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

Chelsea Women will resume their Women's Champions League qualification bid when they take on Aston Villa Women at Kingsmeadow on Sunday.

The Blues currently occupy third spot in the Women's Super League table, while the visitors are in eighth position. 

Match preview

After winning six consecutive WSL titles, Chelsea are on the brink of handing their crown over to leaders Manchester City.

Rather than concerning themselves with a title race, the Blues are competing with Manchester United and Arsenal for the final two top-three spots in the battle for Women's Champions League qualification.

Chelsea slipped to third spot after being held to a 1-1 draw by London City Lionesses last weekend, leaving them a point adrift of Man United and just two points better off than an Arsenal side that have two games in hand.

The Blues then experienced a disappointing outing against the Gunners in Wednesday's UWCL quarter-final clash at the Emirates Stadium, where Lauren James's spectacular long-range strike proved to be the visitors' only goal in a 3-1 defeat.

As a result, Chelsea will have it all to do in Wednesday's return leg at Stamford Bridge if they are to keep their hopes alive of winning the UWCL for the very first time.

But first, Sonia Bompastor's side will look to record a fourth consecutive home win in Sunday's clash with Aston Villa - a team they beat 3-1 in September's reverse fixture.

© Imago / Sports Press Photo

Meanwhile, Villa will head into the weekend in eighth spot after winning five, drawing five and losing eight of their 18 league games this season. 

The Villans are just behind London City and Everton on goal difference, meaning they are still in with a chance of repeating last season's sixth-place finish.

However, if they are to achieve that goal, they may have to take something from a couple of tricky fixtures against Chelsea and Arsenal, before they wrap up the campaign with more winnable games against West Ham United and London City.

They will at least travel to Kingsmeadow with renewed belief after taking four points from their last two matches, including a commendable goalless draw against Man City.

Natalia Arroyo's side then came from behind to claim a narrow 2-1 victory over basement side Leicester City, representing the club's first victory since beating Brighton at home in January and their first away victory since November.

They could now record back-to-back league wins for the first time this season, although that will be difficult for a club that have lost all 11 of their previous WSL matches against Chelsea. 

Chelsea Women Women's Super League form:

Chelsea Women form (all competitions):

Aston Villa Women Women's Super League form:

Team News

© Imago / Focus Images

Chelsea defender Nathalie Bjorn will miss the rest of the season after she suffered just moments into her comeback in the League Cup final earlier this month. 

The Sweden international is joined on the sidelines by Mayra Ramirez, Catarina Macario, Niamh Charles and Millie Bright.

Forward Aggie Beever-Jones is at risk of missing a second consecutive game after picking up an injury last weekend. 

In positive news, the Australian duo of Ellie Carpenter and Sam Kerr are available for selection after returning from the Asian Cup.

Meanwhile, Villa remain without the services of Jill Baijings, Paula Tomas, Georgia Mullett, Gabi Nunes and Rachel Daly.

Former Liverpool midfielder Missy Bo Kearns is also unavailable for selection after sharing the news of her pregnancy earlier this month. 

Japan international Maja Hijikata is set to feature in the matchday squad following her recent return from the Asian Cup in Australia.

Chelsea Women possible starting lineup:

Hampton; Carpenter, Girma, Buurman, Baltimore; Rytting Kaneryd, Potter, Kaptein, Nusken, Thompson; Kerr

Aston Villa Women possible starting lineup:

Roebuck; Wilms, Patten, Parker, Nighswonger; Jean-Francois, Taylor; Grant, Kendall, Maritz; Hanson

We say: Chelsea Women 3-1 Aston Villa Women

Chelsea will have one eye on their second leg against Arsenal, but they must still complete the job at hand in Sunday's league clash if they are to boost their hopes of a top-three finish.

We believe the reigning WSL champions will rise to the challenge and showcase their class in a relatively comfortable win. 

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.