The Lowdown On City’s Clash With Aston Villa
The 2022/23 Barclays Women’s Super League season is now underway, with matchday two seeing Carla Ward’s outfit arrive on Filbert Way having beaten Manchester City to get off to the perfect start, while Leicester narrowly lost out to Tottenham Hotspur.
The Midlands club are now looking to win consecutive top-flight games for the very first time, as the Foxes aim to get their first points on the board. Ahead of kick-off, here’s a guide to the game…
The Foxes camp
Strikes from Ashleigh Neville and Drew Spence set Spurs up for three points last weekend, despite Spence’s second-half own goal, which drew City back into the match. The Foxes currently sit ninth in the WSL standings at this early stage of the campaign.
Sam Tierney completed 47 passes in the game - only once has that figure been surpassed by a Foxes player in the WSL, with Abbie McManus completing 51 against Reading in January. The Foxes will remain without the defender this weekend, though, as well as goalkeeper Demi Lambourne, due to injury.
Following full debuts for Josie Green, Aileen Whelan, Erin Simon and Carrie Jones, fellow new signings Demi Vance and Ellen Jones will be hoping to make their bows this weekend.
Talking points
In her pre-match press conference, manager Lydia Bedford spoke about the impact of the home crowd: “The atmosphere at King Power on Sunday was on another level. The noise which the fans made in the stadium, particularly in the final 15-20 minutes, when we were pushing for the equaliser, it was so much louder than last season. That’s just people’s voices and energy behind the team.”
Molly Pike also addressed the media on Thursday, saying: “We just need to be confident, take the game to them and know that we can get points. We know we’re good enough and we can do it. The two games last year were very disappointing for us against Villa, so this year we definitely need to get those three points.”
The opposition
Aston Villa have begun their third season at this level after finishing ninth in 2021/22, 10 points clear of the relegation zone and one position better off than the previous year.
The Villans defeated Manchester City 4-3 in an enthralling opening day encounter at Villa Park, with Alisha Lehmann and Rachel Daly putting the hosts into a commanding position, before Laura Coombs’ brace and a goal from Khadija Shaw turned the game in City’s favour.
But Kenza Dali’s long-range effort levelled it up once more and there was still time for England international and EURO 2022 winner Daly to find her second on debut and ensure it would be Villa who earned the points, coming from behind to win for just the second time in the WSL.
In the dugout
Carla Ward is beginning her second season as Villa manager having also guided Birmingham City to WSL safety at the end of 2020/21. Previously in charge of Sheffield United, she helped the Blades adjust to the second tier after promotion into the Barclays Women’s Championship in 2018, finishing fifth and second respectively in their first two seasons at that level.
Last time out
Villa were victorious by the same scoreline in each of their meetings with LCFC Women last term, winning 2-1 in Leicester’s first-ever top-flight encounter in September 2021, when Sarah Mayling and former Fox Remi Allen scoring after Natasha Flint had handed the away side the lead in Walsall.
In the reverse fixture at Pirelli Stadium in January, Molly Pike’s own goal was followed by Hannah Hampton falling to the same fate and it took an injury-time winner from Alisha Lehmann to separate the sides.
Ticket and coverage details
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