Crystal Palace Women manager Jo Potter has called for balance from her side as they prepare for another demanding fixture, with Aston Villa waiting at Villa Park on Sunday.
Crystal Palace have already played six matches over the last four weeks, with the trip to Villa marking their seventh game during that period. Jo Potter reflected on a busy September during her pre-match press conference, looking back at the 3-3 draw with Birmingham City and the midweek victory over Charlton.
The Palace boss admitted her side were disappointed with their first-half display against Birmingham but praised the way they responded after the break.
“It was the old cliché of a game of two halves on Sunday. We definitely weren’t happy with the first half, and we made a few changes for the second half, both tactically and in our messages that we were sending across, which we felt really helped,” Potter said during his pre-match press conference.
Palace then responded strongly in the Subway Players Cup, beating local rivals Charlton 3-0 at Sutton United.
Potter praises Charlton win and Palace response
Potter was pleased with both the performance and the result, particularly given Palace’s previous experience in the competition.
“I think it was a good test for us. It’s always a difficult game playing against Charlton; they’re one of our local rivals and we had some great games against them last year.”
She also highlighted the importance of the League Cup after seeing it provide a major boost for Palace last season.
“We have spoken a lot about how the League Cup was a real catalyst for us last season, and the turnaround that we saw.”
“I was really proud of the performance and the result on Wednesday,” she added.
With another demanding fixture arriving just days later, Potter knows managing the squad will be crucial.
“It’s always a balancing act. You’re not always going to get it right. We’ve got to take into consideration the load in a three-game week. What does that look like?”
Crystal Palace Women ready for Villa challenge
Potter explained that the workload also influences how Palace approach matches, particularly their pressing game.
“For example, we can’t press for the whole game – we’ve got to be clever in certain moments.”
The manager wants her team to remain aggressive when possible but also understand when they need to absorb pressure.
“We also want to be a team that’s on the front foot when we can, but we also want to be a team that can soak up pressure and suffer at certain times too.”
There was also positive news on the squad front, with Potter confirming that Palace should have a full squad available. Fuka Tsunoda returns from suspension, giving the manager more options.
Aston Villa have also changed manager, with Natalia Arroyo leaving on Tuesday and former Everton boss Brian Sorensen taking interim charge.
Potter has studied the changes but insists Palace’s focus remains firmly on their own performance.
“We looked at what they’ve been doing over the past few games, and then they’ve slightly changed a bit on Wednesday night.”
The Palace boss added: “As ever, we’ll look at a few things to do with Villa and what they can do against us, but we are trying to focus on ourselves going into this game and what we can do to try and win.”
Kick-off at Villa Park is scheduled for 14:00 BST on Sunday.
