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Sam Kerr, fresh from her midweek rinsing of England, tells BBC she didn’t want to come off in that game, she’d just jarred her knee a bit. She thinks Villa will be disappointed in how they played when the teams met the week before last – they’re expecting a much better performance – and though the treble is on the table, Chelsea are focused on the Cup.
And what a fine piece of opportunism that is, given the unseasonably minging weather. I’m afraid this shot doesn’t do it justice, but what can we do.
Breaking news: Alex Scott, fronting BBC’s coverage, is wearing a terrific coat.
As for Chelsea, though they’ll expect their superior talent to tell, Emma Hayes will presumably have a plan. I imagine she’ll want her full-backs and wingers making the pitch as wide as possible, stretching the Villa back four across it so there’s space for Kerr in the centre with Reiten making third-player runs off her.
So where is the game? My guess is that Villa will look for their midfield three to outnumber Leupolz and Cankovic, given Reiten will primarily be seeking to create. They’ll then look to get Daly running at Eriksson and Mjelde, whether by attacking them directly or targeting the space behind and between them,
As for Chelsea, they’re now missing both their first-choice centre-backs, with Kadeisha Buchannan joining Millie Bright on the injured list; her spot goes to Maren Mjelde. Otherwise, Jessie Fleming and Sophie Ingle are replaced in midfield by Jelena Cankovic and Melanie Leupolz, so Lauren James takes the former’s spot off the right of the attack, while Erin Cuthbert comes in on the left, moving Guro Reiten inside; Johanna Rytting Kaneryd drops to the bench. Oh, and the brilliant Pernille Harder remains absent, but might make it back before the end of the season. Let’s hope so.
Villa make one change to the side that suffered that 3-0 home defeat, with Laura Blindkilde dropping to the bench. Her spot at the base of midfield goes to Lucy Staniforth, who moves up from right-back, that position filled by Sarah Mayling.
I’m going to write these down, then we can chat about what they mean…
Let's have some teams!
Aston Villa (4-3-3): Hampton; Mayling, Turner, Patten, Pacheco; Dali, Staniforth, Nobbs; Lehmann, Daly, Hanson. Subs: Allen, Boye-Hlorkah, Gregory, Blindkilde Brown, Leat, Magill, Keitley, Littlejohn.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Musovic; Perisset, Mjelde, Eriksson, Carte; Cankovic, Leupolz; James, Reiten, Cuthbert; Kerr. Subs: Ingle, Fleming, Rytting Kaneryd, Charles, Harder, Abdullina, Orman.
Preamble
It’s that time, isn’t it? Birds a-singin’, lambs a-lambin’, and bums a-squeakin’. What a beautiful thing!
But even in the context, this season is boiling up into an absolute belter, and as we arrive at its staggering denouement, we cannot ignore the fact that Chelsea are on for the treble. Of course, there’s work to do and lots of it, but in the league they trail Man United by a point with a game in hand; in Europe they’re through to a semi-final with Barcelona; and they’ll fancy themselves heavily to win today and book a Wembley date with the aforementioned United.
However, we also cannot ignore the possibility that they might also end up with a big fat nowt. United are in decent form – likewise Arsenal, who’ve still to play both in the league; Barcelona were imperious in their Champions League quarter against Roma; and Villa, today’s opponents, are no mugs whatsoever.
Chances are, Chelsea – who beat Villa 3-0 last time out – have enough to get this game done. Sam Kerr and Lauren James, in particular, are ridiculous players who’ve been far too good for better sides than the one they’ll face today. But Villa will have seen how hard Brighton, the WSL’s bottom team, pushed United yesterday, and know that if they can stick in the game, Rachel Daly and Jordan Nobbs are plenty good enough to turn it in their favour. Here we go!
Kick-off: 2.15pm BST
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