Preview: Aston Villa v Arsenal Women

We’re back in Barclays Women’s Super League action with a trip to Villa Park this Sunday.

Kick-off against Aston Villa will be at 6.45pm as we look to close the gap on Chelsea and Manchester City at the top of the table.

Last time we met

We won 4-0 at Meadow Park against Aston Villa in the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup earlier this month.

Stina Blackstenius’ hat-trick, as well as a goal from Frida Maanum, ensured our progression to the cup final against Chelsea on Sunday, March 31.

The view on Villa

Kenza Dali and Ebony Salmon were both on the scoresheet for Villa last week as they secured a 2-1 win away to Everton in the WSL, Elise Stenevik scoring a consolation late on for the hosts.

That win saw Villa go seventh in the WSL, three points away from the top half with Tottenham Hotspur occupying sixth place on 22 points.

With 32 goals conceded, the fourth worst defensive record in the league, Villa will be hoping to keep a few more clean sheets in the final months of the season.

Facts and stats

We have won all three of our away games against Aston Villa in the WSL, scoring exactly four goals in each victory (4-0 in February and October 2021, 4-1 in December 2022).
Katie McCabe has been directly involved in six goals in her seven appearances against Aston Villa in the WSL, netting in all three ofour away wins against the Villans in the competition (3 goals).
Aston Villa’s Jordan Nobbs is our record appearance holder in the WSL, scoring 52 league goals in 157 appearances for us between 2011 and 2022 before joining the Villans; Nobbs’ only previous outing against us in the competition came from the bench in a 2-1 loss earlier this season.

Team news

Vivianne Miedema, Teyah Goldie, Kaylan Marckese, Lina Hurtig, Amanda Ilestedt and Laura Wienroither all remain unavailable for selection.

What the managers say

Eidevall on Villa: “In the Conti Cup semi-final they played a back four in the first half and they played a back three in the second half, and they were consistent playing that against Everton. How will they start? How will they finish against us?

"I think it's probably likely that they will play a back three, but we need to prep for both. That's why this game is good from a challenge perspective, because it's a team that can play with many different formations, so, it will really highlight for us how mature we are as a team to be able to deal with it.

Ward on us: "They'll be hurting, so it's the worst time to play them I think. I know it myself, when you have a game like that, there's only one thing you want to do in that situation, you want to get straight back out there and put it right.

"We've had many bad moments this year and managed to turn them into good moments. We've had to do a lot of learning this year, I've learned an awful lot. Tough times and moments allow you to grow, and we've done that."