Game Ready: Izzy Atkinson

Crystal Palace’s Izzy Atkinson talks through her matchday routine ahead of the club’s maiden Barclays WSL campaign, having helped fire the Republic of Ireland international’s side to promotion following a January move from West Ham United. The versatile left-footed wide player, who won the Championship Player of the Month award in February and previously scored in a Scottish Cup final for Celtic, discusses her pre-match beans-on-toast ritual, a 16-year superstition of wearing the same shin guards since she started playing aged six, and the loudest Palace changing room she has been part of. She also reveals the Republic of Ireland squad’s pre-match DJ duties and Lucy Quinn’s habitual solo dance-off, before describing her post-match wind-down routine of FaceTiming family back home.