The Blues have responded positively since our opening day defeat and produced strong displays against Manchester United and Everton to secure two victories.

Brighton have also had a bright start to the new campaign with six points from their opening three fixtures and Hayes believes Hope Powell will set her team up to be hard to break down.

‘Hope Powell is a world-class coach,’ Hayes said. ‘Her achievements in the game are second to none. No one in the game is surprised how well Brighton are doing, knowing how methodical Hope is to put the team where they are.

‘They beat us last year, they took a point off us two years prior to that. They have been a real tough team for us to break down.

‘There will be zero underestimation from us. My team will be ready at the weekend and we are going to have to face a real difficult test.

‘Much like we did against Birmingham, in terms of breaking the block down because that’s one thing for certain she will do. She will put numbers behind the ball, and she’ll make it difficult for us to penetrate.

In this fixture last season Chelsea suffered a rare defeat and Hayes says her players must remain switched on throughout the game if we are to achieve a different outcome in today’s clash.

She said: ‘You can’t have any off moments at this level. For players coming into the team, everything must be one hundred per cent.

‘The application has to be one hundred per cent otherwise any team will turn you over. I felt that was one game where we didn’t perform at the levels that we know and that’s why we work so hard as a squad to make sure the whole squad is ready all of the time.

‘The most difficult thing for players that are not playing on a regular basis is to come in and produce performances with consistency. That’s difficult and you see it with the performance against Birmingham.

‘I was happy that the squad are learning how to be at their very best even though they don’t have the rhythm of players that are playing week in week out. I’m looking forward to it, it’s an opportunity for us.’

Today’s fixture kicks-off at 11.30am and will be shown live on Sky Sports.

Before then, get involved in our new Women's Play Predictor for a chance to win some great prizes! Play on the 5th Stand app and make your selections for the game before registration closes.