Villa sit top of the Women’s Championship table and recently appointed former England international Eniola Aluko as their sporting director, and Powell spoke of their desire to reach the highest level of the women’s game.
She said, “They have big ambitions, and you can see that with what’s happened there.
“They’re doing very well in the league and are favourites to get promoted. I think it will be an even match and a close contest.
“They’ve invested quite heavily and just recruited Eniola, so I’m really pleased for her. I keep in touch with Eni, who said she always wanted to be a sporting director.
“A lot of credit goes to her because it’s something she’s always wanted to do. It will be interesting to see what follows.”
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The Albion manager assessed Villa’s strengths as a team and says their impressive display in a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea in the Continental League Cup means they cannot be underestimated.
“They’ve got some pace at the back and upfront too. They try to play out from the back with a good passing style of football.
“They did that against Chelsea, who are a very good side. You’d almost expect them to panic or rush things, but they tried to play.
“As of today, it’s held them in good stead because they’re top of the league.”
Powell spoke about the proud history involved in the Women’s FA Cup and the prestige that’s involved in having a lengthy run in the competition.
“The history of the cup speaks for itself. Everybody wants to do well in any competition, whether it’s the league, Continental Cup or FA Cup. But the history behind the Women’s FA Cup is second to none.
“It’s a competition that every player loves to be involved in, and we want to go as far as possible.”