Aston Villa Women: What to expect from League Cup clash v Durham
Aston Villa will host Durham in the League Cup on Sunday November 27 and will look to make it three wins on the bounce after the international break.
Carla Ward’s side were mightily impressive as they came from behind to claim a 3-1 victory over Reading in front of 4000 fans at Villa Park last time out.
A hat-trick from Rachel Daly secured a significant three points, which propelled Ward’s side up to fifth in the league table on 12 points and above West Ham on goal difference.
Here, Villa News preview their upcoming fixture against Durham in the League Cup.
Current table
It is all to play for in Group A of the League Cup after the opening two rounds.
Both Durham and Villa drew their opening two games, with the visitors victorious in both of their respective penalty shootouts and Villa losing once on spot kicks to Everton and winning more recently against Manchester United following a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes.
With both Everton and Sheffield United having played one game less in the group, a win would propel Villa to the top of the group with just two fixtures remaining.
Opposition
Durham will travel to the West Midland full of confidence following a 5-1 thrashing of Coventry in the Women’s Championship.
The visitors sit ninth in the second division after winning three of their opening eight games of the season and will rely on Saoirse Noonan and Rio Hardy for goals – having netted four and three times respectively this campaign.
Although they may not be lighting up the league, a dazzling 2-2 draw against United in their last League Cup match highlights that they have the capability to find the back of the net against top defences, and can certainly pose a threat to Ward’s side.
Players to watch
Daly’s blistering form for The Villans has been nothing short of breathtaking in recent weeks after following up goals for The Lionesses during the international break with a stunning hat trick against Reading.
Playing as a centre-forward for Villa – although left-back in the Euro’s final earlier this year – Daly will look to continue her purple patch of scoring form against Durham.
Laura Blindkilde Brown is starting to come into her own in the Claret and Blue shirt following a rather stop-start season to date.
The 19-year-old was brilliant against The Royals in the 3-1 win, showing herself able to play the box-to-box midfield quite brilliantly for such a young player.
Her work off the ball in the press will be vital to Ward’s midfield, and she will now look to add goals and assists to her ever-improving game in the coming months.
In other news, Unai Emery shares heart-to-heart with Philippe Coutinho over his Aston Villa career – report.