Aston Villa Women v West Ham United Women
Barclays Women’s Super League, Bescot Stadium, Saturday 15 October, 12:30pm BST.
West Ham United Women return to Barclays Women’s Super League action on Saturday afternoon, heading North for the first time this season.
The Hammers travel to Bescot Stadium for their fourth Barclays Women’s Super League match of the new campaign and will be hoping to return to winning ways after defeats to Manchester United and Chelsea.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
Tickets…
Tickets are priced at £10 for Adults, £7.50 for U18s and £5 for U14s and are available to purchase directly from the Aston Villa website.
How To Follow…
Saturday’s match will be broadcast live on the FA Player, with coverage beginning just before the scheduled 12:30pm kick-off.
You can also follow the action across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reactions for you after the final whistle.
Team News
Manager, Paul Konchesky will be without Jess Ziu and Lucy Parker for the first time this season, with both sustaining long-term injuries last time out against London City Lionesses.
The Club provided an injury update from Sports Therapist, Jackson Bradley earlier this week.
Abbey-Leigh Stringer is also a doubt for the weekend after picking up a knock – she could be available for the game against The Villans.
Denmark international, Emma Snerle could feature as she continues to work her way back from a foot injury that she sustained in April.
Travel…
If you are planning to travel by car to Bescot Stadium, then click here for directions from our home ground, Chigwell Construction Stadium, to the home of Aston Villa Women - and Sky Bet League Two side, Walsall.
From M6 North: leave the M6 at junction 9 and take the A461 towards Walsall, turn right onto the A4148 (Wallowes Lane) and right again at the second set of traffic lights. The ground will appear on your left.
From M6 South: leave the M6 at junction 7 and take the A34 towards Walsall. At the end of the dual carriageway, turn left at the Bell Inn pub into Walstead Road and continue straight on this road for two miles. The stadium will appear on your right.
The stadium is also well served by buses. All buses leave from the Bradford Place Bus Station in Walsall Town Centre. Service number 401E, operated by Diamond, runs every 15 minutes during the daytime on Monday to Friday and stops on Bescot Crescent outside the ground. The 45 runs every 20 minutes during Monday to Friday daytime, as well as Saturdays, and every hour after 9pm. The 4 service runs every eight minutes and stops on West Bromwich Road, a short walk from the ground.
Bescot Stadium Railway Station, just a two-minute walk from the stadium, is served by trains from Birmingham Grand Central (New Street) and Wolverhampton.
Supporters are advised to check their journeys before travel, with resources such as TfL's Journey Planner or the TfL Go app helping to plan your journey.
Supporters may also wish to visit the National Rail website to plan their journey if traveling on the rail network.
The Opposition
Aston Villa have made a fantastic start to the new WSL campaign, and currently sit in third position in the table.
Carla Ward brought in proven WSL duo Simone Magill and Danielle Turner from Everton this summer, whilst also adding experienced Welsh international Natasha Rading from Reading.
Anna Patten and Kirsty Hanson joined from Arsenal and Manchester United respectively, whilst the former West Ham United trio of Anna Leat, Kenza Dali and Rachel Daly all made the move to Villa.
They began the season with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Manchester City at Villa Park, where a double from Daly and goals from Dali and Lehmann – before following that up with an away day win over Leicester City at the King Power, with Daly once again finding the back of the net.
In the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup, Villa, like the Hammers, would win their tie on penalties, having initially drawn 1-1 with Manchester United – Daly was the one to find the back of the net once again.
Ward will be hoping that they can significantly improve on last season’s ninth place finish in the WSL.
