Topic: Rawk Preview: Aston Villa v Liverpool, Saturday 24th August

[Corkboy]

The Villa, in my lifetime, have always been one of the Big Clubs. They have loads of history and plenty of trophies, although not many recently (and recently is generous, nothing this century as far as I can make out), they have a European pedigree, of sorts, they have a stadium with a capacity in the low forties which is possibly hindering their potential and they are currently American owned and on a budget. All of which sounds just a little familiar. In fact, Villa are fourth on the list of most successful English clubs, if this source can be believed, just above Chelsea. Yes, we're top. I also recall when mean old Souness came back to Anfield, several stalwarts found refuge at the Villa, Staunton, Houghton and Saunders.

Incidentally, Paul Lambert, the Villa manager, was a very good footballer, a defensive midfielder whose career was quite remarkable. While playing for Motherwell in the UEFA Cup against Borussia Dortmund in 1995, he caught the eye of Dortmund manager Ottmar Hitzfeld who signed him up. In 1997, he was a stalwart for Dortmund in their run to Champions League success, knocking out the Mancs along the way. In the final against Juventus, he minded Zidane while also managing to supply the cross for a Riedle goal. He went to Celtic shortly after and won a pile of Scottish trophies, which don't really count.

Speaking of good players, Aston Villa enjoyed Paul McGrath at the peak of his prodigious powers. The lavishly gifted centrehalf was booted out of Man Utd by the Dark Lord for drinking too much and went on to produce a season where he got PFA Player of the Year while drunk, and I don't mean drunk in nightclubs, I mean drunk at training. The next two winners were Cantona and Shearer. We call Fowler God. Guess who Villa fans reserve that honour for?

As for this fixture, hear me now. Agbonlahor, Benteke and Weimann are as sharp as any forward trio playing football right now. They all have ability and pace, but the worrying thing is that Agbonlahor seems to be hitting form. He threatened to be the real deal for the last half a dozen years while never quite getting there, but Lambert has him doing something different because last season he looked terrifying at times, as he did against the Arsenal last week. As for Benteke, I keep waiting for him to have a shit game while Weimann is fast, bold and can shoot and he makes great late runs.

The rest of the team, with all due respect, are somewhat callow. Players like Clarke, Delph and Lowton have potential but we should have too much for them unless they have a very good day. Guzan in goal is playing very well, though and I expect him to make at least a dozen cracking saves. Tune in for Rawk's Round Table on this 2-5 away win, same channel.

[Hinesy]

Thanking you Corkboy.

It'll be interesting to see how confident Villa are after that opening game, but I hope their presumed flair with be their downfall if we can get in amongst them.


As ever, anyone posting just formations will be muted for a day. We want our previews to be full of debate and/or team suggestions with proper reasoning. Of course "Steve Bruce has a fat head" is also acceptable. For any game.

[DG]

This will come round quickly, won't it?

Could go either way for me, like literally 33/33/33 win, draw or lose. It sort of depends on Villa's game against Chelsea mid-week. It'll feel odd, but I think the best thing for us would be Chelsea winning by quite a margin. If Villa get something there they'll be flying when they host us on saturday. Also, a red card for Benteke wouldn't hurt at all.

For me, we're gonna need pace in this game. I expect us to sit back, wary of Aston Villa's threat on the counter, and hope to get a few decent counters in ourselves. Henderson, for all his faults (which aren't all that many), is a must start in my opinion because we're gonna need his work rate. The back four picks itself for the time being, even though I don't feel confident with Agger up against Benteke. Lucas and Gerrard are a given, as are Sturridge and Coutinho, leaving only one spot left that could go to any of Allen, Aspas, Sterling or even Alberto.

Formation-wise, I think it would be sensible to play a 4-3-3 rather than a 4-2-3-1. I think we have to control the middle of the park so that we can push them out wide where we simply have to trust our full backs with the help of whoever we put on the wing. Coutinho's work rate is underestimated, he tracks back well and is actually quite decent at winning the ball but I wouldn't trust Aspas in this one. that leaves a starting XI looking like this:

Mignolet
Johnson Toure Agger Enrique
Lucas
Gerrard Allen
Henderson ---------- Coutinho
Sturridge

Lacking goal threat, naturally, but I think we have enough to get at least one goal and hopefully we can go for a clean sheet. Because Villa will be dangerous, no matter the result on wednesday.

[Frizzo]

Steve Bruce has a fat head.

