Aston Villa Women are set to grace the Villa Park pitch for the first time this calendar year when they take on Leicester City this Sunday.
It's set to be another huge fixture, with Carla Ward's fearless Villans going up against Willie Kirk's Foxes in a Midlands derby.
And if Villa's current form is anything to go by, it's set to be a cracker.
Ward has led her side to a seven-game unbeaten run in all competitions, with last weekend's 2-1 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-final a particular highlight.
This weekend's visitors to Villa Park are Leicester City.
Having survived their maiden season in the top flight last time around, this campaign has been another tumultuous one.
The Foxes parted ways with manager Lydia Bedford in November having lost each of their first six league games.
Willie Kirk, formerly of Everton, has taken charge and has given the East Midlands outfit a puncher’s chance of beating the drop once again.
Former Villan, Missy Goodwin, could line up against us this afternoon having made a solitary first-team appearance last season in claret & blue.
The Last Meeting
Villa Women beat Leicester City 2-0 at the King Power Stadium the last time these two sides met.
Rachel Daly and Emily Gielnik scored either side of half-time to maintain Villa’s winning start to the season.
Daly’s early penalty edge Villa in front before the game became a scrappy one.
Gielnik sealed the points three minutes from time.
Team News
Carla Ward again kept her cards relatively close to her chest with regards to how her squad is shaping up for Sunday.
The boss did confirm two certain absentees in Emily Gielnik and Ruesha Littlejohn, while also stating five academy players will be in the matchday squad.
Gielnik has been ruled out with an ankle problem, while Littlejohn continues to recover from the nasty-looking knee injury suffered at West Ham United earlier this month.
Remi Allen and Simone Magill are continuing to progress well as they ramp up their rehab, and Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah is close to a return to the squad.
Meaghan Sargeant and Natasha Harding remain out with long-term injuries.
The Boss
“At the start of the season we wanted to reach [at least] a quarter-final and we wanted to finish inside the top six. We’re on course. It’s about continuing to try and win football matches.”
Carla Ward
