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Sunderland are looking to get their campaign up and running against London City Lionesses this weekendSunderland Women have been hit with a major blow following a difficult start to their campaign after captain Brianna Westrup was ruled out for an extended period.
Westrup is expected to miss the rest of the calendar year after suffering a fractured fibula in the opening-day defeat to Birmingham City, with Sunderland hopeful that she will be able to return in January. It’s a big setback for head coach Mel Reay and her team as they bid to bounce back from two very disappointing results.
The fixture list gets no easier this weekend, with Sunderland set to face a London City Lionesses side at Eppleton on Sunday (2pm KO) widely expected to push for promotion following major investment during the summer window. Reay says everyone is well aware of the need to improve but said there were positives to take from the 3-0 defeat to Southampton last time out. The Black Cats spurned big chances to take the lead through the first half before falling behind in the second, caught out late on as they tried to push to get back in the game.
“It’s two games in, so we’re not hitting the panic button,” Reay said.
