The Barclays Women’s Super League is back in action this Friday evening, as all kicks off with Leicester City hosting Aston Villa at Pirelli Stadium.

Aston Villa manager Carla Ward previewed the upcoming challenge in an official club press conference, highlighting how a victory on the road arrives as imperative for her side as they head into the new year- “We have to win it, that’s the reality”.

The Villans faced elimination from the Adobe Women’s FA Cup last weekend, as Ward’s side admitted harsh defeat at the hands of Brian Sørensen’s Everton side. The 3-0 defeat on home turf added a further blow to Ward’s sails, an undesirable start to what is hopeful to be a retributive calendar year for Aston Villa.

Ward spoke in regards to the loss, reflecting with “I think the biggest thing for us is getting consistency, because we can’t afford to have really good days, and then have really bad days like that. We have to have that level of consistency, and that’s in the manner of which we apply ourselves.”

Attention is now turned to the upcoming clash with Leicester City, as the Villans prepare to head on the road to face the foxes at Pirelli Stadium. The fixture arrives as a detrimental clash for Aston Villa, having only picked up three victories in their league campaign thus far. The situation arrives at the front door of Willie Kirk in similar packaging, a single-point being the only degree of separation between the two sides heading into Friday’s clash.

“They’ll [Leicester City] feel like it’s a must-win as well, which puts even more pressure on it. It’s two teams that have to go out there and win, and two teams that will no doubt do everything they can to try and win the game.”

Despite what appears to arrive as a dark cloud plaguing the skies of Birmingham, a victory in Friday’s league fixture may just turn the tables on what has been a Barclays WSL season of ebbs and flows.

“I think it’s an interesting one because, you win at the weekend, results go your way, and all of a sudden you’re in seventh and everyone’s probably talking about it in a different way. You lose, and you’re in a relegation scrap- that’s the reality.

It’s been a very strange WSL season on a whole, we’re disappointed with our first-half of the season but we’ve now got an opportunity to finish strong and that has to be the mindset, that has to be the mentality. That starts with the mindset that we have to go and try and win every game in front of us.”

It’s certain that Ward’s side will enter Friday’s fixture with desperate hunger- “The girls will be ready to get out there [on] Friday, and make sure we deliver for the fans.”

The Barclays Women’s Super League kicks off again at 7pm this Friday evening, as Leicester City host Aston Villa at Pirelli Stadium.

WHERE TO WATCH: Fans will be able to stream the match on The FA Player.