Aston Villa made a strong start to their Women's Super League campaign, winning four of their nine matches.

But manager Carla Ward still wants to see her side improve on the performances they showed before the break.

“We want to be better every day, we want to drive standards every day and we want to win as many football matches as possible,” she said. “We want to keep improving.

“We are not going to make a statement that we want to finish really high (in the table) but we want to improve every day and we want to make sure that we finish as high as possible.

"By doing things the right way and by playing a brand of football that we believe in, it shows that Aston Villa Football Club are progressing, that is the most important bit."

While some clubs were left kicking their heels by a month off, Tottenham would have been glad to put the end of 2022 behind them after slumping to four successive WSL defeats.

They were beaten 3-0 at home by Everton on December 14, the final WSL game before Christmas, in what was a worrying coda to the calendar year for Rehanne Skinner's side.

Skinner said: "You don't get to the top of the league overnight, we are realistic that it takes clubs time to get to that point. We have added quality to the team, it hasn't gelled as we'd like but we have to put in time and effort. With time you get quality and consistent performances.

"We let ourselves down in the first part of several games, we have got to be more resilient when the game starts, keep ourselves in games for longer. Some of our possession football was outstanding and we couldn't reap the rewards."

It'll be interesting to see how Spurs cope without versatile defender Ashleigh Neville today after she received a red card in her side's final WSL game before the break.

She's played a big hand in her side's efforts in front of goal this season - scoring three and assisting a further two.

Chioma Ubogagu is her replacement this afternoon.

Image source, Getty Images

• Aston Villa have scored exactly once in each of their four WSL meetings with Tottenham, winning two and losing two.
• Tottenham have lost each of their last four WSL games, failing to score a single goal. They've never lost five in a row in the competition before.
• No side have scored a lower share of their league goals in the second half of games this season than Tottenham (36% - 4/11). All four of their goals after half-time came in their 8-0 victory at Brighton in October.

It's an important game for both teams today as they kick off the second half of their seasons.

Spurs suffered four consecutive defeats before the break but could go level on points with Villa if they win today.

If the Birmingham side come out on top then they will equal fifth-placed West Ham's points total, though they need to win by a four-goal margin to go ahead of them.

Image source, BBC Sport

It's a huge weekend as the Women's Super League returns.

What might be the biggest game in Europe, the second meeting between Manchester United and Liverpool, a host of new signings and the impact of the winter break.

BBC Sport's Emma Smith runs the rule over this weekend's matches here.

Aston Villa have made 4 changes from their last Women's Super League match, their most from one match to another this season.

Bethany England - signed by Tottenham from Chelsea for £250,000, a record transfer fee between two WSL clubs - is making her debut for today after joining the club on a three-and-a-half year deal in the January window.

Manager Rehanne Skinner said she is a "massive asset" for the club.

"It's building blocks we're putting in place, it's the right time, and we've got the right person for the job," she said.

"In terms of her quality and the things she's going to bring to the side, they're undoubtedly going to help to benefit what we're trying to achieve." England's move was reported to be a record deal between WSL clubs.

"She's a top player in terms of her minutes on the pitch and goals scored, it's incredibly high. She has a lot of experience and she's shown she can score in this league, and so for us it's a massive asset. It's an area we've always wanted to strengthen since I've been here."

Image source, Tottenham Hotspur

It's a day of debuts for England internationals today - both Lucy Staniforth and Jordan Nobbs make their first starts for Aston Villa.

Stanforth and Nobbs have arrived at Villa from Manchester United and Arsenal respectively, and both come into Carla Ward's midfield.

There are a total of four changes for Villa from the team which lost 4-1 to Arsenal in their final game of 2022, including in goal - Anna Leat replaces Hannah Hampton.

Aston Villa XI: Leat; Mayling, Patten, Turner, Pacheco; Staniforth, Nobbs, Dali; Blindkilde, Daly, Hanson

Subs: Hampton, Lehmann, Gielnik, McLoughlin, Goodwin

For Tottenham, it's all eyes on Bethany England as she makes her Spurs debut following a WSL-record £250,000 switch from Chelsea.

In total there are three changes for Tottenham, and like Villa they have swapped out their goalkeeper after losing their final WSL match before Christmas, 3-0 at home to Everton.

Tinja-Riikka Korpela starts in net ahead of Rebecca Spencer, Chimoma Ubogagu replaces the suspended Ash Neville, while England starts up front ahead of Nikola Karczewska.

Tottenham XI: Korpela; Turner, Zadorsky, Bartrip, Ale; James, Cho; Ayane, Spence, Ubogagu; England

Subs: Spencer, Harrop, Summanen, Bizet, Karczewska

31 days after the last time a Women's Super League match took place, the winter break is over and the league is back!

It's seventh v eighth today as Aston Villa host Spurs, with Villa looking to continue their strong start to the season and move further up the table.

The less said about the end to the first half of the campaign the better for Tottenham, with them losing their final four matches without scoring. No defender has scored (3) or been involved in (5) more goals in the WSL this season than Spurs' Ashleigh Neville. It's a shame she's unavailable.

Image source, Getty Images