Brighton (4-3-3) Hourihan; Barton, Williams, F Whelan, Gibbons; Connolly, Buet, Simpkins; Natkiel, A Whelan, Green.
Substitutes: Hartley, Roe, Rafferty, Peplow, Nilden, Brazil, Umotong.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1) van Veenendal; Evans, Williamson, Quinn, Veje; Bloodworth, Little; McCabe, van de Donk, Mead; Miedema.
Substitutes: Harper, Arnth, Schnaderbeck, Mitchell, Kemme, Carter.
Some pre-match reading
Good morning. What comes next in this sequence: 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3? We don’t know yet, but it’ll be either 1 or 2. Those are Arsenal’s league positions in the WSL since they last won the title in 2012. For a club like Arsenal, who won the league 14 times between 1993 and 2012, seven years without a title is an ocean of time.
It should end today. A win over Brighton at the Amex Stadium would seal the title. If not, they have another chance in their final game of the season on 11 May. But there’s a but. That final game is against their title rivals Manchester City, so anything other than victory would expose Arsenal to a title decider in two weeks’ time. (That’s assuming City beat Yeovil this afternoon, which they will.)
Human beings, as the former England cricket captain Mike Brearley observed, are wont to postpone the moment of performance whenever possible. But it would not be advisable for Arsenal to do so. They deserve to be champions for their remorseless form – 16 wins, no draws, two defeats – and will be desperate to clinch it today so that they can celebrate accordingly. After all, they’ve been waiting seven years to do so.
Kick off is at 12.15pm.