One more game remains before the next international break and Chelsea Women are heading north to face Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League at the Poundland Bescot Stadium on Sunday.
A dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Lyon at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night saw the Blues book our place in the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-finals, with Barcelona lying in wait across two legs later this month.
March dealt Emma Hayes’ side a hectic schedule with seven matches across four different competitions and on the first day of April, we are still fighting on three fronts with attention turning swiftly to domestic matters this weekend.
We travel to an Aston Villa side who have enjoyed a successful season to date. Carla Ward’s team occupy fifth position in the league table with four wins from their previous five league matches, and will prove a stern test for the Blues on Sunday evening.
When and where?
We travel to Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League this Sunday 2 April, with kick-off scheduled for 6.45pm (UK time) at the Poundland Bescot Stadium.
How to follow
As always, you can follow the game via Chelsea Women’s social media channels. There will be live commentary on our Twitter page and regular updates on Facebook and Instagram. Simply search ‘ChelseaFCW’ on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Supporters who cannot attend will be able to watch the match which has been selected for broadcast on Sky Sports.
The form
During the month of March, we navigated seven games with three of those coming in the WSL. Consecutive victories over Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester United at Kingsmeadow preceded a disappointing defeat to Manchester City last weekend.
Our visit to Aston Villa is the final match of the weekend in the WSL where at the time of writing, we occupy third position with 37 points from 45 available. We have won 12, drawn one and lost two of our 15 league matches to date.
During this time, we have scored 39 goals and conceded 14 leaving us with a goal difference of +25. Aston Villa have scored more goals from outside the box than any other WSL side this season (7), though we have yet to concede a goal from distance in the competition this term.
Our hosts sit fifth in the league table with 29 points having won nine, drawn two and lost five of their 16 matches to date. They have scored 32 goals and conceded 25 leaving them with a goal difference of +7.
Aston Villa Women vs Chelsea Women recent head-to-head record
Our previous league meeting with Aston Villa came on 30 October last year where we secured a 3-1 victory at Kingsmeadow.
Lauren James was the star of the show on the day and opened the scoring after 20 minutes before Rachel Daly levelled for the visitors before half-time.
It took just two minutes after the restart for James to bag her brace before Sam Kerr was on target to wrap up the points.
Next up for the Blues
Another international break is upon us with several of our Blues expected to represent their respective nations in the coming fortnight.
When we return, we will face Aston Villa for the second game running but this time in the FA Cup semi-finals with a place in the showpiece Wembley final the prize on offer.
The match takes place on Sunday 16 April with kick-off scheduled for 2.15pm (UK time) and this tie has been selected for live broadcast on the BBC.