[Zeb]

They made the call to stick with Lambert last season, and an away win at Arsenal justifies it. Ok, maybe not, but they sucker punched Wenger's team in much the same way they did us last season only with a wee bit more help from the referee. This really will be a similar test to the one the team flunked last season. You can imagine a very similar performance from Villa too, as they'll sit deep, look to defend, hope to draw us onto them and then look to break. Will Toure provide the physical robustness to keep Benteke quiet? Will we shut down their service forward as they try to break? Will the referee penalise them appropriately if they tag-team foul as they did against Arsenal to break up the game?

First goal will be as crucial as ever - if we get it, I can't see us losing short of someone making a huge cock-up, if they get it, you're naturally going to be a bit concerned as we push forward to equalise.

[justsean]

They look absolutely frenetic on the counter attack. Benteke, Agbonlahor and Weimann come flying at you. I noticed last season the amount of goals they scored from oppostion corners - corner comes in, gets headed away, weimann/agbonlahor get hold of it and off they go. didn't both of their penalties against Arsenal come frome speed merchantism as well?

I'd like to see us sit a bit deeper for this one and play it a bit cagier. We did that at times towards the end of last season and it often worked. 2-1 Liverpool.

I'm up all night for Benteke.

[Ycuzz]

Only 4 days to go. Aah. Football is back and I luv it!

First of, cracking OP corkboy, thanks.

Lambert is a clever boy and it looks like he's, (finally?), getting his Villa team to play good football. They come fast and direct on the counter. Our fullbacks - and tracking back from midfielders will be key here. Benteke vs Kolo is on, it'll be rumble in the .. uhm.. park? but red-tinted glasses tells me Kolo will come out victorious.

Bar their front three and Guzman, I have faith we'll edge them - especially in our final third, we'll create havoc. If (when) they double on Coutinho, Gerrard will spray the necessary passes. I'm thinking Henderson will get the nod again, his athleticism will help out in protecting, (one of), our backs. I Hope Aspas gets another chance, really liked his movement. Borini got 2 away against Man Utd. in the reserve match - well done and good for him. But I can't see him start this. Maybe on for the last 15-20 when Villas back 4 are tiring.

Still on a high from the opening game and because footy is back on - we'll win this. It'll be a fair few hairy moments, but we'll win.

[Il Capitano]

The onus will be on Villa to attack and have more possession, in front of their home fans. It's a very different prospect to playing away at the Emirates, where a lot of away teams will put players behind the ball. A lot of people on this thread as saying we should play counter-attacking football in order to attempt to neutralise their threat in behind, but really I think if we play our patient possession game, we could frustrate the Villa team into mistakes. Their fans will be right on the players' backs if they see Liverpool having all of the ball, which will lead to a more hostile atmosphere, leading to more mistakes as their players go charging around out of position trying to win the ball back. I say we roll up at Villa Park, play keep ball, and wait for the right opportunities to strike.

[BoltonRed]

What's interesting is that they play Wednesday night, away to Chelsea. It's been brought forward due to the Super Cup weekend after next and I'm thinking they may be a little stretched by Saturday, being early season and all that.

Wonder if that might work to our advantage?

[helmboy_nige]

Great read corkboy.

I know we grabbed that win late last season a their place but I think Lambert is doing good things with Villas attack.  They are dodgy at the back, but then so are we.  Could go either way and a lot will depend on how they deal with Coutinho and how we deal with Benteke.  I'd go with a similar starting lineup to the Stoke game as we'll be needing that energy in midfield to combat their attack.

[Sucker-Punch]

100% agree with you DG

Definitely a tough game; if we get through it, team moral will reach new heights.
Thant being said; it wont be a walk in the park. Agree with your team selection as i believe if we can control the mid field, the game is ours. Their front trio is impressive however we'll need to limit their supply.

Coutinho in the hole for me; Aspas on the wing.

               Mignolet
Johnson Toure Agger Enrique
                Lucas
            Gerrard Allen
Henderson Coutinho Aspas
               Sturridge

[JTK]

100% agree with you DG

Definitely a tough game; if we get through it, team moral will reach new heights.
Thant being said; it wont be a walk in the park. Agree with your team selection as i believe if we can control the mid field, the game is ours. Their front trio is impressive however we'll need to limit their supply.

Coutinho in the hole for me; Aspas on the wing.

               Mignolet
Johnson Toure Agger Enrique
                Lucas
            Gerrard Allen
Henderson Coutinho Aspas
               Sturridge

I think the referee might have something to say about that team!

