Why are Aston Villa Women struggling in WSL? Kirsty Hanson, Kenza Dali absences and tough fixtures

Absences of Kirsty Hanson and Kenza Dali have been key to Aston Villa's winless start; Tough fixture list also a factor — but there is hope on the horizon; Watch Aston Villa vs Chelsea live on Sky Sports Premier League from 12pm on Saturday; kick-off 12.30pm

Senior football journalist

Tuesday 31 October 2023 19:34, UK

“I don’t stop working 24/7 and I will turn over every stone to try and work out how to move this forward,” said Aston Villa manager Carla Ward after her team lost a fourth successive Women's Super League game against Tottenham.

While Ward has faced her struggles in her managerial career, she is currently facing a strange conundrum — why has a team who finished fifth in the WSL last season not yet registered any points in the 2023/24 campaign?

Aston Villa were the surprise package of the 2022/23 campaign. After finishing tenth and ninth in the previous two campaigns, while relegation was not on the cards, another mid-table finish was largely expected.

One of the key reasons behind their success last term was the masterstroke of playing Rachel Daly as a centre forward. The England international ended the season with the WSL Golden Boot, having scored 22 goals, with Ward fostering a clear togetherness among the squad.

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While she remains in that role this season, already scoring twice, Aston Villa have not managed to hit the same highs yet in this campaign.

In a league that consists of only 22 games and almost a fifth of that already played, the form is somewhat alarming, but there is a combination of factors as to why. And the better news — they are fixable in the near future.

Perhaps the most obvious reason is Aston Villa have missed two of their