Or is it?
This should be dead easy. Ipswich are second bottom in the league and have gained a solitary point from their last 18. Even that was six games ago, meaning they’ve lost the last five games on the trot. Easy and this should be a gift of three points for us.
Except we very rarely do easy, do we? We couldn’t even beat Ipswich last time we played them, after all.
We should give ourselves every chance in this game if we manage to not let them score early, as most other teams manage to do . How nice was it for us to get an early goal against Spurs? Do the same today and it’ll be game over, I would think.
Squad news and foremost is that Ollie Watkins and Tyrone Mings are both in contention. Mings, as much as I’m not his biggest fan, is at least a proper defender and is sorely needed with the injury position we’re in. More good news is that our new loan signing, Axel Disasi is available after being cup-tied against Spurs. He’s only played six games this season, but even so, I’d expect him to come straight into the team. Mind you, we all know Unai isn’t afraid to play square pegs in round holes, so you never know. He may decide that Disasi isn’t ready. Given that Ipswich don’t score many, it wouldn’t surprise me.
On the downside, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Matty Cash, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley are all still out, with no updates on how they’re progressing.
As for Ipswich, Sammie Szmodics will be assessed after he had a setback with an ankle injury last week. Conor Chaplin, Christian Walton, Wes Burns and Chiedozie Ogbene are all out but goalkeeper Alex Palmer, who made his debut last weekend after joining from West Brom, could play his first Premier League game.
For the stattos amongst us, here’s a couple; Ipwich have only beaten us once in our last 14 meetings and they’ve only beaten us twice at Villa park in the last 44 years. Everything seems to be in our favour, doesn’t it? Which, knowing us, makes it scary.
Prediction time then and I simply cannot see us losing this one. Indeed, I think we should get a few goals today. That said, there’s another stat we’re probably vaguely aware of. We’ve only kept one clean sheet in our last 14 games.
So any score is invariably going to end in a -1
And I’m going for 3-1. I could easily see it being a bigger victory if we manage to motivate ourselves, but I see the lads subconciously taking it easy and the tractor boys giving us a tough time.
UTV!
Milan, Atalanta and Juventus crash out which won’t do the Italian coefficient any good.
Can’t wait to see who we get in the last 16.
All four January additions improve us imo. Malen is lightning quick and pretty strong. Has been unlucky not to score and as soon as he gets one more will come. Much the same true for Rashford. Asensio has great technique but the intensity of Prem football will take him longer to get to grips with (jury out). Garcia will also come good and be first choice RB soon if he isn’t already. Cash will have to step up particularly in possession and when we are attacking.
We are heading in the right direction but there will be bumps in the road.
I didn’t forecast the result tonight so you can all be thankful after my Ipswich prediction.
I was there last night. Agree with you about the new signings: Asensio looked good for about 25 minutes and then the pace of the game over-took him – surprised that Emery waited as long as he did before replacing him.
Apart from his howler, Garcia looks good – but the one who really got my attention was actually Axel Disasi. That guy is brilliant, IMO – puts himself about, great control and physically very strong. Of all the loanees, he’s the one that I’d really like us to keep!
I noticed that too, Ardent. Very cool and calm in possession.
Just watched the goals – we scored two excellent goals.
We gifted Liverpool the first goal and the second was a deflection with, it seemed to me, Trent’s shot going wide!
There was some criticism on here of Asensio but it was his lovely reverse pass that set up our second goal.
As you can probably tell I didn’t see the game as was at our weekly pub quiz – it was on in the pub but not our nearby screen.
Another draw but a more than acceptable result against Liverpool.
CL draw on Friday morning – not just who we play in the next round but also which side of the draw we will be on.
Whichever side of the draw we’re on the QF (assuming we get through the next round) will be against one of the following –
Benfica, PSG, Liverpool or Barcelona – gulp!
BFR, as I said earlier, 21 central defence pairings this season. No wonder we’re all over the bloody place at the back. A defence works best when stable and working on an intuitive and almost psychic level. To get that you need everyone fit, all the time.
On top of that, teams below us have worked out how to stop us. They simply suffocate better teams. The better teams play with space that suits us, that’s why last night was such a good game.
Add to that the loss of a defensive player within 20 minutes over a run of 5 matches before the Liverpool game.
Emery, though, never offers it as an excuse.
‘Cus he’s hard as nails! CHEWY MINTS!!! CHEWY MINTS!!!!
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Baffled. I saw Slot given a red card by Michael Oliver. That is Slot’s 2nd red card of the season so it should incur a 2-match touchline ban. Anybody know why he hasn’t served it? He has been in the dug-out for 2 Pool games since.
Is Arne Slot banned for Liverpool’s trip to Aston Villa
As things stand, no. Slot has until Wednesday, February 19 (today) respond to his FA charge and any potential ban cannot be imposed in time for the Villa match.
https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/why-is-slot-not-banned-for-liverpool-vs-aston-villa-b1212062.html
Missed the match due to work so can’t really comment other than to say I’d have taken a draw all day before a ball was kicked.
Interesting weekend fixtures, can’t make my mind up what I’d prefer?
Man City to beat the dippers and smash open the title race?
Or the dippers to win, us to beat Chelsea and that puts us right back in contention for a CL place?
I know the second would be preferable but the thought of those dippers winning the title really pains me.
Sadly though RSS the reality is that the alternatives of Citeh or Arse winning it are worse!
Watching the CL draw. Quite a thrill to see our name amongst the European greats. Fingers crossed.
It’s Brugge! If we get past them then it’s either Liverpool or PSG with the second leg at home.
It’s do-able.
Agree – it could have been a lot worse!
I think PSG will do Liverpool. Unai to face his old club?
I was thinking the same. PSG are playing a blinder at the moment so they shouldn’t be ruled out. Success in the CL for me will be beating Brugge, everything after that will be a bonus.
We have a great chance of the quarter finals brugge played well against atalanta but we have more than enough to beat them
Liverpool will beat psg and we could play them
Michael Oliver today. Only previous Villa game this season our 0-2 defeat by Arsenal. Chelsea have only had him once, also against Arsenal – a 1-1 draw.
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Michael Oliver that toe rag, no chance then . Of all the refs we get him , anyone see the fiddle again Everton Manure game McGuire given a pen against him overturned showing a wrong angle and it was definitely a pen . Fiddling gits, 10th place now going the wrong way I’ve predicted finishing top ten looking that way now.
Agree with you Bill – Oliver will give us nothing.
Konza back. Some serious use of subs required.
M. Cash
E. Konsa
I. Maatsen
E. Martínez
J. McGinn (c), Captain
T. Mings
Marco Asensio
J. Ramsey
M. Rogers
Y. Tielemans
O. Watkins
L. Bailey
L. Bogarde
L. Digne
Andrés García
J. Jimoh-Aloba
D. Malen
R. Olsen
M. Rashford,
O. Zych