Aston Villa Women will look to extend their four-game unbeaten run in all competitions when they welcome Manchester City Women to Villa Park on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the visitors will be desperate to claim maximum points after suffering a 4-2 defeat in last Sunday's derby clash with Manchester United.
Match preview
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Aston Villa have gone four competitive matches without defeat since Shaun Goater took over the reins on an interim basis in December.
They kicked off that run with a 4-1 win over Charlton Athletic in the Women's League Cup, before they recorded victories over West Ham United and Bristol Rovers in the WSL and Women's FA Cup respectively.
The Villans looked set to make it four consecutive victories when Rachel Daly gave them the lead in their recent league clash against Everton, only for Veatriki Sarri to score an 89th-minute equaliser to ensure the spoils were shared, leaving Villa in eighth place with a five-point buffer to the relegation spot.
Goater is now preparing for his final game as interim boss after Villa confirmed the appointment of former Real Sociedad manager coach Natalia Arroyo as their new permanent manager, with the 38-year-old set to start her tenure with a home game against Chelsea on February 2.
Before Arroyo makes her WSL bow, Goater will look to lead Villa to their first WSL victory over Man City since pulling off a 4-3 win in September 2022.
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Man City's title hopes are hanging by a thread after losing three of their last four WSL matches, leaving them in fourth place and nine points adrift of leaders Chelsea.
Their poor run of league form began with a 2-0 away defeat to Chelsea, before they returned to winning ways with a 4-0 home victory over Leicester City.
After suffering a surprise 2-1 loss to Everton in their final league outing of 2024, Man City experienced more disappointment in their first WSL fixture of 2025, with goals from Vivianne Miedema and Rebecca Knaak proving fruitless in a 4-2 defeat in last Sunday's derby with Man United.
Gareth Taylor's side managed to get their own back with a 2-1 victory in Wednesday's Women's League Cup quarter-final against their city neighbours, which came courtesy of goals from Laura Coombs and Lily Murphy.
They will now turn their focus back to WSL action, with the Citizens looking to avoid losing three consecutive away league games for the first time since May 2023.
The visitors can take confidence from the fact they have won each of their last three top-flight matches against Villa, including a 2-1 victory when the two teams last faced off in October.
Team News
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The hosts are without the services of Missy Bo Kearns, who is still recovering after undergoing a foot injury in December.
Lucy Parker is likely to feature on the bench again after she made her injury comeback as a late substitute against Everton.
Daly will continue to offer one of Villa's main attacking threats, with the forward looking to add to the five league goals she has scored this season.
As for the visitors, they remain without the key duo of Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp, who are both sidelined with knee issues.
Bunny Shaw, Viviane Miedema and Naomi Layzell could all be fit to make Saturday's squad, although Khiara Keating will have to be assessed after she picked up a knock in midweek.
England international Chloe Kelly is also doubt after missing the last two games with an ankle issue, amid rumours that Man United want to take her on loan until the end of the season.
Aemu Oyama and Kerolin should feature among the substitutes after recently joining the club from Tokyo Verdy Beleza and North Carolina Courage respectively.
Aston Villa Women possible starting lineup:
D'Angelo; Patten, Turner, Maritz, Tomas; Bayings, Nobbs; Leon, Daly, Salmon; Nunes
Manchester City Women possible starting lineup:
Yamashita; Casparij, Knaak, Aleixandri, Ouahabi; Park, Hasegawa, Roord; Fowler, Fujino, Miedema
We say: Aston Villa Women 1-2 Manchester City Women
Man City may have experienced a poor run of form in the WSL, but we still think they should have the extra quality required to take three points from Saturday's contest, even though Villa have the ability to make it a tricky game for the visitors.
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