Preview: Aston Villa Women vs. Reading Women - prediction, team news, lineups

Both Aston Villa Women and Reading Women are heading for a mid-table finish in the Women's Super League this season, and they meet in the West Midlands on Saturday.

This weekend's hosts currently sit 10th in the league, while the Royals have claimed seven more points than their opponents which has placed them in seventh spot.

Match preview

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Carla Ward's side have lost their last three outings, but that could have been very different as they only fell to defeat by a margin of one goal on each occasion.

Last time out, Villa were dealt a late blow at title-chasing Chelsea, who scored a 92nd-minute winner at Kingsmeadow to claim all three points and snatch a point from their visitors.

On Saturday, the home crowd will be hoping that their team can show more promise in the final third after failing to find the back of the net in their last three matches, and having only scored 11 goals in 17 matches during this campaign.

Aston Villa's home record suggests there is not much expectation on the side this weekend, as they have only picked up three points on their own patch, compared to 13 on their travels.

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Reading have not managed to break their run of bad form, with a 2-0 defeat last time out against Manchester City, extending their winless run across all competitions to six games.

Kelly Chambers's side were perhaps lucky that scoreline against the Citizens was not larger, as Man City limited the Royals to one shot while creating 30 chances themselves.

Despite stringing together some poor results, Reading's last four games have come against sides which all occupy one of the top five positions in the league, with this weekend's outing their first match against a team below them in over a month.

Reading sit five points behind the top five, who are all either competing for the league title or for a Champions League spot, meaning that their current run of form shows Chambers where her side need to be if they are to break into that top five next season.

The Royals secured a comfortable 3-0 win in the reverse fixture against Villa, with first-half goals coming from Amalie Eikeland, Rachel Rowe and Natasha Dowie.

Team News

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Chloe Arthur returned to Villa's starting lineup last time out, coming into the side in place of Emily Gielnik, and after a resilient performance against Chelsea, Ward may opt for the same team.

The hosts will operate in a 4-3-3 formation, with Ramona Petzelberger and Alisha Lehmann joining Arthur to make up the front three, while Sarah Mayling and Mayumi Pacheco will look to support attacks from their full-back roles.

Chambers is expected to name the same back four including Lily Woodham, Deanna Cooper, Gemma Evans and Faye Bryson, but could make changes in attack to try and improve their attacking prowess.

Deanne Rose is likely to continue to lead the line for Reading, but she could be joined by Rowe and Natasha Harding after the former did not start their last outing.

Dowie continues to be an injured absentee for the Royals, which does leave them short on options in attack, but Justine Vanhaevermaet can offer more support from midfield.

Aston Villa Women possible starting lineup:

Hampton; Pacheco, Asante, Patten, Mayling; Scott, Allen, Littlejohn; Lehmann, Petzelberger, Arthur

Reading Women possible starting lineup:

Moloney; Woodham, Cooper, Evans, Bryson; Peplow, Troelsgaard, Vanhaevermaet; Harding, Rose, Rowe

We say: Aston Villa Women 1-2 Reading Women

Reading have not been so strong defensively in recent weeks, which is why this weekend could be Villa's opportunity to get themselves on the scoresheet again.

However, with Villa's poor record on home soil, Reading should travel to the West Midlands confident about collecting three points and they are the slight favourites for this encounter.