Arsenal Women will look to maintain their unbeaten record under Renee Slegers when they face Aston Villa Women at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
The Gunners are sitting in fourth place in the Women's Super League table, while the visitors will head into the weekend in eighth position.
Match preview
Arsenal Women's interim head coach Renee Slegers on November 12, 2024© Imago
Slegers has sparked an upturn in fortunes since she took over the reins at Arsenal following Jonas Eidevall's sacking in October.
The Arsenal interim boss has overseen six victories in seven competitive games, including four consecutive wins in the lead-up to the recent international break.
The Gunners recorded dominant league victories against Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur on either side of a 4-0 win in their Women's Champions League away clash against Juventus.
Arsenal enjoyed another successful outing against Juventus in their final game before the international window, with Lina Hurtig scoring a late goal at the Emirates Stadium to seal a 1-0 victory and fire the Gunners into the quarter-finals with two games to play.
Slegers is expected to remain in her role as interim boss until the end of the calendar year, meaning she will take charge of league games against Villa and Liverpool as well as European fixtures against Valerenga and Bayern Munich.
The Gunners, who currently sit just one point adrift of the top three, will fancy their chances of claiming another win in Sunday's league fixture, having won seven of their previous eight competitive games against Aston Villa.
Aston Villa Women's Rachel Daly on September 20, 2024© Imago
The visitors are sitting just one point above the relegation spot after winning one, drawing three and losing four of their eight league games this season.
Aston Villa boss Robert de Pauw experienced a disappointing start to his tenure, failing to win any of his first seven WSL matches before his side took on Crystal Palace on November 17.
The Villans looked set to play out a 2-2 draw after Palace's Annabel Blanchard netted an 86th-minute equaliser, however, there proved to be one final twist as substitute Ebony Salmon scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to snatch all three points for her side.
Unfortunately for De Pauw, his first WSL victory was followed by a narrow 1-0 defeat in a Women's League Cup game against Tottenham Hotspur, leaving them in second place in Group E.
The Villans will face another North London club in their first game back from the international break, and while it may be a difficult ask, they have the chance to record consecutive league wins for the first time since December 2023/January 2024.
Arsenal Women Women's Super League form:
Arsenal Women form (all competitions):
Aston Villa Women Women's Super League form:
Aston Villa Women form (all competitions):
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Team News
Arsenal Women's Alessia Russo celebrates scoring on November 16, 2024© Imago
Arsenal midfielder Victoria Pelova remains sidelined with a serious injury, while defender Amanda Ilestedt is currently on maternity leave.
England international Beth Mead may have to settle for a place on the bench, with Slegers likely to name the same lineup that started the 3-0 win over Spurs in Arsenal's most recent WSL outing.
Russo will be looking to continue her impressive run of form after scoring in each of Arsenal's last three league matches.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa are expected to be without Lucy Parker due to an ankle injury, while Rachel Corsie and Jill Baijings are unlikely to be involved due to back and knee issues.
Georgia Mullett has recovered from a hamstring injury and could feature in the matchday squad for the first time this season.
The visitors' squad includes a number of former Arsenal players, including Sara D'Angelo, Anne Patten and Jordan Nobbs, who are all likely to start Sunday's away fixture.
Arsenal Women possible starting lineup:
Van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Walti, Little; Foord, Maanum, Caldentey; Russo
Aston Villa Women possible starting lineup:
D'Angelo; Mayling, Patten, Turner, Tomas; Staniforth, Nobbs; Grant, Daly, Hanson; Nunes
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We say: Arsenal Women 3-1 Aston Villa Women
Arsenal will be full of confidence after claiming six wins in Slegers's seven matches in charge, and we think they will pick up from where they left off before the international break to claim a comfortable victory in Sunday's league fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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