At A Glance
Aston Villa Women take to the road for the first time this season on Sunday, as they face Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
Carla Ward and co. have been buoyed by an opening day victory against Manchester City and will be wanting to follow up that result in the East Midlands.
Alisha Lehmann, Rachel Daly (2) and Kenza Dali all netted in the seven-goal thriller at Villa Park.
The result, and performance, caught the eye of many around the league and there will be plenty of intrigue to see if Villa can make it two wins from two.
Sunday's opponents come in the form of Leicester City.
Under the guidance of Lydia Bedford, the Foxes pipped Birmingham City to survival last season but face another stern test to stay in the division this time around.
Six new additions look set to feature against Villa this weekend.
Both fixtures between these two sides last season were tightly contested, which leans towards the idea of Sunday's edition following that same pattern.
There are familiar faces aplenty amongst both sets of players ahead of Sunday's clash.
Remi Allen, Freya Gregory and Ruesha Littlejohn have all had spells in the blue of Leicester, while Missy Goodwin will face Villa for the first time since joining the Foxes in January.
The teenager made her sole appearance for Villa in our Conti Cup defeat to Sheffield United last season.
Standout Stats
- Last season was the first time Leicester and Aston Villa have met in the Barclays WSL, with the Villans winning both games 2-1.
- Aston Villa’s two victories over Leicester City in the Barclays Women’s Super League are their joint most against an opponent (also two vs Brighton and Spurs).
- Following their 4-3 win over Manchester City on MD1, Aston Villa are looking to win consecutive games in the competition for the first time. This will be their 46th match in the competition.
- Aston Villa came from behind to beat Manchester City in their opening Barclays WSL match this season, only the second time they’ve done so in a WSL game. The other instance was against Leicester in their opening game of the 2021-22 season.
- Rachel Daly scored a brace on her Barclays WSL debut for Aston Villa in a 4-3 win over Manchester City. Daly has now scored in each of her last three appearances in the competition, also scoring for West Ham in consecutive games in December 2020.
The Last Meeting
Alisha Lehmann scored in stoppage time as Villa won 2-1 against Leicester City the last time these two sides met.
The winger struck in the 93rd minute to cue dramatic scenes at the Pirelli Stadium as Villa saw themselves pull away from the Foxes in the league table.
Villa had taken the lead in the first half when Gemma Purfield turned a corner into her own net, before Hannah Hampton did the same 15 minutes from time.
But Lehmann had the final say as she slotted home from inside the area to give her side maximum points.
Team News
Carla Ward confirmed in Friday's pre-match press conference that Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah could return to the matchday squad.
The forward was held out of last weekend's win over Manchester City with a groin injury, but is set to train on Friday and Saturday and will be assessed.
Natasha Harding has returned to training following a bout with Covid-19, but Sunday's fixture will come too soon for the Welsh international.
Remi Allen, Simone Magill and Ruesha Litteljohn remain long-term absentees.
The Boss
“Preparations are the same. The focus is Leicester and getting three points. We have to be aggressive, we have to be expansive.”
Carla Ward
