality Women’s FA Cup third round opponents Portsmouth and she is expecting a difficult tie.

The two clubs will meet at Princes Park as they battle it out for a place in the fourth round draw alongside top clubs from the Barclays Women’s Super League.

As a non-elite club, Portsmouth do not always get the same level of media attention as clubs like London City Lionesses but nevertheless, The Pride’s head coach Phillips is clued up on the third tier outfit.

“We’ve scouted them quite a bit against the likes of Watford or Oxford – top of the table teams that we’ve seen them play,” Phillips said when speaking to FAWSL Full-Time. “They’re a very hard-working side, they’re a gritty team, they do an incredible job scoring goals and have threats in their front three.

“We know that it will be no easy task for us. I think the areas that we want to work on coming off last weekend’s game, we will really look to implement in these next two cup games.

“FA Cup games are so much fun and we have the opportunity to play two cup games on the bounce leading up to Christmas which is a great opportunity for our squad.”

London City Lionesses have had some wonderful games against top tier sides in the domestic cups in recent times and Phillips says that reaching the fourth round would be a great opportunity for her side.

She said “It’s fantastic. That next game comes in a difficult January line-up of league games but regardless of who we play, it is an opportunity for us to continue momentum and build our form.

“It’d be a fantastic achievement for the club to be in the next round and hopefully, we will get further than that. All eyes ahead on Portsmouth this weekend.”

London City Lionesses’ Vitality Women’s FA Cup third round tie against Portsmouth kicks-off at 2pm on Sunday afternoon. Fans can purchase their tickets by clicking here.