FAWSL 2020/2021: Aston Villa Women v Manchester City Women

The WSL roared back to life this weekend, following the curtailing of last season back in March. The 2020/2021 season will also see plenty of new names make their mark in England. It also saw a club make their debut: Aston Villa Women, who replaced relegated Liverpool Women. This tactical analysis looks at Aston Villa’s first game in the league, where they entertained Manchester City Women at Villa Park. We will examine Aston Villa’s attacking and defensive tactics, as well as seeing how Manchester City’s attack has been set up under their new head coach, Gareth Taylor.

Lineups

Aston Villa Women started with a 4-3-3 formation, naming several of their new signings in the starting XI, with German left-back Caroline Siems and midfielder Ramona Petzelberger, Scotland and former Birmingham City Women midfielder Chloe Arthur, Portugal forward Diana Silva, and Denmark striker Stine Larsen all making their debuts. One of their most important players last season, Emma Follis, who has been handed the number seven shirt this season, joined Larsen and Silva in a front three setup, whilst another German, midfielder Marisa Ewers, took over the captaincy, following the release of previous captain Kerri Welsh over the summer.

Manchester City Women also began with a 4-3-3, but only had two debutants, with USA midfielder Sam Mewis and former Everton Women forward Chloe Kelly handed starts. 19-year-old right-back Esme Morgan, who spent last season on loan at Everton, also started after impressing in the Community Shield loss to Chelsea Women last weekend. Canada forward Janine Beckie, who spent last season playing at right-back, started in a more attacking role. England’s Georgia Stanway continued in the centre forward role that she played in last weekend at Wembley Stadium.