‘They can be very dangerous’ – London City Lionesses boss Maestre wary of out of form Aston Villa | OneFootball

London City Lionesses head coach Eder Maestre is not writing-off this weekend’s opponents Aston Villa despite their poor recent form.

The Pride play host to The Villans at The Copperjax Community Stadium in their final Barclays Women’s Super League fixture of the season.

Aston Villa have won just one of their last 10 games in all competitions but London City Lionesses boss Maestre still sees The Villans as a real threat.

“They are creating chances but it’s about taking them and having a bit of luck,” Maestre said when discussing Aston Villa’s form in the pre-match press conference. “They’ve been very inconsistent in some games. They can go and get a bad result against Tottenham and then get a good result against Manchester City a few days later. 

“We have to take this into consideration because they can be very dangerous. They have the second-top scorer in the league and have very fast players in the wide areas, so they can create chances against any team. 

“It’s about the margins. It’s a tough league where everyone can beat everyone. It’s the best competition in the world and the most exciting to see.”

This weekend’s game sees Maestre go up against former colleague Natalia Arroyo. The pair previously worked together at Real Sociedad and Maestre is looking forward to going head-to-head with his fellow Spaniard.

He said “Natalia has been a very important person in my life because I spent one of the best years in my professional career with her. The three years with her were amazing.

“She is a friend and I’m very excited to face her. I really appreciate all of the things she has shared with me and she put me in a good place to get my contact with Tenerife. I will always be very appreciative and would like to thank her.”

Maestre’s first half-season at London City Lionesses is almost complete. While there is work to do, he believes that his philosophy is reflected within the team.

He said “It’s been a rollercoaster. The first few weeks were difficult because of the language barrier. It was difficult to communicate and build links that are important.

“We have moved forward fast to create connections in footballing terms and you can see the ideas that I have brought through the games. I maybe wanted to see a little bit more consistency but we have closed the margins with the top teams and we have been able to get a good win against Leicester.

“There have been a lot of learnings and challenges but I am very pleased with things since I arrived here.”

London City Lionesses’ Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Aston Villa kicks-off at 1pm on Saturday afternoon. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.