Oxford United travel to Sutton Coldfield on Sunday, as they take on mid-table Aston Villa in the final round of games before the mid-season break.
The reverse fixture in April saw the Lady Villains taking all three points back to the Midlands after a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Jade Richards and Olivia Fergusson.
Following a brief dip in form, Villa eased past London Bees last time out to seal their first home win of the season, and are now unbeaten in their last two. Sunday’s opponents trail them by two points and two places – lying 7th in the table.
As Villa were enjoying a first home win in their last game, Oxford suffered a home defeat in theirs, at the hands of Everton. A penalty deep into stoppage time cruelly ending United’s three game unbeaten run.
Three points for Oxford on Sunday would see them climb into the top half of the table above Villa, however the last four meetings between these two sides have all resulted in victory for the claret and blues. U’s manager Les Taylor is planning for a change in fortune when they meet again on Sunday.
“Villa are a bit of a bogey side for us,” he admitted. “We’ve played them several times in the last 18 months and every time they’ve won.
“I would say three times out of those four we’ve been the better team, so we owe Villa one. We’ll try and get our game plan ready for Sunday, keep our fingers crossed that the ball runs for us and hopefully get a result.”
Taylor also acknowledged that a win on Sunday would provide a psychological boost for his side: “They’re not far from us in the table, they’re only two points ahead, and if we can get a result at Villa it just sets us up for the break.
“We’ll go into the break with more points than we had this time last year and hopefully a bit of momentum and belief in ourselves.”
