Aston Villa Women return from September's international break with the opportunity to extend their unbeaten run which has carried over from last season.
Carla Ward's side have picked up four points from the opening two games of the 2021/22 campaign and go into Sunday's meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion in hope of continuing their strong start.
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β Aston Villa Women (@AVWFCOfficial) September 14, 2021
Come for the @RemiAllen10 header... stay for the touchline celebrations! π pic.twitter.com/xVJ49WfMfM
Villa have displayed a new-found resilience against both Leicester City and West Ham United, epitomised by Remi Allen's stoppage time equaliser last time out.
The team will also welcome back Alisha Lehmann, ChloΓ« Arthur and Emily Gielnik from international duty ahead of our clash with the Seagulls.
Lehmann was on the scoresheet for Switzerland in their FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying wins over Lithuania and Moldova, and will have her sights firmly set on opening her Villa account sooner rather than later.
Arthur, meanwhile, scored her first two goals in a Scotland shirt in their 7-1 triumph over the Faroe Islands.
Sunday's game will be available to watch on the FA Player. Tickets at the People's Pension Stadium are available to purchase below.
Brighton go into Sunday's game sitting atop the WSL table.
The Seagulls have impressively beaten West Ham (2-0) and Birmingham City (5-0) in their opening two fixtures and will be wanting to continue ther fine form this side of the international break.
Hope Powell's side finished last season in sixth place, just five points behind Everton.
With the Toffees experiencing a tough start to their own campaign, Brighton will have their eyes on going one place better come May.
Villa, meanwhile, will be hoping The People's Pension Stadium remains a happy hunting ground for them.
Following promotion from the Championship in 2020, Villa secured their first win back in the top flight against Sunday's opponents through second-half strikes from Anita Asante and Ramona Petzelberger.
Standout Stats
- The two previous WSL meetings between Brighton and Aston Villa both ended with 2-0 away wins last season, with Villa winning in November and Brighton victorious in March.
- Current Aston Villa manager Carla Wardβs first Womenβs Super League game in charge was away at Brighton last season, losing 2-0 with Birmingham City.
- Brighton and Hove Albion have won their last three home WSL games, their best ever winning run in the competition β the Seagulls have won five of their last six on home soil (L1), only one fewer than in their first 25 home games (W6 D4 L15).
- After losing five consecutive away league games between December 2020 and April 2021, Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last four away games in the WSL β all four of these have ended in draws, however.
- Brighton have kept four clean sheets in their last six home WSL games (W5 L1), only one fewer than in their first 25 home games in the competition. They did, however, ship six goals in the two they conceded in this period, including a 5-0 defeat to Everton in March.
- Aston Villa have only netted four goals in their last nine away games in the WSL, failing to score in five of the games in this run. The last time they scored more than once on the road in the competition was in December 2020, in what was their last away victory (4-0 v Bristol City).
- Brighton have scored seven goals in their opening two games of the WSL season; the joint-most of any team so far, along with Arsenal. It took the Seagulls until their tenth game to score this many goals in the competition in 2020-21.
- Inessa Kaagman has scored in each of her last three WSL appearances for Brighton (three goals), and could become the first player to net in four in a row for the Seagulls in the competition.
- Kayleigh Green scored and assisted in Brightonβs win against Birmingham last time out, the second time she has done so for the club in the WSL (also v West Ham in May 2019) β no player has scored and assisted in a game on more occasions for Brighton in the competition than her (twice).
- Aston Villaβs Alisha Lehmann has been involved in five goals in her last four WSL matches against Brighton (3 goals, 2 assists), netting more goals against the Seagulls than any other side in her WSL career.
The Last Meeting
Villa were beaten 2-0 by Brighton at the Banks's Stadium the last time these sides met in March.
Goals either side of half-time from Aileen Whelan and Inessa Kaagman gave the visiting side what was a fourth successive win in the WSL.
Villa had put in an improved performance, but again found goals difficult to come by in their search for survival.
The Boss
Carla Ward spoke to VillaTV following Remi Allen's stoppage-time equaliser against the Hammers before the international break...
"We weren't good enough for 30 minutes...
β Aston Villa Women (@AVWFCOfficial) September 11, 2021
Overall, disappointed with a point but content going into the international break without being beat."
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Arsenal ticket details
Tickets for Aston Villa Women's upcoming home match against Arsenal at Villa Park are now on sale!
Fans can purchase online tickets for our meeting with the Gunners right up until kick-off (12.30pm on Sunday, October 3).
