Aston Villa Women will look to claim a fourth consecutive victory when they travel to the Chigwell Construction Stadium for Sunday’s meeting with West Ham United Women.
Meanwhile, the Hammers will be hoping to continue their own promising run of form, having avoided defeat in each of their last five matches.
Match preview
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West Ham have comfortably surpassed last season’s tally of 15 points, having collected 23 points from their 20 league matches this term to leave them in seventh place with two games left to play against Aston Villa and Leicester City.
The Hammers are looking to carry momentum into the summer break after winning two and drawing three of their last five matches since losing 4-3 to Arsenal at the start of March.
They followed a draw against Manchester City with a win over Tottenham Hotspur, before they played out two hard-fought draws against Chelsea and Manchester United.
Rehanne Skinner‘s side went on to produce a free-scoring display to relegate Crystal Palace with a statement 7-1 win, courtesy of four Shekiera Martinez goals, an Emma Harries brace and a Viviane Asseyi effort.
After ending their 14-game winless away league run in emphatic fashion, West Ham will now return to the familiar surroundings of the Chigwell Construction Stadium, where they will attempt to make six consecutive WSL home games without defeat.
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Natalia Arroyo has overcome a difficult start to her tenure as Aston Villa boss to steer the club to safety with a positive spell of results.
After overseeing five consecutive league defeats, Arroyo finally celebrated her first WSL win at the end of March when her side edged out Liverpool via a 2-1 scoreline.
The Villans went on to make it back-to-back away victories with a 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, putting them on the brink of safety with three games left to play.
Their top-flight status was secured following Crystal Palace’s heavy 7-1 defeat to West Ham United last weekend, but that did not dampen Villa’s motivation for Wednesday’s meeting with second-placed Arsenal, as they produced a stunning performance to pull off a surprise 5-2 victory over the Gunners thanks to Chasity Grant brace and goals from Jordan Nobbs, Kirsty Hanson and Rachel Daly.
After clinching their first home league win under Arroyo, Villa now head on their travels for their final away game of the season, with the visitors looking to complete a league double over West Ham after winning 3-1 in December’s reverse fixture.
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Team News
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West Ham are unable to call upon Jessica Ziu, Kristie Mewis and Li Mengwen, while Manuela Pavi is a doubt after she sat out the win over Palace.
Harries may have to settle for a place among the substitutes despite coming off the bench to score a brace last Sunday, with Skinner likely to stick with the same lineup that started the 7-1 away victory.
Martinez will continue to offer one of the home side’s main goal threats, having scored nine goals in 10 WSL appearances since she returned from her loan stint with Freiburg.
As for the Villans, they recently confirmed that Paula Tomas will miss the final stages of the season after undergoing hip surgery.
Lucy Staniforth, Lucy Parker and Gabi Nunes are all unlikely to feature after missing the midweek win over Arsenal due to injury.
If none of the trio are available for selection, Arroyo could opt to select the same XI that started Wednesday’s 5-2 victory.
West Ham United Women possible starting lineup:
Szemik; Denton, Tysiak, Zadorsky; Piubel, Siren, Gorry, Hanshaw; Martinez, Asseyi; Ueki
Aston Villa Women possible starting lineup:
D’Angelo; Maritz, Turner, Pacheco; Grant, Nobbs, Taylor, Hanson; Kearns; Salmon, Daly
We say: West Ham United Women 2-2 Aston Villa Women
Aston Villa will travel to the capital with hopes of claiming a fourth consecutive victory, but we think the Villans we ultimately have to be content with a draw when they face a West Ham side that are unbeaten in five home league games.
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