After picking up four points from their opening two Women's Super League games of 2023, Aston Villa Women will be looking for another positive result when they face Brighton & Hove Albion Women on Saturday.
While Aston Villa currently sit in sixth position in the WSL table, Brighton are languishing in 11th place after failing to win any of their last three league games.
Match preview
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The arrivals of Lucy Staniforth and Jordan Nobbs in the January transfer window have helped the Villans begin 2023 with a number of encouraging results.
A 2-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur was followed by a 1-1 draw against Manchester City, ensuring that Aston Villa have taken four points off the Citizens in the WSL this season.
After being knocked out of the League Cup with a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Arsenal, Carla Ward's side bounced back in style last weekend, thrashing third-tier Fylde 11-0 in the FA Cup, with Rachel Daly contributing four goals to the emphatic victory.
They will now return to league action, where they are preparing to face Brighton home and away in their next two matches.
Only the top three teams have scored more home goals than the 11 that Aston Villa have registered this season, but the hosts are still waiting for their first home clean sheet of the WSL campaign.
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Jens Scheuer's tenure as Brighton boss got off to a disastrous start as the Seagulls were thrashed 3-0 by Leicester City, which represented the first points the Foxes have claimed in the WSL this season.
They responded with a solid performance in the League Cup group stage against West Ham United, playing out a goalless draw before winning the subsequent penalty shootout to claim a bonus point, although it was not enough to progress to the knockout rounds.
The former Bayern Munich manager oversaw his first Brighton victory last weekend, with the Seagulls hammering third-tier West Bromwich Albion 7-0 in the FA Cup.
Brighton know that they will face a tougher test against Aston Villa this weekend, but they may draw inspiration from the fact that they have won their last four competitive away games against the Villans.
With the Seagulls sat in 11th position and four points above the one and only relegation place, they will be hoping to claim a crucial victory that could extend the gap to the danger zone.
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Team News
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Aston Villa are without the services of Meaghan Sargeant, Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah, Natasha Harding and Freya Gregory, who are all long-term injury absentees.
Although Remi Allen and Simone Magill have stepped up their recoveries by taking part in pitch-based work, they are still a long way off from returning to full fitness.
Olivia McLoughlin played the duration of the comfortable FA Cup victory over Fylde, but she will not be available after joining local rivals Birmingham on loan for the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, Brighton's Rebekah Stott, who has been hampered by injuries this season, made her first appearance since returning to the club in the summer during the FA Cup win over West Brom.
Despite scoring the opening goal, Stott could drop down to the bench, as Brighton manage her return to the side.
Veatriki Sarri and Brianna Visalli were left out of the lineup last weekend, but they are expected to feature in the starting XI on Saturday.
Aston Villa Women possible starting lineup:
Leat; Mayling, Patten, Turner, Pacheco; Staniforth, Dali; Blindkilde, Nobbs, Hanson; Daly
Brighton & Hove Albion Women possible starting lineup:
Walsh; Fox, Bergsvand, Morse, Pattinson; Robinson, Visalli, Olme, Sarri; Carter, Lee
We say: Aston Villa Women 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion Women
Brighton have struggled to perform on their travels this season, losing four of their five WSL away games, and we think that they will be edged out by an Aston Villa side who have won two of their previous three home league matches.
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