At A Glance
Aston Villa Women return to Barclays WSL action this weekend when they face Everton at Walton Hall Park.
Carla Ward and co. travel to Merseyside to take on the Toffees in an important league battle, with kick-off set for 1pm.
The game will mark Villa's first league outing in four weeks, with the team contending with an international break and an FA Cup tie in the meantime.
Our progression hasn't halted, however.
Last weekend saw us march into the quarter-finals of the Vitality Women's FA Cup, as we edged past West Ham United on penalties.
Rachel Daly continued her fine form in front of goal with the opener in Dagenham, but spot-kicks were required as Villa booked their place in the last eight.
Now, attention turns back towards the search for points.
This weekend's opponents at Walton Hall Park are Everton.
The Toffees currrently sit just one place and one point beneath Villa going into the game, with both sides battling for fifth place in the table.
Brian Sørensen's side last tasted defeat in the league back in December, and are in formidable shape ahead our third clash of the 2022/23 season.
Our previous two bouts came in the space of just a few days prior to Christmas, with Everton winning 1-0 at Poundland Bescot Stadium before prevailing in a Conti Cup shootout shortly afterwards.
Despite those tightly-contested defeats, Ward will be encouraged by Villa's recent form as well as their win at Walton Hall Park last season.
The Last Meeting
Villa Women picked up a valuable point in their second Conti Cup group stage game the last time these two sides met.
Tash Harding scored her first goal for the club in the opening stages of the second half, but Villa were pegged back when Aggie Beever-Jones levelled.
The tie was decided by penalties, with Everton prevailing 4-2. Villa would go on to top the group and progress to the quarter-finals.
Team News
Carla Ward confirmed during Friday morning's press conference that Rachel Daly will be in the matchday squad on Sunday.
Daly came off during last weekend's FA Cup win at West Ham with a knock, but has trained all week and looks set to start against the Toffees.
Remi Allen and Simone Magill both continue to progress well in their individual pitch-based work.
It remains to be seen whether Anna Leat will return to the squad having battled a back problem for several weeks.
Meaghan Sargeant, Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah and Natasha Harding remain out with long-term injuries.
The Boss
“We’ve shown an awful lot of character all season. Last week we needed that more than ever. We’ve been a team that have played free-flowing football, we want to continue in that way.”
Carla Ward