The Blues entered the international break having secured a 3-0 victory away to Villa in the Women’s Super League. Jelena Cankovic, Guro Reiten and a 50th Barclays WSL goal for Sam Kerr secured three points which saw us move into second place, one point behind leaders Manchester United.

As the players return from international duty, we are competing in three competitions with an FA Cup semi-final encounter first on the agenda. We are the current holders of the competition and will be aiming to book our place in the showpiece final at Wembley in May with a win on Sunday.

However, we travel to an Aston Villa side who have enjoyed a successful season to date. In the FA Cup, Carla Ward’s team have scored 14 goals and conceded just two on the road to the semi-finals where they will pose a stern test for the Blues.

When and where?

We travel to Aston Villa in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-finals this Sunday 16 April, with kick-off scheduled for 2.15pm (UK time) at the Poundland Bescot Stadium.

How to follow

As always, you can follow the game via Chelsea Women’s social media channels. There will be live commentary on our Twitter page and regular updates on Facebook and Instagram. Simply search ‘ChelseaFCW’ on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Supporters who cannot attend will be able to watch the match which has been selected for live broadcast on BBC One.

The form

Emma Hayes’ side entered the FA Cup at the fourth round of the competition where we overcame fellow WSL outfit Liverpool 3-2 in an entertaining affair at Kingsmeadow in January. Kerr netted a stunning hat-trick against stubborn opposition as we progressed to the fifth round of the competition.

For the second round running, we were pitted against WSL opposition at Kingsmeadow with Arsenal the visitors at the end of February. Kerr and Sophie Ingle netted a goal in each half to book our place in the quarter-finals.

Here, we travelled to another WSL opponent in the shape of Reading during a hectic fixture schedule in March. Goals from Jess Carter, Maren Mjelde and Reiten did the damage and sealed our spot in the last four where Villa stand in our way of a trip to Wembley next month.

Aston Villa began their FA Cup campaign at the fourth round of the competition, where they recorded a resounding 11-0 victory over AFC Fylde to secure their passage into the fifth round where they were drawn away to West Ham United.

They were held to a 1-1 draw in east London but came out on top with a 7-6 penalty shoot-out victory which sent them to the quarter-finals, where they overcame Manchester City 2-1 after extra time to setup our semi-final meeting this Sunday.

Aston Villa Women vs Chelsea Women recent head-to-head record

Our previous league meeting with Aston Villa came only a fortnight ago where we secured a 3-0 victory at the Poundland Bescot Stadium. Cankovic, Reiten and Kerr were on the scoresheet as we recorded an important three points and clean sheet to bring back to London.

In the reverse fixture at Kingsmeadow last October, we ran out 3-1 winners to extend our winning streak to seven matches in all competitions. Lauren James was the star of the show on the day and opened the scoring before Rachel Daly levelled for the visitors before half-time.

With calm and composure shown during the break, it took just two minutes after the restart for James to bag her brace which restored our advantage, before Kerr was on target to wrap up the three points.

Notice for supporters attending Aston Villa

We recognise many supporters will want to try to get autographs and pictures at the end of the match. We ask you to stay in your place until the final whistle and be mindful of entry and exit routes so as not to disrupt the experience for other supporters around you.

Next up for the Blues

Our eagerly awaited UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final first leg encounter against Barcelona takes place at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 22 April, with kick-off at 12.30pm (UK time)

Tickets for the first leg are on sale now with prices starting at £15 for adults and £8 for juniors and seniors, click here to secure your seat!