Preview: Aston Villa vs. Man City Women – prediction, team news, lineups

Aston Villa Women will face Manchester City Women for the third time this season when the two sides go head-to-head in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.

The Villans are unbeaten in six games across all competitions, while Man City have recorded four straight competitive victories.

Match preview

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Aston Villa have only lost one of their nine competitive matches in 2023, which took place against Arsenal in the League Cup at the end of January.

In their most recent outing, the Villans claimed a 2-1 away victory over West Ham United thanks to goals from Rachel Daly and Jordan Nobbs.

Incidentally, West Ham were the side that Aston Villa eliminated in the previous round of the FA Cup to book their quarter-finals.

Unlike their 11-0 thrashing of AFC Fylde in the fourth round, the cup tie against the Hammers went to extra time and penalties, with the Villans prevailing after missing just one of their eight spot-kicks.

After taking four points off Man City in their two league meetings this season, Carla Ward‘s side will be quietly confident of securing their passage to the semi-finals.

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Since being knocked out of the League Cup semi-finals by Arsenal, Man City have embarked on a promising run of form, claiming four consecutive victories.

Gareth Taylor‘s side were on the verge of being held to a draw in last weekend’s league meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion, after Khadija Shaw‘s opener was cancelled out by Elisabeth Terland.

Shaw has proven to be Man City’s hero on numerous occasions this season, and the WSL top scorer repeated the feat in the 89th minute, scoring the winning goal to ensure her side head into Sunday’s cup tie in a buoyant mood.

Man City were beaten 3-2 after extra time by Chelsea in last season’s FA Cup final, and they will be looking to use that disappointment as motivation this time around.

Since being knocked out in the FA Cup quarter-finals in the 2013-14 campaign, Man City have reached the semi-final stage in each of the last eight seasons.

Aston Villa Women Women’s FA Cup form:

Aston Villa Women form (all competitions):

Manchester City Women Women’s FA Cup form:

Manchester City Women form (all competitions):

Team News

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Ruesha Littlejohn was forced off just moments after coming off the bench in Aston Villa’s 2-1 win over West Ham, and the Villans have since confirmed that she is set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering a deep laceration to her knee.

The Ireland international joins the likes of Meaghan Sargeant and Natasha Harding in the treatment room.

Ward is also unable to call upon the services of Remi Allen, Simone Magill, and Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah who are yet to return to full fitness.

As for the visitors, Hayley Raso and Alanna Kennedy returned to training this week, and the pair will need to be assessed ahead of the quarter-final tie.

Taylor has rotated his goalkeepers in recent weeks, and after opting to utilise Sandy MacIver last weekend, he could decide to bring Ellie Roebuck into the side on Sunday.

After scoring nine goals in her last three games, Shaw will be looking to continue her impressive form when she leads the line against the Villans.

Aston Villa Women possible starting lineup:
Hampton; Mayling, Corsie, Turner, Pacheco; Dali, Staniforth, Nobbs; Lehmann, Hanson, Daly

Manchester City Women possible starting lineup:
Roebuck; Aleixandri, Hougthon, Greenwood, Ouahabi; Hasegawa, Angeldahl; Kelly, Coombs, Hemp; Shaw

We say: Aston Villa Women 1-2 Manchester City Women

Both sides have proven to be tough to beat in recent weeks, but having won the FA Cup on three occasions, Man City have the know-how required to be successful in the latter stages of the competitions, and as result, we think that they will claim a narrow victory.

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