This is a big game, especially for Aston Villa. Paul Lambert will be looking to end a run of three defeats which has seen Villa falling down to 13th place in the Premier League table. Aston Villa are a point and a place higher than this time last season, but Villa will have to kick on soon or else Lambert will see his side fighting relegation for the second season in a row.
Crystal Palace are a team on a mission, under the management of Tony Pulis, Crystal Palace are picking up points and have become much tougher to play against. But most recently lose 3-0 to Newcastle over the weekend. Still, Pulis will be traveling to Villa Park with optimism, Aston Villa have only won twice at home and have one of the worst home records in the last two seasons of the Premier League.
On a side-note, Barry Bannan will face his former team for the first time this season. Bannan moved to Crystal Palace on transfer deadline day.
Team News:
Aston Villa will be without Christian Benteke for the festive season, he is struggling with a knee injury. Meanwhile, Ron Vlaar continues to be a serious doubt, it looks very unlikely he’ll feature. Ashley Westwood is serving a one match suspension whilst Agbonlahor is available again following his recent suspension.
Crystal Palace will be without striker Chamakh who serves a one-match ban. Midfielders Dikgacoi and O’Keefe are still ruled out with muscle injuries.
Match Facts:
Aston Villa have failed to score in four of their last five Barclays Premier League home games.
None of the last 13 matches in all competitions between Villa and Palace has ended as an away win (seven home wins, six draws).
Aston Villa took part in the highest scoring Premier League game on December 26 when they drew 4-4 with Chelsea in 2007.
This match will see the two sides with the lowest average possession figures in the 2013-14 Premier League season face one another – Crystal Palace (40.3%) and Aston Villa (42.2%)
Aston Villa have scored only one goal in the first half of their last 12 Premier League matches.
Maroaune Chamakh has attempted only five shots on target in 1239 minutes of Premier League action this season, but he’s scored with four of these shots.
Predicted Lineups:
Guzan
Lowton-Baker-Clark-Luna
El Ahmadi-Sylla-Delph
Albrighton——-Agbonlahor
Kozak
Gayle-Jerome
Bannan-Jedinak-Ward-Puncheon
Mariappa-Gabbidon-Delaney-Moxey
Speroni
Match Prediction:
Aston Villa 2-1 Crystal Palace
Firstly, Aston Villa need to win this game. We’ll be in serious trouble if we don’t, we have a good run of fixtures coming up and the players need confidence from a victory against Palace. I reckon we’re more of a threat with Kozak up front, I never thought I’d say that at this point in the season. Agbonlahor and Albrighton remain our most creative players. Palace will be tough, I wouldn’t be surprised if they snatched a draw but I just don’t see too much of a goal threat from Palace. If the defence can be some-what decent, we’ll manage to get the 3 points.
Lambert has to go…now.
Lambert give us the best xmas present ever designed for a footy fan & FUCK OFF YOU 4EYED SCOTTISH TWAT.
Lol Giddy…..no racism mate!
Too right, I know some great 4 eyed people!
Carlos Quieroz anyone?
with those possesion figures i reckon swansea are shitting themselves
COLONIUS81 come mate give us your 2000 word essay entitled ‘Everything’s just peachy at AVFC.’
Worst Villa team I’ve witnessed in my ilfetime! Total incomptetence all over the field, time and again wwe couldn’t string a pass together, Palace were the better team today! Absolute disgrace!
As he resigned yet?
I’m keeping a live feed open mate, he has to walk or go tongiht after that, we lost to the worst team in the league and made them look good!
HE should resign in the press conference for all to see!
German coaching badges???? Simply send 10 lids from your sauerkraut jars and allow 28 days for delivery.
lol BWS, or just use the lids mate and pretend! Shit manager!
I gave him enough time and he’s made our team worse!
Carlos Quieroz, Villa bound?
