Manchester City Women v Aston Villa Women – The Opposition

A beleaguered Manchester City side welcome Aston Villa to the Academy Stadium on Saturday as they look to put the nightmare week behind them and earn their first home league win of the season.

They face a Villa side who struggled in their debut WSL season, finishing just three points above the relegation zone, but so far this season, they have been comfortable in mid-table, and will fancy their chances of taking something from City, given the blues form so far.

Form

Villa have won three WSL matches to date, which is the total number of wins for the whole of last season, so it is clear the Midlands’ side have improved. Last time out, Villa won the Birmingham derby with a 1-0 victory at the home of their fierce city rivals. Their other victories have come at Brighton and a home win against Leicester, while defeats have been at home to Arsenal (0-4) and Chelsea (0-1) and a 3-0 beating at Reading.

Danger Players

Remi Allen is Villa’s top scorer so up to now. She has bagged two goals from seven appearances. She has attempted four shots in those matches and has a goal conversion rate of 50%.

Who’s the Boss

Carla Ward is the current manager of Villa. The former midfielder was appointed boss of the WSL side in May 2021 after she guided rivals Birmingham away from relegation.

Last Time Out

City crushed Villa the last time they met in the WSL at the Academy Stadium. The blues were 6-0 up at half-time, but only added one more goal as City ran out 7-0 winners. Manager Gareth Taylor will be hoping for a similar result on Saturday.