Manchester City Women are looking to avoid their third-straight defeat in all competitions when they welcome Aston Villa Women to the Academy Stadium on Saturday, in the Women's Super League
Villa are still enjoying a good start to their league campaign, currently sitting sixth and three points above their hosts this weekend, but they must bounce back from defeat in the League Cup in midweek.
Match preview
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Gareth Taylor will come under even more pressure after his side were defeated by city rivals Manchester United in the group stages of the League Cup on Wednesday evening.
Vicky Losada had given Man City an early lead at Leigh Sports Village, but the Red Devils turned the game around to win 2-1 and go one point behind Group B leaders City with a game in hand.
That defeat could be damaging for Taylor's side, having made such a poor start to their WSL campaign, the League Cup seems to be the best opportunity for Man City to win silverware this season.
Man City lost 4-0 to Chelsea in the league last weekend, leaving the Sky Blues 12 points behind leaders Arsenal and trailing third-placed Brighton & Hove Albion by eight points.
With only 22 games to be played in the 12-team top flight, the teams are nearly halfway through their fixture list, and with that many points to catch up on, Man City will have an extremely difficult task to get into a qualification spot for Europe next season.
In comparison, Aston Villa are having a much better season by their own respectable standards, sitting comfortably away from the relegation zone and they have now won as many games as they managed in the whole of the last campaign.
That is due to the victory Carla Ward's side earned in the Second City derby last weekend, defeating rivals Birmingham City 1-0 a St Andrew's stadium, thanks to a goal from centre-back Anita Asante.
Despite sitting in sixth spot, Villa have only managed to score five goals in their first seven games, the least out of the top 10 sides in the league, and their lack of scoring prowess may hinder them on Saturday.
Ward's side will also have to lift themselves from defeat against Championship outfit Sheffield United in the League Cup on Wednesday, which has left Villa fourth in Group A and fighting to progress in that competition.
Man City have emphatically beaten Aston Villa in their last two meetings, with the Citizens last winning 8-0 against Villa in the FA Cup in April, but with the hosts' current form, perhaps now is as good a time as any for Villa to correct that scoreline.
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Team News
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Manchester City will continue without the injured number one goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck, captain Steph Houghton and full-back Lucy Bronze, with midfielder Jill Scott still filling in at centre-back.
Lauren Hemp did not start in midweek against Manchester United, but she is certain to come back into the starting 11 as she offers pace and attacking threat down the left wing.
Ellen White has only managed one goal in her seven league appearances so far this season, and the England international will be desperate to increase her tally on Saturday.
After a positive result against rivals Birmingham last weekend, Ward is likely to name the same starting lineup, which will include Alisha Lehmann leading the line.
Marisa Ewers managed 76 minutes last Sunday after making her return from injury at the beginning of November, and she is in line to start again with Chloe Arthur in midfield.
Against the so-called big teams in the WSL, Villa have played in a more defensive formation with a back five, but the visitors are likely to be confident travelling to face Man City and could lineup with a back four including Mayumi Pacheco, Asante, Meaghan Sargeant and Sarah Mayling.
Manchester City Women possible starting lineup:
Benameur; Stokes, Greenwood, Scott, Stanway; Weir, Walsh, Losada; Hemp, White, Beckie
Aston Villa Women possible starting lineup:
Hampton; Pacheco, Asante, Sargeant, Mayling; Ewers, Arthur; Petzelberger, Allen, Boye-Hlorkah; Lehmann
We say: Manchester City Women 1-1 Aston Villa Women
Taylor is coming under a lot of pressure as Man City's start to this season has not been to their standards of previous years, which could add nerves to the home side while Villa travel with no fear.
Villa have perhaps already secured safety in the top flight which means that they can now push on and aim for their best-ever season in the WSL, and that could help them take a point away with them against a side still full of international players.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City Women win with a probability of 62.98%. A draw had a probability of 20.3% and a win for Aston Villa Women had a probability of 16.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City Women win was 2-0 with a probability of 10.23%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.94%) and 1-0 (9.83%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.54%), while for an Aston Villa Women win it was 1-2 (4.63%). The actual scoreline of 5-0 was predicted with a 1.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Manchester City Women would win this match.
