Topic: MATCH PREVIEW: Aston Villa v Liverpool, Villa Park Mon 13 May 20:00

[Agent99]

In his presser today, Jürgen says there was a bust-up in the changies at half-time in that game.

Nice OP Duvva. 

Does he say who between?

[A Red Abroad]

Does he say who between?

No... he was asked... but refused to name names.

[SamLad]

No... he was asked... but refused to name names.

He's such a clickteaser.

[A Red Abroad]

He's such a clickteaser.

 

[Too early for flapjacks?]

Does he say who between?

It was Robertson and Mane I think.

[Agent99]

No... he was asked... but refused to name names.

Not these two again? 

[lionel_messias]

Feels like this will be a draw or a defeat. Villa with their last home game and a chance to secure top four will be intense. However if Spurs drop points to Burnley then it could be an equaliser in terms of that intensity shown.

Same 11 please Jurgen.

Feels like a draw, defeat or win to me.

Just something in me waters, and not that infection from last month.

[A Red Abroad]

Not these two again? 

 

[semit5]

Still remember the Mane late winner here in November 2019. Flicked header from a corner in the 94th minute.

I went absolutely apeshit. That was the moment I really believed we were gonna win number 19.

God I love that goal.

I remember Man City had a late winner on the same day but before this happened, they had just won but this really killed them

[Hazell]

I remember Man City had a late winner on the same day but before this happened, they had just won but this really killed them

And then Guardiola in his post match interview started talking about Mane diving for some reason. And then we pumped them at Anfield the weekend after.

[redtel]

Good job Duvva 👍

We have had many wins at Villa Park punctuated by the odd heavy defeat. Not many draws.
That 7-2 was a nightmare and the 5-1 defeat way back was in the same season we won big ears for the first time. Then there was a 5-0 when we sent an Academy team due to our appearance in the WCC.

We used the week off to prepare well for Spurs so I expect us to be up for this and get the three points. I was pleased to see us defending with more determination when Spurs came at us early on. No more early goals against please 🙏

[So… Howard Philips]

And then Guardiola in his post match interview started talking about Mane diving for some reason. And then we pumped them at Anfield the weekend after.

Was that in the time of ‘Salah’s got a new hat’?

[BobPaisley3]

Massive massive pressure on Villa. Complete free hit for us.

[latortuga]

ESPN FC have an interesting article on 'worst misses of the season' based on xG.

They picked out only the top 5, but I kind of half expected Darwin to be featured at least once or twice, particularly given the narrative around his misses this season and the way he has been savaged by many, including our own fans. 

Doesn't feature once.

To keep this on topic, Aston Villa's very own striker Olly Watkins - who it must be remembered had his own struggles in his early years in the Premier League - does feature.  Watkins has 19 goals for the season and at 28 is at the peak of his career, but anyone who has followed him will know that long seemed a distant prospect.  His first 2 seasons in the league produced 15 and 11 goals respectively, but much like our own Darwin, he was guilty of some bad misses.  Clearly that hasn't changed, but what has changed is his maturity - that's the benefit of age and experience - and you can see it in the moments when Aston Villa need his mind to be at its calmest.  1 more goal and Watkins will be classed as a 20 goals in a season striker, with at least 2 - 3 seasons of his best ahead of him. 

The moral of the story is we all have different life trajectories and sometimes it takes some a little longer to figure it all out.

[Baby Huey]

Just been online to book four seats to New St, for Monday. No return until 23.22, gets back home at 6.20 Tuesday morning. Living in a third world country. Going to have to drive down. FFS!

Oh yeah, it was £231 for four seats. c*nts!!

[Samie]

[duvva 💅]

Fucking hell Ibou he’s only just come back

Easy lad

[KC7]

Diaz Gakpo Salah
Mac Gravenberch
Bajcetic
Robbo Virgil Quansah Trent
Ali

Harvey may start though since Jurgen has spoken of his regret that not happening more. Still think he's a much better player coming on as he changes the tempo of the game when he does, which he obviously cannot do from the start, and physically he seems more able to match up to players who have already had to put in a shift. Plus on the bench you can see what's needed more than being in the thick of it. Being a world class sub shouldn't be seen as a snub or a devalued role. It's a massive role, and often decisive.

This has become quite an important game in that we lose then Spurs have nothing to play for against Abu Dhabi 115. Get something and then Spurs will have to go all out; Villa are away to Palace last game and I can see them losing to such an athletic team.

[UntouchableLuis]

Diaz Gakpo Salah
Mac Gravenberch
Bajcetic
Robbo Virgil Quansah Trent
Ali

Harvey may start though since Jurgen has spoken of his regret that not happening more. Still think he's a much better player coming on as he changes the tempo of the game when he does, which he obviously cannot do from the start, and physically he seems more able to match up to players who have already had to put in a shift. Plus on the bench you can see what's needed more than being in the thick of it. Being a world class sub shouldn't be seen as a snub or a devalued role. It's a massive role, and often decisive.

This has become quite an important game in that we lose then Spurs have nothing to play for against Abu Dhabi 115. Get something and then Spurs will have to go all out; Villa are away to Palace last game and I can see them losing to such an athletic team.

Genuinely think Spurs are the kind of club that would rather lose if it meant Arsenal don't win the title. Huge Everton vibes about them.

