The Seagulls will play in the top tier for the first time, after the league was restructured for the 2018/19 campaign. Albion begin on Sunday at home to Bristol City, at Crawley’s Broadfield Stadium (2pm), and manager Powell’s main target is to ensure the club keep their place in the top flight. Looking ahead to the season, she said: “We’re as ready as we can be. It’s been a really good pre-season and the girls have worked exceptionally hard. “It is a step up from where they were, so it’s going to be a challenge, we know that, but we’re going to be ready and will give it our best shot. “I think we’ll know whether we’re really ready for WSL 1 when we’ve got the first game underway and then the games after that. We know it’s a big challenge. The ambition is to stay in WSL 1, so it will take the whole squad to keep us there.” The restructure of the top-flight of women’s football has seen all of the players in the league become full-time and games throughout the season will be broadcast on BT Sport, BBC and The FA WSL Facebook page. Looking ahead to the opening game with Bristol City, Powell said: “I’m confident we’ll do our level best to get the win. Football is so unpredictable and their desire to win will be as much as ours. “It’s a game we recognise that we’ve got a chance of winning, so we have to be at our very best in order to make sure we get points on the board.” Tickets for Sunday’s game can be bought in advance on www.seagullstickets.com