Game Details
Game: Chelsea Women v Aston Villa Women
Date: Sunday 28th March 2021
Competition: Barclays FA Women's Super League
Venue: The Cherry Red Records Stadium
Time: 14:30 (GMT)
Watch: The game will be streamed live on BT Sport. 📺
Aston Villa Women return to action this weekend, as they travel to London to take on the current champions and league leaders.
Marcus Bignot and co. are in desperate need of a result, with the distance between Villa and the bottom of the division having shrunk all the way to one point in recent weeks.
Sunday kickstarts a run of seven league fixtures until the end of the campaign, and the time to pick up points can't come soon enough.
Last time out, Hope Powell's Brighton & Hove Albion side visited the Banks's Stadium and emerged 2-0 winners behind strikes from Aileen Whelan and Inessa Kaagman.
As mentioned, Villa face a daunting task this weekend.
Emma Hayes' Chelsea side currently sit top of the WSL and are steamrolling their way to a possible quadruple.
The Blues are on a seven-game unbeaten run, which incidentally began following a shock 2-1 defeat to the aforementioned Seagulls on February 7th.
There is no doubt that we will have our work cut out come Sunday, with the hosts boasting established talent in all areas.
These two sides met just two months ago, with Chelsea running out 4-0 winners thanks to goals from Sam Kerr, Beth England, Pernille Harder and Magdalena Eriksson.
Form Guide
Here's how the two sides have recently fared going into Sunday's matchup...
Marcus Bignot
Interim manager Marcus Bignot spoke to VillaTV following last week's defeat to Brighton...
“Result-wise, a hard one to take" admitted Bignot after the game.
"The performance was a huge step in the right direction again.
"I said to the players before the game that we were facing a team that are in-form.
"They’ve gathered momentum. They’ve found a way to win. They’ve created an environment and a culture, but they’ve been together for a long time."
"My biggest takeaway is that we’re going in the right direction.
"The group of players out there gave their all.
"They’ve been good all week and have made selection difficult.
"They’re now understanding what it takes to be successful at this level and to embrace the situation that we’re in.
"They’re performing under experiences they’ve not been used to. I have no doubt they’re going to come through these uncomfortable experiences.”
“We’ve made huge strides tonight. I’m seeing signs. The result says two-nil. That’s the reality.
"We’ve got to face the reality and accept that.
"Supporters have seen that they’ve given everything.
"We lacked quality around the final third but that’s expected.
"We haven’t spent a lot of time in the final third due to the quality of opposition we’ve been facing.
"We’ll be ok.”
Gregory signs professional contract
Freya Gregory has put pen-to-paper on her first professional contract with the club.
The 18-year-old, who operates on the left-hand side, joins the first-team on a permanent basis having been drafted into the squad in recent weeks from our WSL Academy.
Gregory made her debut in the 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur and has since made further appearances against Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Sporting Director Eniola Aluko said: "We are delighted to award a professional contract to Freya.
"Freya is a young and exciting talent that has demonstrated a consistent level of development and excellence in our academy.
"We are excited for Freya to be an important player for the future progress of Aston Villa Women.
"Freya is a great example of the club's evolving academy pathway and we very much look forward to seeing her progression within the first team."
Congratulations on your deal, Freya!
WSL announces broadcast partners for 2021/22 season
It has been announced that Sky Sports and BBC have been awarded broadcasting rights for Barclays FA Women's Super League games, starting from the 2021/22 season.
The three-year deal is a landmark moment for British women's football, and will see more games broadcast live than ever before.
The following was released by the Football Association...
"The multimillion-pound agreement with Sky Sports will see the broadcaster show the top tier of women’s football for the first time.
The organisation has the right to show up to 44 matches, with a minimum of 35 being screened across Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football, with some matches also shown simultaneously on Sky Sports Mix and Sky One.
The BBC have made a commitment to showcase the league to even more viewers by showcasing 22 live games per season, with a minimum of 18 matches on mainstream, free-to-air channels, BBC One and BBC Two.
Previously, games have been shown live on BBC iPlayer and Red Button.
The agreements with both broadcasters will run until the summer of 2024.
This is the first time that the rights to the Barclays FA WSL have been sold separately from the men’s game, with clubs in the league receiving a proportion of the revenue.
Part of the income will also be distributed to clubs in the FA Women’s Championship to aid their development.
This partnership is a landmark moment for the Barclays FA Women’s Super League, with more visibility than ever before, and the agreement beginning just a year before the 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championships are due to be hosted in England."
