Fulham vs Aston Villa Preview: Houllier Needing Win
Aston Villa travel to Fulham tomorrow in need of a win after picking up just 2 points from a possible 12. The away day at Craven Cottage is an exceptionally difficult one with Mark Hughes continuing Roy Hodgson’s accomplishment of making his side extremely hard to beat at home. Under normal circumstances many Villa fans wouldn’t be too disheartened with a draw but after a poor run of form culminated in a dismal performance against the Blues on Sunday, Gerard Houllier is in desperate need of three points. It has been hard going for the Frenchman so far but is only going to get harder in the coming weeks after injuries to his two remaining fit senior strikers. Team News
Villa Striker Shortage Beyond a Joke Following Carew Injury
Yesterday I sang the praises of young striker Nathan Delfouneso to stake a claim for a place in Houllier’s plans for tomorrow, now the Frenchman has no choice. With Gabby Agbonlahor still recovering from groin surgery, the striker did take part in ball work for the first time today, and Emile Heskey revealed to be out for a month after injuring knee ligaments on Wednesday, John Carew now joins the ever growing injury list at Villa Park. Carew has suffered a calf injury that is likely to keep him out for at least three weeks to a month, similar to Heskey. The injury crisis has paved the way for 19-year-old Delfouneso to prove his worth on the big stage after 2 years of cameo appearances. How John Carew picked up the problem is unknown but many Villa fans are now starting to doubt the manager’s strenuous training regime after Luke Young and Heskey have both recently sustained injuries. More on Injury Crisis
Player Review: Why Nathan Delfouneso Deserves His First Team Chance
Filed under: Aston Villa, Player Reviews, Villa Reserves & Academy
With my Player Review feature having singled out first team stars Ashley Young and Nigel Reo-Coker to date, I wanted to focus on one of the fringe players staking a claim for a first team place. Gabby Agbonlahor has been out for over a month and it is still unsure when he will return and the clubs striker woes have been added to by injury to Emile Heskey this week. Compile this with a lack of form and goals for John Carew and you start to understand why Villa have scored just 1 in their last 4 matches. The strikers have 1 Premier League strike between them which feel to Heskey with Stewart Downing being the only real threat in terms of goals with 3 in the league thus far. Depressed after reading that? Enter Nathan Delfouneso. Nathan Delfouneso Review
Heskey Adds to Villa Injury Woe
Aston Villa front man Emile Heskey could be out for up to a month after sustaining a knee injury in training on Wednesday. The news comes on the back of the revelation that captain Stiliyan Petrov is likely to miss out for at least three months with the ligament damage he picked up in the 1-0 defeat to Sunderland. Heskey has been in good form under Houllier, having worked with him at Liverpool, scoring 3 in his last 6 appearances with two of those coming from the bench. The injury leaves John Carew and Nathan Delfouneso as the only fit first team strikers with Gabby Agbonlahor’s groin injury taking longer to heal than anticipated. With Carew lacking in confidence in the box and without a goal all season I think it should be time to give Delfouneso a chance after fine form with the reserves this season. More News on the Injury
Quarterly 2010/11 Season Review: Aston Villa Attacking Statistics by Player
Following on from my defensive stats accumulation, I have also gathered some attacking statistics for each midfielder and attacker in the current Villa squad. The stats again, show each player’s record thus far this campaign as well as their overall Premier League record for their combined clubs in parenthesis. The stats include each player’s shots on target ratio, the shots to goals ratio and the average amount of minutes on the pitch it takes each player to score. Again the findings do reveal some interesting results. I will list the top 3 players in each category regarding their attacking record as well as the bottom 3 culprits. Individual Attacking Stats in Full
Arsenal Reserves 0-2 Aston Villa Reserves
Kevin MacDonald’s men built on their decent run of form, following up a win over Midlands rivals Wolves, with a comfortable 0-2 victory over Arsenal. The former caretaker manager took a strong squad with him to London with first team members such as Brad Guzan, Eric Lichaj, Marc Albrighton, Barry Bannan and Nathan Delfouneso all in the starting XI. It was Delfouneso who broke the deadlock on the half hour mark stretching his impressive form in front of goal for the reserves and pushing himself into Gerard Houllier’s plans. With Villa severely lacking in fire power recently the talk has been of bringing in a new striker, one begs the question why are only proven goal-scorer at any level hasn’t been given a chance in the first team as of yet. The 19-year-old was supported superbly from either flank by Marc Albrighton and Samir Carruthers with the former setting crossing for the latter to head home Villa’s decisive second. An impressive performance, in a game which the away side dominated for much of the encounter. Reserves Match Report
Aston Villa vs Birmingham City Pre-Match Prediction
No self-respecting Villa fan, especially one who runs a blog viewed by other Villa fans, is ever going to bet against his own team in the derby with the Blues. It would be like betting that Scotland would beat England, you just can’t bring yourself to even comprehend the possibility. Villa do have key players missing and I beg that Houllier drops Beye for Cuellar, I know he’s not a right-back but he’s also not Habib Beye! These issues aside people do forget that the times of our depressingly under-strength squad depth are nearly over. Nearly. I have to predict a home win and thoroughly believe that we will win. Maybe not 5-1, maybe not even 2-0 but scrap that, I’m going for 2-0. Am I biased? Yes I am, but what do you think the score will be, who will score, and do any of you dare to bet against the Villa? I want to hear from you!
