Women’s Super League match previews, team news, follow live on Sky Sports | Football News

March 1, 2022 admin

Team news, stats and how to follow the Women’s Super League on Wednesday with Arsenal hosting Reading, while Everton travel to Aston Villa

Aston Villa vs Everton – Wednesday, 7pm

Aston Villa and Everton meet again on Wednesday night for a second consecutive WSL fixture, having previously played each other on 13 February.

Villa emerged victorious in that meeting as they ran out 2-0 winners against the Toffees, who are still under the interim charge of Chris Roberts and Claire Ditchburn.

Everton will monitor the fitness of midfielder Grace Clinton, who missed out on their FA Cup fifth-round victory over Charlton with an ankle injury, while Nathalie Bjorn could also make a return to the side in this fixture.

Villa boss Carla Ward anticipates having the majority of her squad available for selection and players who are returning from international duty will be assessed ahead of the game.

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Everton’s 6-0 win over Aston Villa in this exact fixture last season is the Toffee’s heaviest WSL win to date and the only time they’ve managed to net more than five in a single game in the competition.
For the very first time in Women’s Super League history, a fixture will be played in consecutive matches for both sides within the same league campaign, following Everton’s 0-2 defeat to Aston Villa in both sides’ most recent league outing last month.
Aston Villa have won two of their last three WSL matches (L1), as many as in the 10 games beforehand (D1 L7). However, each of their last four wins in the top flight have come away from home.
Everton have lost four WSL matches in a row, last embarking on a longer run of defeats in the same top-flight season in 2014, when they went on to be relegated at the end of that campaign.
Despite eight of Valérie Gauvin’s 12 WSL shots this season hitting the target, the Everton forward is yet to score in the top flight so far. She has accumulated the highest xG figure by a player yet to net in the competition this season (2.51).

How to follow: Follow the action with our dedicated live blog across Sky Sports’ digital platforms. Free match highlights will be published on the Sky Sports website, app and YouTube channel shortly after full-time.

Arsenal vs Reading – Wednesday, 7.15pm

League leaders Arsenal will take on sixth-placed Reading and the Gunners are likely to be bullish about their chances in this game, having won the majority of their domestic meetings against Reading.

Although they have endured a patchy run of form in the WSL, Arsenal remain two points clear at the top of the table. Head coach Jonas Eidevall will want his side to extend this lead with a win against Reading as second-placed Chelsea have a game in hand over their London rivals.

Despite losing their last WSL fixture against Brighton and being knocked out of the FA Cup, Reading have been in good form, winning four of their last five league games. Manager Kelly Chambers will hope her team are able to shake off their recent results to earn a positive result against Arsenal.

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Arsenal have won nine of their 11 Women’s Super League clashes with Reading (D2), maintaining a 100% winning record on home soil in this fixture (5/5).
Only Notts County (12 v both Arsenal and Birmingham) have faced an opponent more often without managing a single victory than Reading’s 11-game run with Arsenal within the WSL.
Arsenal have scored exactly six goals in each of their last two home league matches with Reading (6-0 in 2018 & 6-1 in 2020), netting three in both the first and second half of both games.
WSL leaders Arsenal have drawn three of their last four league games (W1), though they have only lost one of their last 23 since a loss to Chelsea in February last year (W17 D5). The Gunners (31) have five more points after 14 games than at the same stage last season.
Natasha Dowie’s six WSL goals this season have all come in her last nine appearances and have won Reading six points, more than any other player has won for her club in the division this season.