Fixtures
- Aston Villa Women Vs. Liverpool Ladies – Sun, Mar 3rd 2024, 14:00
At A Glance
Aston Villa Women host Liverpool at Poundland Bescot Stadium on Sunday as they look to get back to winning ways on home turf.
Villa ended 2023 with consecutive home success against Durham and Brighton & Hove Albion, but have since came out of meetings with Everton and Bristol City with a defeat and a draw.
Carla Ward’s team head into the game eighth in the table following a 2-1 away day success at Tottenham Hotspur last time out.
Liverpool are sat in fifth place and battling towards the top end of the league, sitting two points adrift of Manchester United in fourth.
The Reds arrive at the Bescot fresh from picking up their first Barclays WSL win of 2024.
A 1-0 success against Brighton & Hove Albion at Broadfield Stadium before the international break came courtesy of a goal from Ceri Holland, who was later sent off.
Standout Stats
Villa will host Liverpool in the Women’s Super League for just the second time with the first such meeting ending in a 3-3 draw last season at Villa Park.
Liverpool have won one of their three WSL meetings with Villa (D1 L1) with that sole victory coming earlier this season, 2-0 at Prenton Park.
Villa have scored in each of their nine WSL games since a 6-0 loss against Chelsea in November (14 goals) with only Manchester United (21 games) on a longer active such streak in the competition.
Villa have scored a league high nine goals from set pieces in the 2023-24 WSL campaign with six of those coming via corners, accounting for exactly a third of their 18 league goals this season.
Sarah Mayling could make her 100th start in the Women’s Super League (45 for Birmingham, 54 for Villa); her first start in the competition came in May 2017 for Birmingham City against Liverpool whilst she has only won more games in the WSL against Bristol City (6) than the Reds (W5 D1 L2).
Jordan Nobbs has scored 10 goals across her 19 previous WSL games against Liverpool, though none have come for her current club.
The Last Meeting
Villa endured a mixed afternoon at Villa Park back in May, drawing 3-3 with the Reds.
The visitors were on top for spells but conceded at the start and end of the first half to keep Villa in it.
Kirsty Hanson handed the hosts an early lead but Katie Stengel and Tash Dowie turned the game on its head.
Rachel Daly equalised before the break but Stengel scored a third for Liverpool just after hour.
Hanson closed out the scoring shortly after as both sides settled for a point.
Team News
Carla Ward will be without several players on Sunday afternoon.
Lucy Staniforth and Lucy Parker remain out with respective ankle injuries, while Rachel Daly will serve the final game of a three-match ban.
Adriana Leon is currently on international duty with Canada, and Miri Taylor is unable to face her parent club.
Anna Leat has returned from Olympic qualifyiers with New Zealand and is set to be involved.
The Boss
“[Matt Beard]’s done a wonderful job. He’s got them playing some of the best football they have in a long time. They’re resolute, they’re organized. I’ve got a lot of admiration for Matt as a manager and a person. I’ve got a good relationship with him off the pitch as I have on the pitch. For 90 minutes we won’t be friends, I’m sure. The job he’s done is outstanding. He’s one of the most experienced in the division, he knows it like the back of his hand. Liverpool are where they are because they’ve got a lot of quality and they deserve to be where they are so it’s going to be a tough afternoon.” – Carla Ward