These aren't as shite as they were last season, and I was there for the 3-1. Keeping Benteke & Gaby quiet will obviously be the key. Hope it'll be more like last years away. Good luck with the pyro to whoevers going, ill look out for the red clouds

[Harinder]

Great preview. I actually think Villa are weakest where they are slowest which is in their defence. The only problem is our weakness is in the same area on our side albeit for different reasons.

Will be interesting to see how this is catered for by Brendan. One thing is for sure, Kolo will not be going away to Villa quietly. He's already planning his antics against Vlaar and Guzan 

[IanZG]

100% agree with you DG

Definitely a tough game; if we get through it, team moral will reach new heights.
Thant being said; it wont be a walk in the park. Agree with your team selection as i believe if we can control the mid field, the game is ours. Their front trio is impressive however we'll need to limit their supply.

Coutinho in the hole for me; Aspas on the wing.

               Mignolet
Johnson Toure Agger Enrique
                Lucas
            Gerrard Allen
Henderson Coutinho Aspas
               Sturridge

A bit unfair on Villa, playing with 12 players, but if these guys could pull it off, don't see why we couldnt

[DyingAtheist]

Contain Benteke (easier said than done, admittedly... but I don't think he's about to out-muscle Toure) and I think we'll be okay. They'll definitely be easier to break through than Stoke were and they'll be looking to attack a lot more than Stoke were in a more passing style. This will work in our advantage, as should their mid-week game against Chelsea... though if they win that, they really will be riding high.

I'd expect goals on both sides, and I'm feeling an optimistic 3-1 to us.

[rusty-la]

I think the referee might have something to say about that team!

These aren't as shite as they were last season, and I was there for the 3-1. Keeping Benteke & Gaby quiet will obviously be the key. Hope it'll be more like last years away. Good luck with the pyro to whoever is going.

Sssshhhhh.

Don't give The game away

[JTK]

With that team, we'd win the league.

[Kovai Red]

Tough game for us. It is very crucial that we need to stop their attacking trio. I would like us to see Henderson being sticked in the middle and occasionally intechanging positions with Coutinho in the left. Aspas should start IMO. Getting 3 points is crucial because Steve Bruce has a fat head. I can definitely see them scoring and I can see us outscoring them. I just hope our lads wont turn up complacent

Simon Mignolet, Glen Johnson, Kolo Toure, Daniel Agger, Jose Enrique, Lucas Leiva, Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Iago Aspas, Philipe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge will be my starting XI

[rusty-la]

Good OP Corkboy.

Particularly enjoyed the reference to Scottish trophies not counting.

If we are realistic about being a Top 4 side, this fixture should be one we set out to win, and expect to.

Personally, I dont believe  we are a Top 4, just yet.  So my expectation is not so high and I would happily take a draw.

 

[MiserableP15]

I'll be honest. I'm fucking terrified we're going to get Benteke'd again.

That said, the optimistic side of my brain is telling me that Kolo can handle him better than Skrtel did, and we've got enough about our attack to really worry them either in possession or on the break.

The fact they got 3 points away to Arsenal actually helps us imo too.

Fingers and toes massively crossed on a 3-1 win.

[the_red_pill]

Villa's counter-attack will take many to pieces as we've witnessed firsthand last season and on Saturday.

Of course there's Benteke, but the man with the brains is Weimann. Liked him since the first few times I've seen him at Villa and I always wondered why we weren't in for him earlier during Kenny's time here as he would've been a perfect foil for Andy. Very intelligent player.

Anyway- we've got Kolo to deal with Benteke this season so he'll be less than a worry. Like I said, Weimann is the one we should watch. Agbonlahor is also capable of his moments, but I think we have the players to handle him.


On preseason's evidence and Saturday's, we have a much improved attack and we press better. One of the things we should be wary of is Villa exploiting our high line though- they've got the pace, strength and intelligence to do that, in that front 3.

[mart356]

It will be interesting to see how Villa play, against Arsenal they defended deep and hit on the counter attack using fast, powerful players. They did it well, and it worked for them. Given we are of a similiar style and standard to Arsenal, will Villa stick with the defend and counter tactic, or change slightly now that they're at Home? If they do stick with it, I can see it causing us problems, we're notoriously bad at unlocking defences that sit deep and in numbers, and last season it was so easy to just run through us on the counter attack.

I would say normally to adjust our style so that we play more on the counter attack ourselves and use Coutinho and Sturridge to attack with pace, but defending deep would allow them to get a lot of crosses in, which we dont want with Benteke around. A difficult match, and Brendan will have to be smart about this one.

