This weekend sees the return of Women’s Football Weekend and with it, the first-ever Second City derby in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League, as Aston Villa host local rivals Birmingham City at Villa Park.
The last time the two sides met was in a FA Women’s Continental Tyres Cup fixture back in 2018, so this afternoon’s derby is likely to be a brand new test, with both teams in markedly different situations to where they were back then.
Speaking to FA Women’s Super League Full-Time in her pre-match press conference, Aston Villa manager Gemma Davies echoed this sentiment and emphasised the high levels of respect between the two West Midlands clubs, telling us “I think it’s going to be competitive and evenly matched, there’s going to be a lot of emotion and a lot of passion involved.
“Hopefully, it’s going to be a super competitive 90 minutes that’s going to be exciting for those that will be watching.
Despite a tough start to their inaugural Barclays FA Women’s Super League season, The Villains have managed to bounce back in recent weeks, recording three wins on the bounce in all competitions, including their first league victory, beating Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 last weekend. This is a result that should give them confidence going into this weekend, something Davies also highlighted.
Davies added “Momentum is everything in football and trying to build that momentum is important to any success moving forward, and the last seven days and the break that we’ve had has really helped us to build momentum going into this fixture, with three wins on our belt, three clean sheets all of which are super important to us.”
This afternoon’s match will be Aston Villa’s third game in less than a week, following their 9-0 trouncing of Coventry United on Tuesday, but Davies is hopeful of a clean bill of health, and believes the tight turnaround may have actually worked in her side’s favour.
“I think it’s probably done the group a favour really that the focus has been split across the week” she said. “Obviously going into this type of fixture naturally there’s going to be some nerves, given the nature of it, but the general feeling at the moment is confidence.”
The magnitude of the fixture is certainly not lost on Davies’ side, and the fact that they get to play at Villa Park makes it all the more special, especially given the number of Villa fans within the squad and staff, Davies being one of them herself.
“In regards to it being a Second City derby and the historic nature around the fixture, of course the players are very aware of what the fixture means to the fanbase, to the club and the city” Davies added.
“For us, it’s important that we go into the game as if it is just another game, but we also have a lot of Villa fans [in the team], myself included, so I think playing at Villa Park never gets old, it’s something that you always look forward to and it’s special to play on that pitch and be in the technical area, so there’s certainly a sense of pride for the group to be back at Villa Park.”
Aston Villa’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture against Birmingham City kicks-off at 2:30pm and will be available to watch live on the FA Player and Villa TV.
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