Match Pack: Tottenham Hotspur

Aston Villa Women play their first league game in three weeks on Sunday as they face Tottenham Hotspur at the Banks's Stadium.

Having last faced Manchester City at the end of November, Villa have since picked up a resounding Conti Cup win over Sunderland following the final international break of the calendar year.

That 7-0 success over Sunderland in the north east was particularly pleasing for a multitude of reasons.

Laura Blindkilde Brown, making just her third first team appearance, scored her first-ever senior goal inside the first minute.

Alisha Lehmann also notched her first two goals since signing from West Ham United in the summer.

While Carla Ward's side set themselves up to qualify for the knockout stages of the cup on Wednesday against Blackburn, it is the manner of victory which will have satisfied the players and staff ahead of a key stretch of games.

Attention now turns to Sunday, where an impressive Spurs outfit visit the Banks's Stadium with the top three firmly within their grasp.

Villa will undoubtedly have their work cut out, but will draw on last season's 1-0 success as inspiration to once again secure a positive outcome.

This weekend's visitors to the Banks's Stadium are Tottenham Hotspur.

Rehanne Skinner’s side have made their best-ever start to a WSL campaign, currently sitting in fourth place after eight games.

"Hard work, character and resilience" are the attributes identified by Skinner for her side to try and close the gap on the league’s elite outfits.

Spurs have certainly done their best to do just that so far this season, as positive results against Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal have highlighted their bright start.

This weekend may see a return to the club for Asmita Ale. Azzy is a product of Villa’s academy and was a key figure in our Championship-winning campaign of 2019/20.

Villa will also be hoping for a similar outcome to last season’s clash when Mana Iwabuchi’s first-half rocket proved to be the difference.

Standout Stats

• In the two FA WSL meetings between Aston Villa and Spurs last season, both sides claimed one victory each – Spurs won 3-1 at home, while Villa won 1-0 at the Banks’s Stadium.
• None of the last six meetings between Aston Villa and Spurs in all competitions have seen an away win (D2 L4), with the last away win coming in the FA Cup in February 2016, a 3-2 win for Aston Villa after extra-time.
• Aston Villa went on an eight-game unbeaten run in the FA WSL between April and September (W2 D6), but have since lost four of their following five games in the competition (W1), conceding 13 goals in the four defeats.
• After winning five consecutive FA WSL matches between May and October, keeping four clean sheets in the process, Spurs are since winless in four league matches, conceding at least once in each game (D2 L2).
• Aston Villa had just one shot in their 5-0 defeat to Manchester City on MD8, the fourth time they’d had one or fewer shots in an FA WSL match – only Birmingham City have done so more often in WSL history (five times).
• Spurs have conceded just six goals in the FA WSL this season, with only Arsenal (3) and Chelsea (5) conceding fewer. They have, however, faced 100 shots, which is 29 more than Arsenal and 48 more than Chelsea.
• Aston Villa have had fewer shots on target than any FA WSL side this season (14) but have scored with five of those, a ratio of 36%.
• The two duos to combine to create the most chances for one another in the FA WSL without assisting one another – Chioma Ubogagu and Kit Graham (10) & Rachel Williams and Ria Percival (9) – both play for Tottenham Hotspur.
• Remi Allen is the only player in the current Aston Villa squad to have previously scored against Tottenham in the FA WSL. Allen put former side Reading ahead against Spurs in the 88^th minute of an FA WSL match in December 2019.
• Tottenham Hotspur’s Kit Graham has created the most chances without registering an assist of any player in the FA WSL this season (17).

Mana Iwabuchi's first-half stunner was the difference the last time these sides met as Aston Villa Women beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at the Banks's Stadium.

The Japanese forward broke the deadlock in spectacular style as Villa earned a massive three points that brought them to within two points of Spurs at the time.

The result also lifted them to ninth in the WSL table as they edged closer to final-day survival in 2020/21.

The Boss

Carla Ward spoke to VillaTV following last weekend's Conti Cup victory over Sunderland...