Martha Thomas had the visitors' best chance but she was denied by Rogers.

Third-place United lead rivals Manchester City by a point, although they have played one game more.

United lose ground as Villa dig in

Having seen neighbours City beat Leicester to go third on goal difference earlier in the day, United knew they had to respond in the west Midlands to wrestle back the advantage.

The visitors had won four of their previous five games, while Villa were chasing a second consecutive WSL victory for the first time in their history after narrowly beating Tottenham last time out.

United started brightly and Thomas forced Rogers, who deputised in place of the unavailable England international Hampton, into an acrobatic save low to her right.

Marc Skinner's side continued to push for the opener but when Alessia Russo gathered the loose ball in the penalty area, she was twice denied in quick succession by defenders throwing themselves in the way of the ball.

Villa, led by influential centre-back pairing Anita Asante and Rachel Corsie, were resolute and difficult to break down, and when United managed to penetrate, they found an inspired Rogers standing in their way.

They also had themselves to blame for failing to break the deadlock.

Deciding to go aerially, goalkeeper Mary Earps pumped the ball long to set free Leah Galton, who picked out Thomas in the middle, but the out-of-sorts forward could only guide the ball past the post.

Villa managed six shots, compared to United's 18, and this result will hurt the visitors far more. A stalemate means they go back above City in the table, although they have now played a game more and the two sides have the same goal difference.

The hosts, meanwhile, remain ninth.