Carla Ward, manager of Aston Villa, feels her team is eager to demonstrate its progress.

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A huge crowd is expected to watch the Villans kick off in their third season in the Barclays Women’s Super League at Villa Park. The club has invested in their women’s team during the summer, allowing head coach Ward to strengthen her roster with the addition of players like Rachel Daly, who won the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022.

In the press conference before their match against Manchester City, Ward claimed her team is ready to prove themselves in this season’s Barclays Women’s Super League.

Ward emphasised the need of always being prepared. “Every single day, we aim to be ready, we work to grow, and we make sure that we are well-equipped,” she said. It’s never easy to begin the season with a match against Man City, but we’ve made it plain that we want to improve and show that we’re making up ground this week. To start the season, I feel confident in our team because of the incredible depth of experience combined with the impressive amount of youth on the roster.

Even though it will be exciting to play at Villa Park, the buildup is unlike any other, and every game is a must-win for points. Every game from now on will count for points, therefore we can’t afford to treat any of them lightly.

Lucy Bronze, Georgia Stanway, Caroline Weir, and Keira Walsh are just some of the prominent names that Manchester City lost during the summer, but Ward insists that the team has made up for it with a successful offseason recruitment push.

“Manchester City are still powerful,” she proclaimed. “Their squad is incredibly seasoned.” They’ve recruited incredibly well, and their roster is loaded with talent and world-class players. True, they’ve lost some major contributors, but they’ve also added and maintained a few key pieces.

Do I believe they’ll be in the top three? Unquestionably, yes. We are not underestimating them in the slightest because they are still a very good team.