Bristol Academy boss prepared to give young players their WSL break.
Bristol Academy v Chelsea Ladies
The FA WSL
6pm, Saturday 22 September
Stoke Gifford Stadium, Bristol
Click here for fixtures
Bristol Academy boss Mark Sampson has vowed to give youth a chance when his side contest their penultimate home match of The FA WSL season against Chelsea Ladies on Saturday.
The West Country side, currently fourth in the table and one place above Chelsea, have been in terrific form of late - they're unbeaten in six league matches and have lost just twice in their last ten outings in all competitions.
Although runaway leaders Arsenal Ladies are in pole position to defend their FA WSL crown, second place is still up for grabs and Sampson is quietly confident of topping his side's fifth-place finish from last term - although he insists he is not putting undue pressure on his players.
"I think for us to be in the position we're in is an incredible achievement really for a football club like ours with our limited resources," he said.
"We'll let other clubs worry about where they want to finish and the pressures of trying to get into Europe, but we're under no pressure whatsoever.
"The only pressure for us is the pressure we put on ourselves. That is to play as well as we can and we want to try and do that on Saturday. And if we get three results, we'll see where that takes us."
The recent international break has allowed Sampson to run the rule over some of his younger players, and he is ready to give some of them a taste of FA WSL football.
"What the international break always gives you is an opportunity for the younger players to come to a training environment and show what they can do," he added.
"Some of our young players have certainly done that and they may well be rewarded with a starting place come Saturday."
Just one goal has been scored over the course of the last three league meetings between Bristol and Chelsea - Sampson's side secured a tight 1-0 win at Chelsea last season, while they have also played out two 0-0 draws - and the Bristol boss believes this statistic illustrates the highly competitive nature of The FA WSL.
When asked why games between his side and Chelsea have been so tight, Sampson said: "That's just the way the division is at the moment. There are a lot of teams with not much between them. Obviously Arsenal this season have been the standout team, but every other team, on their day, can beat each other - and that's the case between us and Chelsea."
Bristol have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Saturday's match, although long-term absentee Molly Clark (knee) is again expected to miss out.
