Carla Ward’s Aston Villa Women look to make it two from two in the Women’s Super League and continue their climb up the table as they take on Rehanne Skinner’s West Ham at the Chigwell Construction Stadium.
Here’s the latest heading into tomorrow’s claret and blue clash in Dagenham…
THE BUILD UP
The Villans have bounced back from their poor start to the season, which saw Ward’s team lose the opening five games and rooted to the bottom of the WSL table, with a win over Bristol City last week.
A game dominated by the claret and blue outfit at Ashton Gate last Sunday saw 22-year-old forward Ebony Salmon score her first goal of the season, alongside a 77th minute Megan Connolly, to round off a comfortable 2-0 win in the South-West.
This result followed a resounding 5-0 victory over Sheffield United in the league cup; a game that saw Rachel Daly (3), Salmon and Dan Turner all on the score-sheet.
Reflecting on the result and performance against Lauren Smith’s side, head coach Carla Ward said: βIt breeds confidence, of course. But the reality is that it doesnβt change anything in the building because the players have been training well and have been looking after each other.
“It certainly puts us in a good position to finish November how we want to.
Next up for Villa is West Ham United: a team that sit just a point ahead of the Villans in the table.
Rehanne Skinner’s side find themselves on a poor run of form and are win-less in their last four WSL fixtures. A defeat against Emma Hayes’ Chelsea was followed by a draw at home to Liverpool and a disappointing loss to newly-promoted Bristol City, before Saturday’s heavy defeat away at Manchester United.
Goals from Geyse, Millie Turner, Nikita Parris, Melvine Malard and Lucia Garcia helped the Red Devils on their way to a mammoth 5-0 victory over the Hammers; a result that propelled Marc Skinner’s side into third and left the East-London side 10th..
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s game, Carla Ward discussed the club’s league position and the impact of a potential three points.
She said: βThree points at the weekend could see us jump three places and, all of a sudden, the conversation changes. You win the next two games and you could be inside the top six/seven by the end of the month.
“The reality in the WSL is everybody can beat everybody. Youβre going to go on runs when you win games and youβre going to go on runs when you lose games. Itβs making sure you donβt lose too many because then you can fall behind.”
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TEAM NEWS
ASTON VILLA
Aston Villa forward Simone Magill could complete a comeback to the match-day squad ahead of this weekend’s fixture against West Ham.
The Northern Irish international missed the previous three games across all competitions with an injury picked up during October’s international break.
In a fitness update released on the official club website: “Simone has been working towards a return from a quad injury and could be in contention to feature in Sunday’s match-day squad.”
Summer signing Lucy Parker is set to miss the fixture against her old side however, with the 24-year-old still not fully recovered from an ankle injury sustained during England training last month.
An update on the defender’s return read: “Lucy (ankle) has begun some light, on-pitch work with our performance team but is still a couple of weeks away from returning to training.”
Aside from Parker, Ward has a fully fit side to take with her to Dagenham this week, including midfielder Kenza Dali who started her first WSL game of the season last time out against Bristol City.
WEST HAM UNITED
Rehanne Skinner will be without number ten Dagny Brynjarsdottir for Sunday’s game and the entirety of the 2023/24 season, with the Icelandic midfielder expecting her second child.
The 31-year-old joined the Hammers at the start of 2021 and has recorded an impressive 65 appearances in claret and blue since arriving from Portland Thorns in the USA.
Danish midfielder Emma Snerle could also be unavailable this weekend. The 22-year-old has yet to feature this season in the WSL, despite playing the final ten minutes of her nation’s final World Cup game against hosts Australia over summer.
Aside from this, head coach Skinner has a fully fit side to take with her into battle against Ward’s Villans tomorrow afternoon, including the likes of Hawa Cissoko, Lisa Evans and Riko Ueki.
PREDICTED LINE-UP
Letβs take a look at my predicted line-up for this upcoming fixture in East-Londonβ¦
Do you agree? Who makes your side? Share now and let’s discuss?
Do you agree? Who makes your side? Share yours now and let’s discuss?
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VILLA BELLAS
Villa Bellas is the Official AVFC Womenβs Network. In an unequal and often unrelenting world we work to break down barriers for equality.
Our network aims to raise the voice of women and non-binary people at @AVFCOfficial We support inclusion & diversity and with our allies, we can challenge sexism and misogyny, creating a safe and welcoming environment for the fans in the stands and the women on the pitch.
Let’s celebrate ourselves and champion each other while having fun doing it!
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