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23 min: Aston Villa have found themselves on the back foot in the last 10 minutes or so, absorbing a constant flow of pressure from the visitors. Chelsea have started to take control and they are closing in on a potential opener.
20 min: A Chelsea cross is sent into the Aston Villa penalty area and it finds Charles at the back post. The defender finds herself just in front of goal but somehow heads the ball back towards the penalty spot.
Chelsea can’t make the most of the chance in the end and Villa can make the clearance.
18 min: The corner is sent into the box and Björn attempts to flick it on at the front post, but her effort loops over the crossbar and lands on top of the net.
17 min: Chance for Chelsea this time! Beever-Jones sets the ball back to Björn, who spots the run of Kaptein in the box. The midfielder then squares it across to Macario, who passes possession onto James. The England star goes for goal but Parker gets back to block the shot, deflecting the ball behind for a corner.
14 min: Huge chance for Aston Villa! Hampton scuffs her clearance and the ball falls straight to the feet of Nunes around 30 yards out from goal. The Brazilian attempts to chip her from distance, but the Chelsea keeper gets a hand to it before safely making the catch.
12 min: Aston Villa have looked very comfortable in possession so far. They are not rushing things and they are being patient when going forward, not falling into any traps or errors.
9 min: Patten is caught out in possession by James in a dangerous position. The Chelsea forward looks to drive through on goal down the middle but the defender does a great job to track back and go shoulder-to-shoulder before D’Angelo collects.
8 min: Patten, Baijings and Grant link up on the right as they look to break through the Chelsea defence, but the visitors are able to clear their lines following a Villa throw-in.
5 min: Reiten receives a throw-in from Charles just inside Aston Villa’s half. She makes a sharp turn before driving into the box and looks to find Charles again on the overlap, but the forward overhits her pass and it runs out of play.
4 min: Chelsea have possession and the ball is passed to Cuthbert on the halfway line. The midfielder looks to play forward but is fouled by Patten and Chelsea have a free kick in midfield.
2 min: Daly picks up the ball in midfield and turns into trouble, but she goes to ground after colliding with Macario and Aston Villa have a free kick.
Kick-off
We’re under way at Villa Park!
The teams are out at Villa Park! Kick-off is just a few minutes away…
Arsenal have just earned a huge 4-3 win over Manchester City – a result that could prove to be crucial in the race for a Champions League spot at the end of the season. John Brewin has been covering that match this afternoon, click here for his minute-by-minute recap…
Previewing today’s game earlier this week, Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor said: “My mentality is to make sure we take it game by game. I always expect to have a difficult game. The only way to make the game look easier for us is when we are efficient. Every game is three points, so the game coming this Sunday is as important as the Arsenal game we just played.”
Chelsea had the perfect transfer window according to our very own Tom Garry. Click here to see how well every other WSL club did…
During her pre-match press conference, Aston Villa manager Natalia Arroyo said: “There are enough points to think that we can achieve bigger positions. Our mission and our goal in these months is to make this gap shorter. Not in terms of points, but feeling we can really compete with them in every game.
“Some results against these teams were good, others not. Why not understand that we can compete against them?”
Chelsea have completed two huge new signings in the last week. Naomi Girma was unveiled to a packed Stamford Bridge last Sunday following her record-breaking transfer from San Diego Wave. Then, on deadline day, England midfielder Keira Walsh completed a late move from Barcelona.
Could these additions be the key to Chelsea finally winning that elusive Champions League title?
New Chelsea signings Keira Walsh and Femke Liefting are on the bench today. Walsh completed a €550,000 (£460,000) transfer from Barcelona on deadline day while Liefting joined from Dutch club AZ Alkmaar.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Walsh come on for her debut during the match…
Team news
Aston Villa starting line-up: Sabrina D’Angelo; Sarah Mayling, Anna Patten, Lucy Parker, Noelle Maritz; Jordan Nobbs, Jill Baijings; Chastity Grant, Kirsty Hanson, Gabi Nunes; Rachel Daly (C). Substitutes: Katelin Talbert, Paula Tomás, Danielle Turner, Miri Taylor, Katie Robinson, Adriana Leon, Ebony Salmon.
Chelsea starting line-up: Hannah Hampton; Ashley Lawrence, Nathalie Björn, Millie Bright (C), Niamh Charles; Erin Cuthbert, Wieke Kaptein; Aggie Beever-Jones, Lauren James, Guro Reiten; Catarina Macario. Substitutes: Femke Liefting, Maelys Mpomé, Keira Walsh, Oriane Jean-François, Sjoeke Nüsken, Lola Brown, Maika Hamano,
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Mayra Ramírez.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to coverage of today’s WSL clash between Aston Villa and Chelsea.
It’s the start of a new era for Villa today as new manager Natalia Arroyo takes charge of her very first game. The hosts go into this fixture off the back of a 4-2 defeat to Manchester City. Villa went toe-to-toe with City for much of the match but fell short following two second-half goals from Mary Fowler and Jess Park.
Meanwhile, Chelsea continued their unbeaten run last week by defeating rivals Arsenal 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. A Guro Reiten penalty was all that separated the two sides in the end, putting Chelsea nine points clear at the top of the table. Sonia Bompastor’s side now essentially have one hand on the title, but can they continue that formidable run today?
Kick-off is at 2:30pm GMT - join me!