Birmingham (Home) – Sunday 31st October
Possible Starting XI: Friedel; Cuellar, Collins, Dunne, Warnock; Downing, Reo-Coker, Sidwell, Young; Ireland; Heskey
Key Man: Emile Heskey
Goalscorer(s): Heskey, Delfouneso (sub)
Minute of First Goal: 52
Final Score: 2-0
Aston Villa vs Burnley Match Preview
Filed under: Aston Villa, Injury News, Match Previews
Wednesday 27th October 2010
Opponent: Burnley
Venue: Villa Park
Kick Off: 19:45
Villa will be hoping to take advantage of some shock exits in the Carling Cup to strengthen their chances of another Wembley date next year. The competition has seen the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham knocked out thus far leaving Villa as third favourites behind Manchester United and Arsenal. Houllier’s men will have to overcome a tricky 4th round tie against Championship outfit Burnley to reach the Quarter-Finals of the tournament which they have won on 5 occasions. New manager Gerard Houllier will have fond memories of the Carling Cup as it was his first trophy as Liverpool boss. He went on to secure another final victory in his time at Anfield and Villa will be hoping the Frenchman’s impressive record in the competition continues. The home side will be big favourites but injury problems and a huge game against Birmingham at the weekend could prove potential banana skins. Full Match Preview
Sunderland vs Aston Villa Match Preview
Filed under: Aston Villa, Injury News, Match Previews
Saturday October 23rd 2010
Opponent: Sunderland
Venue: Stadium of Light
Kick Off: 15:00
Villa travel to Sunderland with a commendable away record against the hosts. Gerard Houllier’s side have stretched out an unbeaten run of 5 games against the Black Cats and will be looking for a first win in 3 after defeat to Tottenham was backed up by a good draw with Chelsea last weekend. Steve Bruce’s men have only lost once at home in their last 14 outings and will be looking to extend an impressive unbeaten run of their own. The home side haven’t lost in 6 games but have become early contenders for draw specialists with results tied in their last 5 games, 6 in total this season. Bruce’s side have capped a decent start to the season by taking points off of the likes of Liverpool, although that doesn’t seem too much of a feat right now, Arsenal and Manchester United. Villa will have a strong squad available after recovery from injuries and will be looking to build on the battling performance that earned them a point against the champions. Team News and Previews
Happy Days as the Fonz Topples Rivals Wolves
Filed under: Aston Villa, Match Reports, Villa Reserves & Academy
Kevin MacDonald’s reserve side continued their decent form, stretching their unbeaten run to five games with a 3-2 victory over Wolves. The second string came from behind for the second game on the trot in front of on-looking manager Gerard Houllier. Villa found themselves 1-0 down at the break but an amazing second half saw the home side run out victors. The two line-ups could have easily been placed in an early cup round with seasoned professionals on either side. The Villa side included the likes of Guzan, Cuellar and Sidwell supported by promising youngsters such as Barry Bannan and Nathan Delfouneso. Read more
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