Get that fucking north of england twat out of our beloved club,he’s enough to turn you to drinking the 4eyed prick.no more i can’t take it.
dear santa
please help villa
a team with no confidence, no form lacking in effort and skill ~ wot is the aim of the team, cos never did weimann or albrighton make a cross from the bye line. too many times did clark and baker try 2 assist villa with over hit straight long aimless balls. when the so called creative players passed back sideways anyways but forward or incisive
I give up. only so much backing ppl lambert has lost the dressing room definitely lost the crowd, when u loss the pattern of play ur identity and ur only threat is aimless balls its time 4 a change
only way lambs 2 the slaughter goes is if he walks, I admit I wanted him and av no clues 2 who I want but a change is needed, either Gordon cowans or mcClaron
Does anyone even know what formation we were playing today? I couldn’t figure it out…and I don’t think the players could either.\
Bannan-played in his correct position-was the most creative player on the field. Says it all really.
we are going down under this man
ho jeez .. i am glutton for punishment but here goes…..
Your wish is my command BWS!
feast on the essay below
Fellow villa fans .. keep the faith! (in villa if nothing else)
First off, abysmal display today no defending yet another bad result at home. we were Toothless absolutely toothless. 70 odd % possession and 0 attempts on target at half time.
i have seen many different formations and several approaches this season from Lamberts Villa.
none of it was overly cohesive. and it yielded results despite itself rather than because of itself.
But now we are round about where we were this time last year.
the difference being we are minus a few of the big salary players and we havn’t been thumped like we had last year.
So a dismal run of form and now potentially another relegation fight staring us right in the face.
I understand why you call for Lamberts head, i do. and i am just as pissed as all of you about tonights result .. but nothing has changed since yesterday or the day before that for me.
Lambert is sacked .. who is hired? what money does he get? what does he do with what some of you have labelled the worst Villa side that has ever been?
does he sell 11 or 15 players in january? does Lerner give another unknown manager (what top tier manager would come to villa right now) a 100m suddenly where as lambert had to go with or was allowed to go with the cheap and cheerful up and coming route?
The night is always darkest before the dawn.
I don’t see how any new manager can make us better overnight .. and if by some chance they could, i don’t beleive they can improve Villa medium or long term without significant investment
Its 18 games down .. 20 to go .. 13th place, this season is far from over.
Criticise this performance .. criticise the results so far .. have at it ..
I have seen manager after manager sacked at villa .. there is not even a hint of the type of cash that has made the current top 6 where they are today anywhere near Villa.
so in my mind what is to be gained from yet another change in manager at this point.
Arsenal had fans just as irate as we are now ..after their defeat to us .. Ferguson was in this position a year or so into his reign .. Moyes faced this very same scenario in his second full season as everton manager.. If we pull the trigger now on lambert we will just reset again
We need Lerner to throw case at it.
I know i am going to receive dogs abuse for my opinion but so be it .. when you are finished calling me names .. calling lambert names .. calling Lerner names etc etc let me see the solid plan that includes Lambert being sacked
Getting abuse on here isn’t going to change my mind .. solid logic and good ideas will though.
have at it (or me!) lads ..
I agree colonius Lerner is more if the problem but we are stuck with him for years until he goes this us as good as it gets now. True if lambert goes then what. I don’t think they would do any worse to be honest. But like you say we will end up with another shit manager because no half decent manager will come here to a club with no money or ambition. Until learner goes that’s it for me.
Everyone has a right to an opinion i disagree with it but it still yours and fairplay for coming out and expressing it. We all support Villa.
I dont like the chopping and changing of managers but this is a bad decision to allow a man to manage a club of villa’s stature and allowing him to not sign any players with any experience. I also feel a lot of this decline is down to poor decision making at board room level, Lerner and Faulkner are clueless and Lambert is useless.
Some will argue the fans wanted this but in fairness the fans did not interview Lambert and hear his great plan for villa, I have heard that Villa were offered two top players last summer for loan and we had 15m to spend last Jan.
Lambert has to go albeit to keep the baying wolves from Faulkners and Lerners door but more importantly because he is not a Premier league manager