Aston Villa Women take to the road for just the second time in 2022 on Sunday as they travel to face Everton at Walton Hall Park.
Carla Ward's side had enjoyed a positive start to the calendar year with performances against Manchester City and Chelsea impressing.
A stoppage-time win over Leicester City at the Pirelli Stadium buoyed spirits further, but last weekend's home defeat to West Ham United deflated the troops slightly.
The level of performance was another positive one on the whole as Villa were locked level with the Hammers for a large portion of the game.
But individual errors allowed the visiting team to take all three points which left Villa with a feeling of an opportunity missed.
However, the chance to bounce back comes on Sunday against the Toffees.
And with last season's points total close to being surpassed, Ward and co. will want to achieve that sooner rather than later.
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Sunday's hosts are Everton.
The Toffees have experienced a turbulent 2021/22 campaign thus far.
They sacked Willie Kirk after the club won just one of their opening five games of the season.
The Scotsman had been in charge at the club for almost three years, but parted company with Everton after heavy defeats to Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal.
After a summer of substantial spending, the board felt progress wasn’t being made at the rate required and moved on.
Everton then turned to Champions League winning French coach, Jean-Luc Vasseur who had been sacked by Lyon Féminin in the spring having failed to retain the Division 1 Féminine title, losing out to Paris Saint-Germain.
Vasseur hoped that the winter break would allow him to get his messages across to the playing staff but would last just 10 games before being shown the door.
And so Everton head into Sunday's game in a state of limbo.
While their managerial search goes on for the second time this season, they must continue to focus on the fixture list at hand.
Three To Watch
Hanna Bennison: Everton broke their transfer record when they signed Bennison in the summer, in what was described as a “substantial six-figure sum”. The Swedish midfielder was the third member of the Sweden Olympic team to make the move to the Blues, alongside Nathalie Bjorn and Anna Anvegard.
Izzy Christiansen: Christiansen has been with Everton since the middle of the 2019/20 season having joined the Toffees from Lyon Féminin, where she won the Champions League in the previous season – and were managed by Vasseur at the time of her departure. The 30-year-old likes to dictate the play and will need to be closely watched should she feature on Sunday.
Toni Duggan: A name that needs very little introduction to fans of the game. The number nine returned to her hometown club this summer after a four-year stint out in Spain with Barcelona and then Atletico Madrid. The forward has two goals so far this season in all competitions.
The Last Meeting
The Boss
Carla Ward spoke to VillaTV following last weekend's defeat to West Ham United...
Ruesha Littlejohn
Our Irish midfielder also spoke to VillaTV after the Hammers defeat...
