Villa team news: Mpome and Vanegas to miss WSL opener

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Albion begin their 2025/26 WSL campaign on Sunday.

Charlie Hanson

2025-09-04T12:40+01:00

Maelys Mpome will not be in the squad to face Villa on Sunday. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Our women's team begin their WSL season on Sunday as they welcome Aston Villa to Broadfield Stadium, kick-off 12pm.

Supporters can still get their hands on tickets here.

Team news

Dario Vidosic confirmed he will be without three of his players for the match, including two of his new signings.

Manuela Vanegas joined us during the summer. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

“We still have a couple that haven't trained with us yet which is a little bit frustrating. Manuela [Vanegas] and Maelys [Mpome] are two new signings that unfortunately are still in the rehab process. This weekend is a bit too early for them. We've also got Aisha [Masaka] out.

“The rest we've been quite fortunate with so far, everyone's been ok. I've still got some selection headaches to make today and over the next few days. Everyone's pushing, everyone's raring to go and we'll still be very strong on Sunday.

Dario’s pre-match thoughts

On facing Villa, "Last season we had two really, really good games. The first one at Broadfield came early in the season, very similar to this weekend. We know with the challenge that we face with Aston Villa - they are very dangerous upfront and very aggressive without the ball. They're quite direct.

"we know we need to be completely focused, but we want to establish ourselves, get our rhythm going and play our football as well."

Villa’s last line-up

Your Villans to take on 1. FC Union Berlin ✊ pic.twitter.com/g3kSWYOJ7P
— Aston Villa Women (@AVWFCOfficial) August 30, 2025

Villa rounded off their pre-season with a 1-0 win over Union Berlin on Saturday. Rachel Daly scored the only goal of the game, smashing home after 35 minutes.

Match officials