Aston Villa Women and Leicester City Women meet each other this weekend after dire starts to their respective seasons.
Both have picked up just a single point from their opening three games, and while Villa have had the ball in the net four times, Leicester have scored just once in 270 minutes of football.
While one or both sides will come out of this game better off than how they started it, both teams will be concerned by their early season form, and will searching for ways to fix it behind the scenes.
As the game edges closer, here is everything you need to know about both teams ahead of kick-off.
Aston Villa Predicted Lineup (3-4-2-1): Sabrina D’Angelo (GK), Lucy Parker, Anna Patten, Noelle Maritz; Paula Tomas, Missy Bo Kearns, Jordan Nobbs, Chasity Grant; Kirsty Hanson, Kenza Dali; Rachel Daly.
While Villa have an identical win/loss record to Leicester, they have a few positives to take away from their poor form. They lost to reigning WSL champions Chelsea 1-0 on the opening day, a result most teams would’ve taken prior to kick-off, given the obvious gap in quality between them.
They then drew at home to Spurs in another gutsy performance in which they looked like winning before conceding a 90+6 Bethany England equaliser. This result must have sapped their morale, as they then fell to a poor 4-2 defeat to Brighton in a game where their profligacy in front of goal cost them a result.
With a much better scoring record and more dangerous attack, Villa are the favorites for this game, but their defense needs to stay watertight unlike in previous games.
Leicester City Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): Janina Leitzig (GK), Janice Cayman, Julie Thibaud, Sophie Howard, Catherine Bott; Ruby Mace, Saori Takarada, Samantha Tierney; Missy Goodwin, Noemie Mouchon, Jutta Rantala.
After finishing third from bottom last season, Leicester are threatening to finish one or two lower going off their early season form.
A 1-1 draw away to Liverpool on the opening day earned them some credit, but home defeats to Arsenal and Crystal Palace without scoring have seen them drop to tenth.
One positive they can take away is that in their first three matches, they have only conceded four goals, indicating that their backline is solid enough. However, their forward players have not contributed to the effort so far, and coach Amandine Miquel will be hoping that they find their form quickly if Leicester are to improve on last season's performance.
Recent Meetings:
Historic Head to Head - Aston Villa: 5. Drawn: 1. Leicester City: 0.
With two teams in such poor form, it becomes a very tricky game to call. With both sides sitting on a draw and two defeats, they sit alongside each other in the table, and both will be desperate to boost their points total with a result here.
However, Villa have been in marginally better form, and going off their head to head record and the fact they have the home advantage, the three points look set to head back to Birmingham.
Aston Villa 2-0 Leicester City.
With Aston Villa’s better form in front of goal, they will almost certainly outscore Leicester, particularly due to the Foxe’s recent struggles in front of goal.
The final score depends on the proficiency or Leicester’s relatively solid defense. They have defended well against better opposition with Aston Villa, but after a couple of morale sapping results, I think they could be breached multiple times.
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