The Netherlands international made a summer switch from the Vixens and spoke about the prospect of playing her first competitive game in an Albion shirt against the team she left behind.
She said, “It will be hard to explain the feelings of playing against them. I’ve never played against a former club before, and it is going to be a special feeling for me to go back to a club where I began my journey in this country.
“It’s going to feel a little bit strange because I still know the girls very well and they have become good friends to me.
“’ll be very excited to see them, but once the game starts that will all go to the back of mind and my focus is only going to be on the game.”
Kerkdijk was part of the City side that secured an impressive sixth-place finish in the FAWSL in 2018/19, and expects her former club to play in largely the same way as last season.
“If you look at what Bristol did last year, they had a good defensive shape and that’s what got them a lot of points against the bigger teams.
“They were well organised with a good plan, and I want to take those experiences with me to this club. But we have a good game plan here already and everyone is excited heading into the match.”
Following today’s game, Albion host Chelsea in their first home match of the season next Sunday before facing reigning champions Arsenal a fortnight later. The Albion defender is relishing the prospect of taking on the league’s top sides early on in the season.
“As a player I really like to take these challenges against the bigger teams. We want to get a result against Bristol to give ourselves some confidence before preparing for the Chelsea and Arsenal games.
“As a footballer you always want to play against the best teams, and this month will show how good we are as a team.”