[Sucker-Punch]

A bit unfair on Villa, playing with 12 players, but if these guys could pull it off, don't see why we couldnt

  oops

how did Allen creep in there 

[woof]

Playing at home, Villa will try to dominate possession instead of playing the effective counter-attacking game that played against Arsenal. Stifle the flanks and we'll have a good chance of stopping Abs and Benteke.

[Almo]

Steve Bruce has a fat head.

And a blurred nose.

[JennaD]

Thanks OP  Really excited for the match. Feeling confident...I like that feeling 

[stevied]

Great OP Corkboy
Hopefully Villa will play well at Chelsea and be in the game for 90 mins if they concede early i can see it being a damage limitation exercise, if they stay in the game Lambert will keep all his main players on hoping to get something, with that we should have the physical edge come Saturday evening.
We have a good record at Villa Park and one of the good aways of the season, i expect us to nick it by an odd goal

[Jonny-LFC]

Doubt they will play as good as they did at the Emirates, especially if Chelsea knock them down a peg or two tomorrow night.

Won't be an easy game by any means, think their front 3 will cause problems, but not as much as our attacking options. Think we will win 2-0, Aspas and Lucas. Get a quid on it.

[Gm4]

Thank corkboy.
As many have already mentioned, Villa can be very dangerous counter - attacking. Obviously Benteke is the biggest thread so containing him is essential. I think Toure can get the job done. Weimann is our next biggest problem and also very difficult to contain. I think we can handle Agbonlahor, though.

Anyway I'm feeling quite optimistic we won't concede but I also think we'll struggle to score.
It's not an easy fixture but definitely winnable.

[adwhite40]

I think alot of it will come down to how we deal with Benteke.

At the game at Anfield last year and the first half at Villa park, he out-battled our defenders and caused us no end of problems. If we can keep him quiet and stand up to his physical game then I am confident we will get 3 points.

I would stick with exactly the same team as against Stoke as I thought our creativity was fantastic and dont see any real need to change it.

I don't want to be 'over-confident' at this early stage but if we play like we did against Stoke, but take the chances when they come around, this should be a comfortable victory, and one we should be winning if we want to be challenging for the Top 4.

[Sat1]

Fancy us taking this. For some reason I see Villa harder to beat at ours.

[Scouse-Con]

Can't make this game so I expect to see loads of pyro from the travelling kop get your Jaffa cake boxes ready lads and also I fancy us to take 3 points away from Villa Park. It'll be a hard game because they will be buzzing from the Arsenal win and they are at home but still fancy us beating them. Anyone know if its on Sky Sports or BT?

[Cattive Maniere]

I think its on Sky, mate

[Fitzy.]

To me Villa seem like a classic hot and cold team. One week they'll be great but the next week they'll be awful getting boo'ed by their fans. A bit like us in some ways, without the boos!

Could be an entertaining game. In open play we can control large periods of matches but give the opposition a set piece around our goal and we look really vulnerable. If we are clinical then we have a great chance - always seem to do well at Villa.

[farawayred]

Looking forward to the Kolo-Benteke duel.

[cyador]

Villa are a real bogey team for us, our style doesn't match well with theirs imho. Think it'll be a score draw.

[Yozza1]

Villa seem to be better away from home due to their counter attacking style with pace. We should really punish them in the centre of the park as Westwood and El Ahmadi are pretty small and not the greatest. Obviously Benteke is the main danger but I think Kolo will be able to handle him this time around. As we know they are quite inexperienced at the back and I Hope we exploit this

[Mr_Shane]

I do not see this as a draw actually. I think there will be a winner, and I hope it will be us. We will create, but can we finish?

[Bruce88]

Benteke really impressed me at Anfield last season, didn't expect that from him at the time. But he proved himself last season and I read that he did well during pre-season too, only saw parts of the Arsenal game so can't judge that performance. Best Belgian striker at the moment, rate him higher than Lukaku for instance, and I think a lot of my fellow Belgians will agree. Surprised he stayed at Villa to be honest, but I guess it can be a smart move if he can repeat the things he did last season. A guarantued spot in the line-up is important too with the WC coming up. Anyway, we must shut him down if we want to win, can Toure do the job? No need to change the team in my opinion, they did well against Stoke. Lots to look forward to, can't wait.

[Fitzy.]

Villa are a real bogey team for us, our style doesn't match well with theirs imho. Think it'll be a score draw.

I think we've taken more points off Villa than any other PL team. Our record at Villa Park is fantastic.