Aston Villa v Tottenham Women Preview: Villa must start turning performances into points

After last week’s home game against Arsenal Women was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, Aston Villa now prepare to host Tottenham Hotspur at the Banks’s Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Their home game against Arsenal has now been rescheduled for a second time and is set to take place on Sunday February 14.

Pressure is mounting on Marcus Bignot’s side as Bristol City’s win over Brighton and Hove Albion last weekend has taken them within two points of Villa at the bottom of the table.

Every point will count and positive results this weekend against Spurs, midweek against Birmingham City and next weekend against the Gunners will only strengthen Villa’s position heading into the international break.

Both Villa and Spurs suffered 4-0 defeats against Chelsea in their last fixtures, so both will be looking to bounce back and regain some momentum as they move into the second half of the campaign.

The last meeting

The two sides met back on December 13th in the reverse fixture, in a game that saw Spurs run out 3-1 winners.

Alex Morgan, Caroline Siems and Rosella Ayane were all on the score-sheet for Rehanne Skinner’s side, whereas Nadine Hanssen netted Villa’s only goal of the day.

The January transfer window has seen some significant changes to both squads, as Spurs’ marquee signing, Alex Morgan, returned to the USA and the Villans welcomed Japanese international, Mana Iwabuchi,to Birmingham, who has proven to be a crucial signing since her debut against Manchester City last month.

The fight for survival heats up

Villa will also be keeping a close eye on Sunday’s game between West Ham United and Bristol City Women as one of or even both of their relegation rivals will drop points this weekend.

Bignot will want to see an improved performance from his side’s defeat to Chelsea as a positive result will be the aim, despite Spurs being a mid-table side.

Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images

The opening five minutes will be key

Conceding early has become a common occurrence for Villa as they’ve gone behind in the early stages of their last three games.

Manchester City scored the first of their seven goals within two minutes last month, Reading took the lead within three minutes in the 2-2 draw and Chelsea’s Sam Kerr gave the Blues an advantage also on three minute mark last time out.

Speaking on Kerr’s goal last week, Bignot said: “It’s something we have to look at and address, it was a disappointing goal to concede.”

“We have to manage momentum, I think it just came from nowhere, we weren’t under pressure and there wasn’t a threat from the cross, but the ball was headed back into a dangerous area which it shouldn’t have been. “

The game will be shown live on the FA Player with kick-off at 12:30 GMT on Saturday February 6th.