Or a damp squib?
I’ll bet you know exactly what I’m going to say, because you’re no doubt thinking the same thing. Even if you’re not, I’m fairly confident that there will be at least a bit of niggle at the back of your mind.
It’s a banana skin game isn’t it?
There’s been quite a bit of talk on the news about the Christmas number one today, with Wham, Slade and that hippy Sam Ryder all in the running. I’m only joking about the hippy bit, but he does remind me of Neil from The young ones.
Anyway, I’m not particularly interested in that, but I am definitely interested in the fact that a win tonight could make us the real Christmas number that counts.
We’d go 2 points clear, which would mean that if Liverpool and Arsenal were to draw, which seems a big possibility to me, we’d be top of the tree (get it?).
And that would be the first time we’ve been top of the tree since the Gregory days in the 1998/99 season, where sort of coincidentally, we beat Sheffield Wednesday to achieve it.
History is on our side for this game.
Utd haven’t beaten us in the league at Villa Park in sixty years, although Chris Wilder has beaten us twice as manager in their home games.
The Blades have lost 27 of their last 32 Premier League away fixtures, winning two and drawing three. Probably worse still, Gustavo Hamer is the only player to have scored a goal for them in all their away games this season. That’s bleak away form, to say the least.
Squad news and for us it could be worse.
Luiz and Digne are both back after suspensions.
The bad news is Kamara begins his 3 game suspension and the less said about that, the better, in my opinion.
Pau Torres has an ankle knock and I think Youri Tielemens has a similar issue. Traore seems no nearer and of course, Mings and Buendia are also out.
Also of some concern, John McGinn, Matty Cash and Jhon Duran are all only a card away from a suspension, although I do realise that the “5 yellows” only stays in place until after the Man Utd game. Hopefully, they can stay card-free, McGinn in particular.
As for Sheffield, they have six players injured, but I’m struggling to find out who they are, exactly. It appears Chris Wilder is keeping his cards close to his chest and there is talk of a squad shuffle. I detect something amiss at the club, because the manager has also talked about how he wants unwanted players gone and quickly. Has serious doom and gloom set in, I wonder?
However, good news for them is that Jack Robinson is back from a suspension.
Aha, more research shows that their injured players are Chris Basham, Daniel Jebbison, Tom Davies, John Egan, Rhys Norrington-Davies and Rhian Brewster.
Not that I’m particularly bothered.
Going back to things we haven’t done for ages, Ollie Watkins has scored 21 goals in this calendar year, the highest since Andy Gray in 1976, where he scored 24.
So a hat trick tonight would give him that new record, but maybe that’s asking too much? He does though, have tonight’s game and the Man U and Burnley games to achieve it, which I’d like to see.
It’s when I see those sorts of stats that it really starts to sink in about how well the lads are doing this year/season.
So tonight should be easy then, eh? Certainly the bookies think so, because they have us as massive favourites.
Rightly so, because we’re doing brilliantly and they’re, on the face of it, frankly awful.
But wasn’t it a similar thing when we lost to Forest? It’s difficult to believe that we’ve beaten Man City, Arsenal and Brentford in our last three games, but somehow managed to get beaten by a team where we were their only victory in 13 games.
And that’s exactly why I’m not counting my chickens for this one. While we’ve done incredibly well, we still have that propensity to lose to even the lowest of teams when things are looking good.
That said, I have to say I think we’re going to win this.
As I suggested above, I think there’s something wrong at Utd. Wilder has talked about how you can’t go into games without belief, which suggests that he has two choices. He either plays some players who don’t believe or swaps them out for possibly inferior players.
Which is intriguing, because if he does shuffle the pack, it could mean that he’s sidelined players and the atmosphere will probably be poor around the club.
I’m speculating though.
The only thing left, is the score.
I’m going for 3-1 to us.
In the hope that Ollie gets at least one.
UTV!
A bit of a longer post than normal, but there’s plenty to talk about.
I’m looking forward to this one!
It could be a stroll in the park as long as we approach the game with some intensity.
Will we though?
Indeed.
Another stat is that we haven’t lost a game when we’ve taken the lead.
An early goal and you’d think the game is only going one way.
I don’t think it’ll be a stroll though.
Wilder will have them working, if nothing else, I’m sure.
Badger, I can’t see them scoring matey.
