Preview: West Ham United Women vs. Aston Villa Women - prediction, team news, lineups

West Ham United Women will attempt to end a four-game winless run when they face Aston Villa Women at the Chigwell Construction Stadium on Sunday.

As for the visitors, they will be looking to record a second straight victory after picking up their first points of the Women's Super League season last weekend.

Match preview

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Rehanne Skinner has struggled for victories in her first season as West Ham boss, having seen her side win just two of their seven competitive matches (D1, L4), with only one of those victories taking place in the WSL.

Since beating Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 in an away meeting on October 8, the Hammers have gone on to pick up just one point from their next four league games.

After losing to Chelsea and drawing with Liverpool, West Ham began November with a disappointing 3-2 defeat to newly-promoted Bristol City.

They experienced another poor result last weekend, as they fell to a demoralising 5-0 loss to Manchester United, which represented their heaviest WSL defeat since being thumped 9-1 by Arsenal in September 2020.

With just one point separating them from the one and only relegation place, the Hammers will be desperate to claim maximum points on Sunday, but their home form suggests that could prove difficult, having failed to win any of their last nine home league matches (D4, L5).

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After Aston Villa finished in the top half last season, it was surprising to see the Villans make a poor start to the 2023-24 campaign.

They suffered five consecutive defeats before they finally instilled some confidence with a 5-0 victory against second-tier Sheffield United in the League Cup group stage.

The Villans used that result as a springboard to claim their first WSL win of the season with a 2-0 away victory over Bristol City last weekend.

That contest looked to be heading towards a goalless draw, until a Megan Connolly own goal and an Ebony Salmon strike helped Aston Villa claim all three points, which moved them off the bottom of the table and above the Robins on goal difference.

They will now turn their attention to Sunday's contest, where they will attempt to replicate the 2-1 win that they recorded in their most recent away meeting with West Ham in March.

Team News

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West Ham are unable to call upon long-term absentee Emma Snerle, who is still yet to make an appearance this season.

They also have doubts over the availability of Honoka Hayashi and Viviane Asseyi after the pair were forced off in the first half last weekend.

Having scored three times in six league appearances, Riko Ueki will look to add to her tally when she leads the line on Sunday.

The Villans, meanwhile, are still without the services of Lucy Parker, who is still a couple of weeks away from returning to full fitness.

Simone Magill has missed the last three matches through injury, but she could be fit enough to take her place on the bench for Sunday's contest.

Aston Villa boss Carla Ward may be tempted to make a couple of changes, with Jordan Nobbs and Salmon in contention to start.

West Ham United Women possible starting lineup:

Arnold; Smith, Cissoko, Tysiak; Denton, Shimizu, Stringer, Evans; Harries, Atkinson, Ueki

Aston Villa Women possible starting lineup:

Van Domselaar; Mayling, Patten, Turner, Pacheco; Blindkilde, Nobbs, Dali; Salmon, Hanson, Daly

We say: West Ham United Women 1-3 Aston Villa Women

While Aston Villa may be a point behind West Ham, they would have received a huge confidence boost from last Sunday's victory over Bristol City, and we think that they will build upon that result by claiming all three points against the Hammers.

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