Aston Villa Women predicted XI v Tottenham Hotspur – Jordan Nobbs and Lucy Staniforth to debut
Aston Villa women will resume their WSL campaign following the mid-season break with a home match against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday (14 January).
The Villans have been the talk of the January transfer window so far after snapping up Arsenal legend Jordan Nobbs and Manchester United midfielder Lucy Staniforth on permanent transfers in the West Midlands.
Both signings highlight a serious statement of intent by the Villa hierarchy, with Nobbs having won 12 trophies in 12 years with the Gunners – representing England 69 times in the process – and Staniforth a huge player in the Lionesses Women’s World Cup campaign in 2019.
Ward’s side will look to make serious inroads into the WSL table following this injection of cash after an opening half of the season that sees them lie seventh in the table after nine games.
For the clash against Spurs, Ward will hand debuts to both her January signings as she slightly tinkers with her formation from the team that lost 4-1 to Arsenal before the break, moving from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1.
Hannah Hampton restores her spot between the sticks for Villa, despite an up-and-down season, which saw her reportedly fall out with England manager Sarina Wiegman and lose her spot in Ward’s side as a result. [Daily Mail 1 November 2022]
The back-four remains unchanged from the defence that conceded four against Arsenal, with Rachel Corsie returning to her favoured centre-back role following a stint in the midfield due to injuries in the first-team squad, pairing up beside Danielle Turner.
Mayumi Pachecho will continue her 100% record of starting under Ward this season and will be given a licence to attack down the left flank alongside Kirsty Hanson on the left wing. Sarah Mayling, meanwhile, will start at right-back following a strong start to the season. The 25-year-old will look to add to her one assist this campaign.
Nobbs will start at the base of the Villa midfield and will look to pull the strings for Ward’s side, picking the ball off the back four and progressing it to the likes of Rachel Daly and Staniforth. Laura Blindkilde Brown is unlucky to miss out on a spot in the starting XI following a breakout season to date, which has seen her feature for the England Under-18s side.
Alongside the ex-Arsenal legend, Dali will line up in the heart of the Villa midfield. After scoring three goals and assisting a further six from just 13 games this term, the 49-capped French international will look to add to her impressive tally.
After only featuring for Manchester United four times this season, Staniforth will be thrown straight into the Villa starting XI in an attacking midfield role. Ward will want the 30-year-old to pick up the ball in pockets of space, with Staniforth averaging ten final third passes per 90 minutes this season and 17 forward passes per game.
Alesha Lehmann will look to use her pace and trickery on the right wing, while Hanson will look to build on her strong form prior to the mid-season break, which saw her score on consecutive games against Sheffield United and Arsenal.
Prominent Lioness and the WSL’s joint top goal scorer Daly will lead the line for Aston Villa and look to get back in the goals following a blistering first half of the season. In her 12 starts this season, the 31-year-old has netted ten goals at a ridiculous strike rate of one every 106 minutes.
In other Aston Villa news, Rachel Daly should be played as centre-forward for the Lionesses in 2023 after her stunning campaign in the West Midlands.