My biggest fear is us, given all the expectation, freezing.
But on saying that, we score early doors and I believe we’ll put them to the sword.
4-0 🤞
Ah, but us conceding one would be the lesser version of us losing the game.
That said, I like your style. Good prediction, which would help our GD massively 🙂
GD. I was thinking the same. It could cost us a place if things are tight the end of May.
They’ve conceded 22 in 8 games so that’s what? Just under 3 per game? This included a couple of proper spankings, the Goooners and Burnley.
So as much as any win will do very nicely thank you, form dictates we should be putting a few past these this evening.
Just a couple of points. Its good that our auto suspensions have come when our fixtures are against lower placed teams. How times have change for our status. Bookies are offering 1-5 on a Villa win and 11-1 for the Blades
It’s almost like the gods are smiling down on us.
Let’s face it, we deserve at least a bit of what we’re getting.
Martinez Cash, Konsa, Lenglet, Digne Luiz, McGinn, Ramsey, Bailey;Diaby, Watkins.
Villa subs: Marschall, D. Carlos, A. Moreno, Chambers, Zaniolo, Duran, Dendoncker, Iroegbunam, O’Reilly.
I forgot, Olsen is injured, which is why he hasn’t featured in the subs.
I didn’t know that.
With injuries and suspensions almost a European rotation team.
It seems Tielemans has a calf injury – they can be troublesome.
Bailey and Diaby?
I’d say Unia’s going for the jugular with that line up.
How can a shove in the back, combined with a pull of the shirt, looked at by VAR, not be given as a pen?
I really don’t know what game they’re seeing.
Is the all Merseyside gobbing champion bias so obvious or is just me?
We just have to keep this pressup. Sheffield are as dirty as Brentford last week…
Cash is a real weak link lately, imo.
Diaby for me.
Cash is dreadful
So is Diaby )-:
Fiddling sods pen all day long, fuck VAR off its bent .
Interesting to note that there’s obviously some sort of plan involving Cash and Diaby.
Digne has hardly had a touch.
It isn’t working for me because Cash is gash lately.
I think Emery will change this.
Cash is gash?
Harsh mate 😂
Not at all.
We need at least a back up and preferably an improvement and it’s more of a priority than a striker, imo.
I like him and have always supported him, but while the team generally have moved up a gear, I don’t think he has.
He’s technically inferior and not great at crossing either.
He can be okay defensively, but he can also be rubbish too.
The weak link for the last couple of months, I’d say.
Tonight’s game, Bailey has been noticeable by his total absence.
Watch him score now, if he’s not subbed off.
I feared that Wilder would put 10 behind the ball and hope to pinch a goal or at least take a point – hence I called this a draw and possibly Emery’s first 0-0!
Agree Cash has been poor – maybe move Konsa to right back and put Carlos in the centre with his long passing skills. Lenglet’s been OK but definitely missing Kamara and Torres.
Need an early goal second half.
And, as a byword, Taylor is a very weak ref.
I thought Diaby created the best chances so far. The Utd defence is very compact. Keep hammering away in the penalty area and they’ll make a mistake or it will fall to a claret and blue shirt… Can’t believe no yellow cards so far. Luiz has gotta chill a bit too. They’re winding him up on purpose. Bailey needs to go for it and try getting past a few players too.
He’s been pretty anonymous apart from that cross.
Dunno what it is, you can see the quality is there but he goes AWOL for long periods imo.
We are playing well. Just need to weight the ball over the top better. I don’t agree with the negativity towards Diaby, he took his shot early and was unlucky not to be rewarded.
I think this is where we miss Torres with his raking balls from defence that would occur before their defensive bank of 5 would be in position.
Remember the best teams grind the opposition frown over time and score late on. Come on you Villa!
It’s not negativity it’s an opinion Sid, if it differs tough, live with it.
I think while Diaby looked rubbish early on, he looked our biggest threat after about 20 mins.
It’ll be interesting to see what Emery does here and I still think we’ll win this.
But Wilder will be by far the happier manager.
We haven’t threatened at all really, while they look by miles the more toothless.
Please don’t let us draw this 🙁
Immediately we’re going more through Digne.
Get in there
Bailey does what he does.
1-0 🙂
Baileyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!
Today’s Ollie’s best assist of the season
is VAR taking the piss?