Match preview: Derby day at Villa Park

Aston Villa host neighbours Birmingham City in the Women's Super League at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Villans head into the Second City derby looking to respond after suffering successive defeats in their previous outings against Manchester United and Liverpool.

Sunday's game kickstarts Villa Women's 30th anniversary celebrations, marking the year 1996 when the side officially took the club's name.

And with local bragging rights also on the line, Brian Sørensen and his players will have ample motivation to get back to winning ways.

The Opposition

Visitors Birmingham City have made a battling start to life back in the top flight.

While they have lost five of their opening nine league games, a 1-0 win over fellow newly promoted side Charlton, coupled with three draws, including away at Arsenal, has them well in the fight for survival.

They currently occupy the relegation play-off spot, though with six points on the board they sit just two shy of Liverpool and three back from West Ham and Crystal Palace.

A comfortable 3-1 win over Sunderland in the Players Cup in midweek will provide a timely confidence boost ahead of derby day.

What Do The Stats Say?

• Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last three meetings with Birmingham City across all competitions (D2 W1).
• Villa were held to a 1-1 draw by the Blues in the Players Cup league phase last month, though Villa walked away with a bonus point after winning a penalty shootout decider 6-5.
• Noelle Maritz leads all Aston Villa players for duels won (34) in the WSL this season. She also ranks first for tackles (16) and second for possession won (33) amongst the squad in the WSL this term.
• Villa shotstopper Akane Okuma possesses a 76.5% save percentage in the WSL so far this season – the best of any goalkeeper to play 2+ games. She’s also made the most saves (54) and prevented a league high 3.7 goal.

The Last Meeting

Our previous Second City derby encounter against Birmingham City came just last month in the Players Cup, with the tight contest ending 1-1 at Keys Park. 

Mathilde Harviken opening the scoring with her first Villa goal off the bench, before Martha Harris equalised deep into stoppage time for the visitors.

However the bragging rights were Villa's by the end of the night, with former blue Emily Ramsey producing two saves in the shootout decider as the claret and blues ran out 6-5 winners.

The Presser: Thoughts from Interim Head Coach Sørensen

Team News

Midfielder Lucia Kendall is under assessment ahead of Sunday’s fixture to determine her availability for selection.

As per the previous player availability update published on Saturday 14 November, forwards Rachel Daly and Kamilla Melgård, and goalkeepers Ellie Roebuck, Lily Clark and Emily Ramsey are unavailable for selection.