West Ham midfielder Emma Snerle has urged her side to be 'ruthless' against Aston Villa in their Women's Super League clash this weekend.
The Hammers host the Midlands club at the Chigwell Construction Stadium on Sunday and Paul Konchesky will hope his side can bounce back after a run of disappointing results. Since their victory over Wolves in the FA Cup in January, West Ham haven't won a game.
They have, however, recorded a 0-0 draw against title contenders Arsenal but were heavily beaten 7-0 by Chelsea in the Conti Cup last month. Last time out against Reading, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat.
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Next up is Villa, a team West Ham have faced on two occasions already this season and Snerle believes they need to take their opportunities when they come.
“(Villa) have a really good midfield,” she told whufc.com. “And most of their opportunities come through the midfield (in the recent meeting in the FA Cup) so I think we have adapted the way we play, and we are more aware of where they are good and also where they are weak so we can punish them.
“We’ve had a few meetings about them this week and I think we are ready for them. We are playing against big teams and big names but we are here to get a result.
“I think the main thing for us is to be ruthless in our own box and their box. Against Reading, we had a lot of opportunities, but we didn’t score – and we need to be ruthless.”
The Hammers faced Villa only a matter of weeks ago in the FA Cup and a strike from Rachel Daly in the second-half was cancelled out by a stoppage-time equaliser from Dagny Brynjarsdottir.
However, it was the visitors who emerged victorious following a penalty shootout and progressed to the quarter-finals. Earlier in the campaign, the WSL meeting in Walsall ended in a narrow 2-1 win for Konchesky's side but was marred by scenes close to full-time involving Hawa Cissoko and Villa's Sarah Mayling.
The concern for West Ham on this occasion is Brynjarsdottir remains a doubt after she missed out against Reading last week through illness. Elsewhere, Jess Ziu and Amber Tysiak continue their recovery from injury.
Kick-off on Sunday is at 3pm and supporters can stream the action live on the FA Player.
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