[Crosby Nick]

Just been online to book four seats to New St, for Monday. No return until 23.22, gets back home at 6.20 Tuesday morning. Living in a third world country. Going to have to drive down. FFS!

Oh yeah, it was £231 for four seats. c*nts!!

The world famous Birmingham Sleeper!

[lionel_messias]

Genuinely think Spurs are the kind of club that would rather lose if it meant Arsenal don't win the title. Huge Everton vibes about them.

Fans, yes.

The players won't though, and won't want to throw in a poor game at home for their last one,
some maybe looking for transfers or better roles next season.

[disgraced cake]

Fans, yes.

The players won't though, and won't want to throw in a poor game at home for their last one,
some maybe looking for transfers or better roles next season.

I think you're overestimating their ability and determination, a relatively demoralised Liverpool scored 4 against them in an hour, and this is a City side who beat everyone at the end of every season. Even a point for Villa tomorrow is basically killer for the top 4.

[number 168]

Just been online to book four seats to New St, for Monday. No return until 23.22, gets back home at 6.20 Tuesday morning. Living in a third world country. Going to have to drive down. FFS!

Oh yeah, it was £231 for four seats. c*nts!!

Too right. Getting around the country by train is third world standard and at huge cost though. I went by train from Alicante to Madrid return for 44 euros for tbe Final. Quick, comfortable, reliable and cheap. Only downside was the guard apologising for those in seats after coach 3 as all the alcohol had already gone. I was in coach 4 and there were plenty of very unhappy lads around me!

[Baby Huey]

Too right. Getting around the country by train is third world standard and at huge cost though. I went by train from Alicante to Madrid return for 44 euros for tbe Final. Quick, comfortable, reliable and cheap. Only downside was the guard apologising for those in seats after coach 3 as all the alcohol had already gone. I was in coach 4 and there were plenty of very unhappy lads around me!

Not to derail the thread. Spain are also building a new high speed 200km link between Murcia and Almeria. Cost? Less than 4 billion Euros. I'm old enough to having travelled all over Europe with Liverpool, and pre-privatisation BR was great, better than most of other European countries. Now...shite. Look at the image below and you can see what government and EU funding can and does achieve. The Italian train service is doing better business than the airlines in that country. France, they banned flights where the same journey could be made by train in under two-and-a-half hours.

This gaff, All about private profit!

[Gifted Right Foot]

All i ask is for a Joe Gomez goal. 

[RedG13]

Great OP Duuva. Excited for the game

[Zlen]

All i ask is for a Joe Gomez goal. 

All I ask is he stops taking stupid pot shots.

[rocco]

Tough game this , with Villa trying to secure champions league football

[disgraced cake]

Considering there's nothing riding on it and everyone will be keen to end on a high against Wolves might as well use this one for a few changes. I think Gravenberch deserves a game and would use Bajcetic, but changing the midfield left us a bit vulnerable against Spurs in the last half an hour, just a few sensible changes would do. Nunez from the start, would still have liked to have seen Gomez end the season at centre half but he's just not gone for it all season. Final runouts for Tsimikas and Kelleher, perhaps.

[A-Bomb]

Be a good test tonight, well apart from having to listen to Villa sing our song 

I'd like to see a composed performance, few to no mistakes, no gaping holes in our set up and being clinical with our chances. I think i'll volley the TV if we concede first *again*

[MD1990]

we need to be smart & rotate
give a rest to players like VVD,Mac & the players with most fatigue

[amir87]

we need to be smart & rotate
give a rest to players like VVD,Mac & the players with most fatigue

We haven't had a match for 8 days. No need to rest players unnecessarily.

[Peabee]

we need to be smart & rotate
give a rest to players like VVD,Mac & the players with most fatigue

What's the point in rotating now. There's been 8 days since the last game and there is only one game to go afterwards.

[lionel_messias]

we need to be smart & rotate
give a rest to players like VVD,Mac & the players with most fatigue

There's no need to rotate!

The squad is rested and we only have pride to play for.

Then 6 days rest before Jurgen's final game, sniff

[Higgins79]

Fully rested from last week, I expect pretty much the same starting 11. Really aggressive, get above 80 points and put Villa in their place.

[Original]

Not to derail the thread. Spain are also building a new high speed 200km link between Murcia and Almeria. Cost? Less than 4 billion Euros. I'm old enough to having travelled all over Europe with Liverpool, and pre-privatisation BR was great, better than most of other European countries. Now...shite. Look at the image below and you can see what government and EU funding can and does achieve. The Italian train service is doing better business than the airlines in that country. France, they banned flights where the same journey could be made by train in under two-and-a-half hours.

This gaff, All about private profit!

Whilst you're mostly correct, the size and sparsity of Spain definitely helps when it comes to building rail on this scale. 

[Giono]

All i ask is for a Joe Gomez goal. 

I don't want him that far up the pitch or inverted if he plays.

[Keita Success]

Genuinely love watching us play when I don't have to care about the result. Far more enjoyable. Let's get the league won in the first 30 games of next season so we can chill a bit next year.

[Samie]

Arne Slot says he will be watching the game. 

[LFCEmpire]

Happy Aston Villa relegation day... remember that gold of a thread? Ughh hope we crush their CL hopes tonight. Up the mighty reds!