London Bees vs. Oxford Women (2pm KO)
London Bees recorded their first league victory of the campaign in their final match before the summer break and will look to add another three points to their tally on Sunday when they host Oxford United Women.
The two sides previously met back in May where Oxford came away 2-1 victors after two early first half goals. However, their fortunes changed following the win, and in their last two outings before the World Cup they only picked up one point leaving them 7th in the table and just two places above this weekend’s opponents.
United will be hopeful to get their season back on track by putting a fair few past the Bees who currently boast the worst defensive record in the league having conceded 27 goals.
Aston Villa vs. Millwall Lionesses (2pm KO)
Sitting just 3 points off third place, Aston Villa will look to climb up the league in the second half of the season, starting with victory over Millwall Lionesses who sit just below them in the table in 6th.
Millwall have been the masters of the stalemate in their previous encounters, drawing 5 of their first 9 matches. Their run of draws and two victories over Durham and Watford saw the London side go 5 games unbeaten but their form had slipped going in to the international break, losing their last two league matches on the bounce against promotion candidates Reading and struggling London Bees.
Their opponents, on the other hand, have picked up 7 points out of a possible 9 in their last three outings, but have experienced similar inconsistent fates against the top and bottom teams in the league narrowly losing to league leaders Doncaster Rovers Belles but then falling to defeat against bottom of the table Watford.
On Sunday the Lady Villains will look to top scorers Olivia Fergusson and Katie Wilkinson to penetrate the Millwall defence who have so far this season conceded just 12 goals – a feat only bettered by the league’s top two teams and fourth placed Everton. The Villa front two however have 11 goals between them in all competitions.
