Aston Villa head coach Carla Ward says that her side will face a really good Liverpool team at Prenton Park on Sunday.
The Villans travel to Merseyside seeking their first points of the new season. Opponents Liverpool got their season off to the best possible start last weekend as they stunned Arsenal with a 1-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium.
Liverpool’s last four Barclays Women’s Super League fixtures have seen them face Manchester City, Aston Villa, Manchester United and Arsenal. Despite that tough sequence, The Reds have collected seven points. When speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s fixture, Aston Villa boss Ward acknowledged the fact that Liverpool are a side in very good form.
“I said it towards the end of last season, I don’t think Beardy (Matt Beard) quite got the credit that he deserved,” Ward said. “I think he has done a really good job with them.
“If you have a look at their competitive run, they were in a good vein of form towards the end of last season. They picked up some big results and they obviously started the season with that huge win at the Emirates.
“They’re going to be a very good side. Beardy is a top coach and a top man and I think he will definitely have them playing the right way. It’s going to be tough and we are under no illusions; the message has been loud and clear that we are going up against a top side.”
Aston Villa started the new season with an unlucky 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United. The Villans showed plenty of quality and courage in that match but it was The Red Devils who took the three points. Ward said that the reaction to that defeat has been good and that there is lots to be positive about.
She said “The reaction has been really good. WSL games sometimes come thick and fast, so it is an opportunity to get back out there.
“There was a massive part of last week that we were really happy with. When it was 11 v 11, I can’t say that Manchester United broke us down too many times.
“It has to be the same attitude and the same mindset and we have to take the positives from last week into this week.”
Aston Villa’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Liverpool kicks-off at 6.45pm on Sunday evening.
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