Fixtures
- Everton Women Vs. Aston Villa Women – Sat, Mar 16th 2024, 13:00
At A Glance
Aston Villa go in search of a first win in three when they visit Everton in the Barclays WSL on Saturday.
A 2-1 success at Tottenham Hotspur ensured a positive end to February, but heavy defeats at the hands of Liverpool and Arsenal mean three points are vital this weekend.
Carla Ward’s team are still only three points behind Spurs in sixth but will be mindful of Saturday’s opponents who are just two points behind of them in 10th.
Everton, who were pipped to fifth spot by Villa last season, have had less preparation time following their FA Cup quarter-final last weekend.
The Merseyside outfit have lost six of nine matches in 2024 as they languish towards the bottom of the WSL table entering the final couple of months.
They did, however, win their last home league encounter – a 2-0 success against West Ham at the end of February.
Standout Stats
Villa lost 3-1 in their first ever away game in the Women’s Super League against Everton in April 2021 but have won both of their two league trips to Walton Hall Park since by the same 2-0 scoreline.
None of Villa’s last 10 away games in the Women’s Super League have ended level (W6 L4), the second longest ongoing such streak in the competition (Manchester City – 26).
Villa have conceded a first half goal in each of their last four WSL games (6 goals) after only doing so in four of their first 11 league games this season (6 goals). The Villans have however also scored a
first half goal in each of their last three matches with the only previous team to see both teams score in the opening 45 minutes in four straight WSL games Tottenham Hotspur (in December 2020 and April
2023).
Kenza Dali ranks fourth for total chances created in the WSL this season (30) whilst she is the only player to create 14+ chances from both open play and set pieces in the competition this campaign; meanwhile only Chloe Kelly (165) and Katie Zelem (132) have played more played more passes into the box than the Frenchwoman (111).
Jordan Nobbs scored eight goals and recorded two assists in 14 WSL appearances for Arsenal against Everton but has failed to do either in her two outings for the Villans against the Toffees; Nobbs is unbeaten in the seven games she has scored in against Everton in the competition (W6 D1).
The Last Meeting
Villa continued their superb season when they secured a 2-0 victory at Walton Hall Park just over a year ago.
Kenza Dali’s sixth goal of the season in all competitions opened the scoring just after five minutes.
Villa didn’t add to their lead until 13 minutes from time when Maz Pacheco’s cross was turned into her own net by Megan Finnigan.
Team News
Carla Ward confirmed during Thursday morning’s press conference that Daphne van Domselaar will miss Saturday’s game against the Toffees.
Our Dutch shot-stopper picked up a hip injury prior to last week’s Conti Cup defeat to Arsenal and is set to see a specialist in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Kirsty Hanson is also unavailable for the Merseyside trip having hobbled off with a calf injury last week.
Lucy Staniforth and Lucy Parker remain out with long-term ankle injuries, but four Villans are set to be welcomed back.
Freya Gregory, Miri Taylor and Noelle Maritz were all cup-tied last week but are available for selection this weekend and Adriana Leon has returned from international duty.
The Boss
“We were in a good place before that Liverpool game. That game and the first half, in particular, against Arsenal hurt us. We need to go there and get points back, and if we do we’re still in touching distance of that top six. If we don’t, we’ll be looking down the barrel.” – Carla Ward
