Aston Villa v West Ham United women’s team
Barclays Women’s Super League, Villa Park, Sunday 15 December 2024, 2pm GMT
Full of confidence after three successive victories, West Ham United women’s team are preparing for their final match of the year, a trip to Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Hammers are flying high after they secured their spot in the quarter-finals of the Women’s League Cup on Wednesday, which followed Sunday’s 5-2 success over Crystal Palace to move them up to eighth in the Barclays Women’s Super League table.
With the potential to go into the Christmas break in the top half of the standings, Rehanne Skinner’s side go to Villa Park targeting another three points as they look to better their away record this term.
The Irons boss made it clear after the win over the Saints that she wants to see improvements away from home - here’s everything you need to know about Sunday’s 2024 finale.
Tickets
Tickets are available to purchase online HERE, priced at £14.50 for Adults and £11 for Children.
How To Follow…
The WSL continues to be more accessible to supporters from across the globe than ever before during 2024/25, with coverage of the league moving from The FA Player to YouTube!
Matches not picked for broadcast will be shown live on the online video sharing platform, which can be viewed worldwide, excluding Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
Tune in from 2pm to watch all of the action from Villa Park!
Alternatively, you can also keep up-to-date across our social media channels, while highlights and exclusive reaction will follow after the final whistle on whufc.com.
Travel…
Villa Park is approximately just over two miles from Birmingham city centre and is easily accessible from all major road routes, motorway networks and public transport.
The stadium is served by train with two train stations: Witton, a five-minute walk to Villa Park, and Aston, a 15-minute walk. Both stations offer a direct connection to Birmingham New Street with short journey times.
Opposition...
It’s been a dramatic week at Aston Villa, with former manager Robert de Pauw leaving the club on Wednesday following his side’s 4-0 defeat at Arsenal at the weekend - which left the Villans ninth in the WSL standings.
Looking for an upturn in form while the club search for a new boss, assistant head coach Shaun Goater is set to be in the dugout this weekend as he looks to help Villa record their second league victory of the campaign.
His stint in charge of Villa got off to the perfect start on Wednesday night when his side ran out 4-1 winners at home to Charlton Athletic in the Women’s League Cup. But the victory was not enough to send the hosts through to the quarter-finals with Tottenham Hotspur topping Group E with three wins from three matches.
Villa’s only win of their league campaign came at home to Crystal Palace last month when they clinched a 3-2 success thanks to a second-half stoppage-time strike from Ebony Salmon. Also on target that afternoon was former England international Rachel Daly, who will be looking to record her fifth league goal of the campaign on Sunday following her 30 goals across the past two WSL seasons.
Eight new faces arrived at Villa Park in the summer, including England international Katie Robinson, who joined on a free transfer from divisional rivals Brighton & Hove Albion. Meanwhile, Jill Baijings arrived from Bayern Munich on loan after helping the German side retain the Frauen-Bundesliga title last term, and experienced Canada international Sabrina D'Angelo joined from Arsenal.
Departing the Midlands outfit permanently were four players; Alisha Lehmann, Olivia McLaughlin, Daphne van Domselaar and Simone Magill, while Freya Gregory joined Southampton on loan.
Previous Meetings…
Five of the ten meetings between the two sides have ended in draws, but the Hammers boast an unbeaten record away at Aston Villa.
Last term at Villa Park, Shannon Cooke scored a 95th-minute equaliser to rescue a point for the Irons, while West Ham won the prior two trips to Villa via 2-1 scorelines.
However, despite the Hammers’ tremendous away record, Villa are unbeaten against West Ham in the last four meetings across all competitions.
