The bottom two sides in the Women’s Super League will face off when Crystal Palace Women welcome Aston Villa Women to the VBS Community Stadium on Sunday.
The Eagles are languishing at the foot of the WSL table, while Aston Villa have a four-point buffer in 11th position.
Match preview
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Palace recently made the decision to change their manager, dismissing promotion-winning coach Laura Kaminski prior to their WSL clash against Liverpool on March 2.
The Eagles swiftly announced Kaminski’s successor as Leif Gunnar Smerud, who previously worked as interim boss of Norway’s men’s and women’s team as well as being a long-serving head coach of the under-21 men’s side.
Smerud saw his side fall to a narrow 1-0 home defeat against Liverpool in his first game in charge, extending their winless WSL run to 12 matches (D3, L9).
Palace suffered another 1-0 loss in last Sunday’s Women’s FA Cup quarter-final, with Lauren James‘s second-half effort proving enough to eliminate the Eagles despite putting in a hard-fought display at Kingsmeadow.
The Eagles will now be fully focused on their crucial league clash with Villa, knowing that they can move to within one point of safety with their second league win of the season.
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Like Smerud, Villa boss Natalia Arroyo is searching for her first win as a WSL manager after losing her opening three league games without scoring.
After beginning her tenure with a narrow loss against Chelsea, Arroyo oversaw a 3-2 Women’s FA Cup win over Brighton & Hove Albion, before seeing her team lose back-to-back matches against Leicester City and Everton.
Villa’s FA Cup journey then came to an end with a 2-0 defeat in last Sunday’s quarter-final clash against Manchester City following second-half efforts from Bunny Shaw and Jess Park.
They will now turn their attention to their WSL survival bid, with the Villans looking to end their five-game winless league run (D1, L4) by claiming their first top-flight victory since beating West Ham United in December.
Villa have already beaten Palace on two occasions this season, recording a 2-0 home win in October’s Women’s League Cup match, before claiming a 3-2 victory in November’s reverse fixture.
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Team News
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Palace are unable to call upon Aimee Everett and Hayley Nolan, while Smerud has revealed that there other doubts in the squad, although he stopped short of disclosing who is at risk of missing out.
Chelsea loanee Aniek Nouwen should return to the matchday squad after being ineligible to face her parent club last weekend.
Lexi Potter picked up her fifth yellow card of the WSL season against Liverpool earlier this month, meaning she will have to serve a one-match suspension on Sunday.
As for the visitors, Rachel Corsie remains sidelined with a knee issue, while Sarah Mayling has been ruled out after she sustained an ankle injury last weekend.
Defender Maz Pacheco and midfielder Lucy Staniforth-Wilson are closing in on a return to fitness, but it is currently unclear whether they will be ready for Sunday’s fixture.
Noelle Maritz, Jordan Nobbs and Rachel Daly are likely to return to the starting lineup after dropping down to the bench for the FA Cup defeat against Man City.
Crystal Palace Women possible starting lineup:
Yanez; Riley, Swaby, Gibbons, Woodham; Sharpe, Cato, Arthur, Blanchard; Larisey, Weerden
Aston Villa Women possible starting lineup:
D’Angelo; Maritz, Patten, Parker, Tomas; Bayings, Nobbs; Grant, Daly, Salmon; Nunes
We say: Crystal Palace Women 1-1 Aston Villa Women
Palace are still searching for their first-ever WSL home victory, while Villa are yet to win a top-flight away game this season, and with that in mind, we think the two relegation-threatened sides have
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