Marc Skinner brings his Manchester United side to Villa Park on Sunday.
And ahead of Aston Villa Women's Barclays WSL opener, manager Carla Ward spoke to the media at her pre-match press conference on Friday.
Here's what she had to say...
On preparations...
"We're always going to be ready. I don't think I would ever say anything else. It's been the weirdest pre-season, as I've alluded to. I'm sure every (women's) manager up and down the country will tell you the same. The girls have been sensational since they've been back in. We'll be as prepared as we ever are. We've got two sessions leading into the game. Most of the work's been done, it's a bit of a tidy up now. I can assure you now, we will be ready."
On team news...
"Kenza [Dali] came back from the World Cup with a knock. She's unavailable, she's not been back on the pitch since the World Cup she's still in rehab. It's probably come a little too soon, she's probably a couple of weeks away. Maz Pacheco is a major doubt. She's picked up the dreaded bug that's flying around... very unlikely to feature. Apart from that, everyone's healthy, fit and available. We've got probably the biggest numbers we've ever had available. No complaints from us whatsoever, we'll be ready to go."
On what success looks like in 2023/24...
"First and foremost, success was retaining really key players. When you talk about success, it's about building an environment that people want to stay in and continue their development in. We've had some major players re-sign, we've had players on loan that have turned into permanent deals, and we've managed to add a few extra into the squad. As well as that, success looks like continuing what we have been building. Does that mean top four? No. It means being better than last year and trying to close the gap. Looking at the WSL and looking at how everyone's recruited, the investment's gone in up and down the division. I have no doubt this is going to be one of the toughest WSLs yet. We needed to recruit, we needed to keep building. I think continued improvement will be a success."
On recent additions...
"We've brought in players all over the pitch that can cause different problems. It allows us to be fluid in the way that we play. It gives us different attacking options and I think that's something that we didn't have last year. We were very set in our ways. Now it just gives us a different dimension. We can play in different ways with different types of players. Ebony [Salmon's] pace and power is phenomenal. To have that added to our ranks is massive for us."
