Match Pack: Chelsea

At A Glance

Aston Villa Women return to league action this weekend when they travel to Kingsmeadow to take on Chelsea.

Carla Ward's side will face the champions in what will be their third outing in eight days.

Sunday afternoon's battle follows a tricky week in which Villa have played Everton twice, with the Toffees emerging victorious on both occasions.

As has been the case for large parts of the 2022/23 campaign, Villa created plenty of opportunities in both battles with Everton but have found it difficult to find the back of the net.

Now, a daunting task awaits them in the capital.

Sunday's game will be streamed live on the FA Player, with tickets also available to buy using the link below.

Sunday's opponents are Chelsea.

The champions are in red-hot form, coming into this weekend's game having won six consecutive games in all competitions.

Their season started in shocking fashion, however, as they were beaten 2-1 by newly-promoted Liverpool.

The response to that opening day setback has been one you'd expect from a formidable outfit, and they look like they're coming into their best form as we approach the run-in before Christmas.

The Last Meeting

Aston Villa Women lost a third successive game in heartbreaking circumstances the last time these two sides met.

Sam Kerr scored in stoppage time for Chelsea to break the deadlock, and Villa’s resistance, which edged the Blues closer to Arsenal in the WSL title race.

The result left Villa without a point since their victory at Everton in February.

Standout Stats

• Aston Villa have won four of their last six away matches in the Barclays WSL (L2), as many wins as they managed in their previous 17 on the road in the competition (D4 L9).
• Aston Villa have made only one total change to their starting XIs in the Barclays WSL this season, the fewest of any side. They have used the same 10 outfield players in all four of their games so far, with goalkeepers Anna Leat and Hannah Hampton starting two games. Opponents Chelsea have made the most changes to their starting XIs (12).
• Chelsea (100) and Aston Villa (91) rank first and second for pressed sequences in the Barclays WSL this season, highlighting their pressing tendencies higher up the
• Only Manchester United (61) have forced more high turnovers than Aston Villa (60) in the Barclays WSL this season, with the Villains turning two of those turnovers into goals, the joint-most of any side.

Team News

Carla Ward remains without Meaghan Sargeant, Remi Allen, Emily Gielnik, Simone Magill and Ruesha Littlejohn for the trip to Chelsea this weekend.

There was some positive team news to come out of Friday afternoon's pre-match press conference, however.

The manager confirmed both Hannah Hampton and Rachel Daly will return to the matchday squad.

Hampton last played during our 2-0 win at Leicester City in September, while Daly missed the midweek Conti Cup tie at Everton having limped off during the previous game.

The Boss