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Pre-match reading
Here’s Karen Carney on an increasingly worrisome issue.
Here’s the latest on the Manchester United takeover
Team news
Aston Villa make one enforced change from their madcap 3-3 draw with Spurs on Sunday. Ruesha Littlejohn replaces Kirsty Hanson, who is on loan from United and thus ineligible.
United are unchanged from the side that beat Arsenal 1-0 nine days ago. Aoife Mannion, so impressive in that match, is preferred to Mille Turner in defence.
Aston Villa (possible 4-3-3) Hampton; Mayling, Patten, Turner, Pacheco; Dali, Staniforth, Nobbs; Blindkilde, Daly, Littlejohn.
Substitutes: Leat, Allen, Lehmann, Boye-Hlorkah, Magill, Keitley.
Man Utd (possible 4-2-3-1) Earps; Batlle, Le Tissier, Mannion, Blundell; Zelem, Ladd; Parris, Toone, Galton; Russo.
Substitutes: Baggaley, Riviere, Tounkara, Turner, Boe Risa, Cascarino, L Garcia, Thomas, Williams.
Referee Lisa Benn.
Preamble
Now this is a title race. With exactly a month of the WSL season remaining, four teams – you know which ones, don’t play silly buggers – still have a realistic chance of winning the thing. What makes it even more exciting is that there are two different prizes to fight for: the title, and one of the three Champions League places.
There are 17 games between now and 27 May that involve at least one of the four challengers. That includes two potentially decisive head-to-heads: Man Utd v Man City and Chelsea v Arsenal. Both are on the penultimate weekend, which suggests the fixture computer is a Sopranos fan.
City, Chelsea and Arsenal have all won the WSL since it began in 2011. United haven’t even been in a title race until now, but thus far they have handled the pressure pretty admirably. After three consecutive fourth-place finishes, it would be some achievement to leapfrog all of the Big Three (as was) in one hit.
The Big Four (as is) are separated by six points, but it’s tighter than it looks, because Chelsea have two games in hand and Arsenal one. Even though United are top, the title isn’t in their hands. In short, all four teams have almost no margin for error – not even away to Aston Villa.
Villa have been the best of the rest in the WSL: a dangerous, high-scoring if erratic team. Their last three league results (5-0, 0-3, 3-3) sum up their season. They took four points off Manchester City and, while they have been well beaten in their other games against the title challengers – including a 5-0 defeat at Old Trafford in December – there’s plenty of jeopardy in this game for United. Strictly speaking it’s not a must-win game, but it kind of is.
Kick off 7.15pm.
English (US)