At A Glance
Aston Villa Women return home this weekend to begin their FA Women's Continental Tyres League Cup campaign against Manchester United.
The Red Devils visit the Poundland Bescot Stadium on Saturday as Group A commences with a battle between top-flight teams. Kick-off is set for 12:30pm.
Villa are off to a flying start having recorded wins against both Manchester City and Leicester City, and confidence will be high going into a competition that Carla Ward will have aspirations of making a deep run in.
While Ward may opt to make one or two changes from her strongest XI, the aim will be to add another win to an impressive beginning to 2022/23.
Watch Villa Women in the Conti Cup!
Tickets available from £5.
Saturday's visitors to Poundland Bescot Stadium are Manchester United.
The Red Devils are also off to a winning start, having overcome Reading and West Ham United in the opening two weeks of the season.
Marc Skinner's side are yet to concede a goal, which makes for an intriguing battle against a Villa outfit who have notched six times in two games.
Kirsty Hanson has played a pivotal role in Villa's thunderous start to the campaign; the winger is currently on-loan from United.
The Last Meeting
Villa Women arguably picked up their best result of the 2021/22 season the last time these two sides met, holding United to a 0-0 draw at Poundland Bescot Stadium.
Villa defended with determination throughout and perhaps felt they could have won the game during the second half.
The result took Villa’s points total to 21 for the season, a significant improvement from the previous campaign.
Team News
Carla Ward remains without several long-term absentees for this weekend's Conti Cup tie.
Remi Allen (ACL), Simone Magill (ACL) and Ruesha Littlejohn (Foot) are all sidelined.
Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah is nearing a return, while Tash Harding continues her work on the training pitch.
The Boss
"The Conti Cup is a great opportunity to rotate in some key areas and give opportunities to a few who have been on the fringes. But it’s also a competition we will look to take seriously this season as we want to give a good account of ourselves on all fronts."
Carla Ward
