Brighton boss Vidošić excited for first M23 derby against Crystal Palace | OneFootball

Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Dario Vidošić is excited to see his side contest the M23 derby with Crystal Palace this weekend.

The Seagulls travel to the VBS Community Stadium to face The Eagles on Sunday afternoon. It will be the first time that the two clubs have met in the Barclays Women’s Super League.

When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Brighton & Hove Albion boss Vidošić said that he is expecting a tough game from an ever-improving Crystal Palace side but he is looking forward to the big derby occasion.

“They’re getting better and better every week and I think that is normal,” Vidošić said when commenting on Crystal Palace. “A team that’s promoted and comes up needs a couple of games to find their rhythm and get used to the league, the opponents and the different questions.

“I thought they were very good [against Leicester City] last weekend; they’re building, they’re getting better and it’s going to be a very tough game. We know it’s a derby as well which adds an extra edge to the game.

“We are excited about it, it was probably the first game I was told about when I arrived. You have to love a derby week and a derby game, so I’m really looking forward to Sunday.”

The game promises to be a real battle between two well-drilled sides. Vidošić went on to discuss the tactical qualities that opposite number Laura Kaminski has drilled into her side.

He said “They’ve got some really interesting rotations that they like to use in the wide areas. It can sometimes be two, three players, how they attack the half-space. They’re also dangerous in transition and have good players upfront that combine well, the goal against Leicester is a great example of that. They also posed Chelsea a few problems. I thought they were solid against Chelsea but got caught in that transition moment and that changed the shape of the game.

“It’s going to be tough, they’ve got a lot of things that we should be worried about but we are confident that if we can play our football, we can limit the opportunities that they have. We have to be switched on for the full game otherwise, they’ve got the potential to really hurt you.”

Brighton & Hove Albion go into the game in third place in the Barclays Women’s Super League table. Expectations for the Sussex club are rising and Vidošić says that players and fans are allowed to dream of what can be achieved.

He said “We can’t not dream but it’s how you use that. Do you use it with your feet and end up in the clouds or use it as a motivator to keep working, keep doing those things that nobody sees on and off the training field, how we prepare during the week and our mentality going into a game?

“I don’t want anyone to not dream whether that’s the girls or our fans. We’ve set lofty goals and expectations but from my point of view, it’s very simple, it’s the same process of watching, analysing, preparing and then trying to execute on a weekend. It’s the same regardless of who we play and for the development of our team.

“When it comes to matchday, I want to enjoy it. I want to watch good football, ensure we play a good brand and when we do that, we can be very hard to beat.”

Brighton & Hove Albion’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Crystal Palace kicks-off at 2pm on Sunday afternoon.