Aston Villa host Chelsea at Bescot Stadium in the concluding semi-final of 2022-23 Women’s FA Cup.
Victory would see Villa reach the Women’s FA Cup Final for the first time in their history, whilst Chelsea are chasing a third consecutive appearance in the Final and seventh overall appearance in the showpiece event.
Team News
Sarah Mayling could return for Aston Villa after missing their last two matches with an unspecified injury.
Rachel Corsie (knee) is unlikely to feature but Remi Allen, Simone Magill (both ACL), Natasha Harding (quad), Meaghan Sargent (back) and Emily Gielnik (ankle) remain absent.
Chelsea will be without defender, Kadeisha Buchanan after she returned early from international duty with an unspecified injury.
Millie Bright, Katerina Svitkova, Fran Kirby (both knee) and Pernille Harder (hamstring) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Aston Villa host Chelsea at Bescot Stadium on Sunday 16 April at 2:15pm BST, live on BBC One in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Aston Villa are winless in two previous Women’s FA Cup meetings against Chelsea (L2), losing 6-0 away in April 2016 then 3-1 at home in January 2022.
- Chelsea won 3-1 in their only previous away Women’s FA Cup visit to Villa in January 2022, in the Fourth Round en-route to defending their title from the previous season.
- Villa have conceded three goals in each of their two meetings against Chelsea this season, albeit in Women’s Super League (WSL).
- Rachel Daly has scored six goals in three FA Cup appearances for Villa this season (W3), of which her sixth goal came in their extra-time victory over Manchester City in the Quarter-Finals.
- Four of Chelsea’s eight FA Cup goals this season were scored by Sam Kerr, whilst Sophie Ingle, Jess Carter, Maren Mjelde and Guro Reiten have scored one goal apiece.
Prediction
Having been hammered 3-0 by Chelsea a fortnight ago in their WSL clash, Aston Villa simply need to reset and produce their best quality – which has seen them lose just twice in 2023, especially with experienced stars like Daly and Alisha Lehmann in their ranks.
Chelsea meanwhile can’t be understimated because despite missing Buchanan and Bright in central defence plus Kirby and Harder up top, they do have the firepower of Sam Kerr and Lauren James plus Guro Reiten in midfield who can lead their attack.
We however have seen that Chelsea can drop motivation at times amidst their rich experience of success like they did in the League Cup Final against Arsenal last month, which is something that Villa should look to capitalise upon if they can get on the front foot at any stage of this match.
For Villa, this game feels like a free hit as underdogs especially with Daly in hot form up front but I do believe that Chelsea should have too much if they’re at their best, despite missing some key players.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea
Result: Aston Villa 0-1 Chelsea