Aston Villa are back in action following the international break as they gear up for a home clash with Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace. Here’s the latest heading into the upcoming game-week five fixture at Villa Park…
Words by: Liam Davies
THE BUILD UP
The international break has concluded and Premier League football returns! Unai Emery’s side’s first game back is a home contest with Crystal Palace this Saturday, before their Europa Conference League group campaign gets underway on Thursday night, with a trip to Poland to face Legia Warszawa.
Last time out in the league, the Villans were defeated 3-0 away at Anfield, with Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool proving too much for the away side on the afternoon. Summer signing Dominik Szoboszlai opened the scoring inside three minutes, striking the ball past Emi Martínez after a poorly dealt-with corner.
Emery was forced into an early change after Diego Carlos went down injured, and things turned from bad to worse with the Reds doubling their lead moments later. Darwin Núñez’s effort hit the post but struck Matty Cash and tumbled into the back of the net. Mohammed Salah would claim is annual goal against Aston Villa in the second-half, tapping home at the back-post, to round off a comfortable victory at home for the Reds.
Klopp’s side rise to third in the Premier League, with Villa dropping to tenth. Unai Emery will be looking for a response from his team this weekend ahead of a busy couple of weeks that includes Premier League, UEFA Europa Conference League and Carabao Cup fixtures.
Their opponents this week, Crystal Palace, were victorious in their previous league fixture, beating Gary O’Neil’s Wolves by three goals to two at Selhurst Park. Odsonne Édouard grabbed the game’s first goal in the second-half, converting Tyrick Mitchell’s whipped cross, before Wolves equalised through substitute Hwang Hee-chan in the 65th minute.
Eberechi Eze restored the Eagles’ lead in the 78th minute, poking the ball past José Sá after Jean-Philippe Mateta’s flick-on, and Édouard would find his second of the afternoon minutes later with a composed finish into the corner. Matheus Cunha bagged his first goal of the season with the last kick of the game, but it was the home side who claimed all three points and Hodgson’s team climbed to seventh after four games played.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2023/09/03/3777568-76841288-2560-1440.jpg?w=800&ssl=1)
Last season’s game at Villa Park finished 1-0 and it was Joachim Andersen’s own goal that decided the fixture in March. Can Aston Villa get back to winning ways and continue their impressive home form or will Palace build from their positive start to the campaign and claim all three points on the road?
TEAM NEWS
ASTON VILLA
Unai Emery has confirmed that left-back Àlex Moreno will be in the squad for tomorrow’s contest against Crystal Palace. The Spaniard has been sidelined for the last four months with a hamstring injury sustained during the second-half of the side’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield in May.
Moreno has since returned to training and is in contention for a start tomorrow afternoon.
However, midfielder Jacob Ramsey will miss tomorrow’s match at Villa Park. The 22-year-old was a regular in the side last year, scoring six times and assisting on eight separate occasions, but picked up a metatarsal injury during the Under 21 Euro’s campaign with England over the summer. With that being said, Emery did reveal that the number 41 is ‘close to returning’.
Diego Carlos will miss the upcoming fixture too. The Brazilian was taken off during the early stages of the game against Jürgen Klopp’s Reds last time out, with Unai Emery confirming that the former Sevilla man has a hamstring problem.
Elsewhere, Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendía continue their respective rehabilitation processes for their long-term knee injuries, whilst Tim Iroegbunam remains out. Forward Bertrand Traoré is unavailable but close to a comeback.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Crystal Palace will be without midfielder Michael Olise this weekend. The Frenchmen picked up a hamstring whilst on international duty with France U21’s over the summer and is expected to miss the next couple of months, as a result.
Olise recently signed a new contract with Palace, keeping him at Selhurst Park for a further four years amid major summer interest from Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea.
New signing Matheus França is yet to feature in Crystal Palace colours since arriving from Brazilian outfit Flamengo over the summer due to a lower back injury, and will remain sidelined for the upcoming game in the West-Midlands.
Centre-back Marc Guéhi is another big name missing for the Eagles at Villa Park this week. The former Chelsea defender was withdrawn at half-time from England’s recent friendly against Scotland with Three Lions head coach Gareth Southgate confirming that Guéhi had ‘aggravated’ a previous hip problem on the night.
Roy Hogdson then confirmed the 23-year-old’s absence earlier today. Rob Holding and Chris Richards are among the names in contention to take the number five’s place. James Tomkins is absent with a ‘minor injury’ and defender Nathan Ferguson is expected to miss out too.
Midfielder Jefferson Lerma adds to the list of key players unavailable for Palace ahead of the clash in B6, with the Colombian international currently sidelined with a hamstring injury. The 28-year-old made the summer move to Selhurst from Bournemouth and has been a staple in the midfield this season alongside Mali international Cheick Doucoure.
Can I ask a quick favour? We love producing content for you on our website, and we want to share it with as many Villa fans as possible. Consider mentioning our website next time you’re talking Villa with your friends, or better still, It’s free to subscribe to our profit-free site; you’ll receive instant email notifications of all released articles. Plus, as with the website, no adverts or spam mail will be delivered to your mailbox; only our content. Thanks.
A BIT ON CRYSTAL PALACE
Crystal Palace finished firmly in mid-table in 11th in the Premier League last season, 11 points clear of the relegation zone, but 16 points behind this week’s opposition, Aston Villa, who occupied the final European spot in seventh. Patrick Vieira was in charge to begin the campaign but after a long win-less run following the World Cup break, the Frenchmen was sacked and replaced by current boss Roy Hodgson who subsequently steadied the ship and led the Eagles to safety.
The summer transfer window saw four new faces arrive at Selhurst Park and five players depart. Jefferson Lerma was brought in on a free from Bournemouth, Dean Henderson joined from Manchester United, Rob Holding arrived from Arsenal and young Brazilian talent Matheus França arrived from Flamengo.
Among those to have left the club include goalkeepers Jack Butland (Rangers) and Vicente Guaita (Celta Vigo), and midfielders Luke Milivojević (Shabab Al-Ahli) and James McArthur who retired. The most notable departure was, of course, Wilfried Zaha who left Palace after a long and illustrious ten year spell with the club. The Ivorian left in search of UEFA Champions League football, with Turkish side Galatasaray the chosen destination.
The South-London side have adjusted well to life without their former talisman and currently find themselves in seventh after four games played. Victories against Sheffield United and Wolves are accompanied by a well-fought draw away to Brentford and a narrow defeat to last year’s runners-up Arsenal. The Eagles tasted success in their opening Carabao Cup fixture too, defeating Steven Schumacher’s Plymouth Argyle by four goals to two on the night. Hodgson’s side will face Manchester United at Old Trafford in the next round.
Eberechi Eze has been a standout performer for Palace so far this season. His excellent form in the Premier League earned him an international call-up and the 25-year-old came off the bench against Scotland to register his second Three Lions cap. Unai Emery and Aston Villa will be well aware of the former Queens Park Rangers man’s talents and will need to keep him quiet if they are to succeed tomorrow afternoon.
Palace fans will hope they can kick on this season, using Wifried Zaha’s departure as a new lease of life and an opportunity to begin a new chapter at the club. The Selhurst faithful will be tired of the mid-table mediocrity season upon season and will demand at least a top-half finish from their team this term.
Despite a number of key players out, Hodgson will look to use the upcoming game at Villa Park as a chance to continue their stable start to the new campaign and will be looking to take all three points back with them to South-London ahead of Fulham’s visit to Selhurst Park next weekend.
Sorry for interrupting the flow of the post; can you help support us? Our non-profit and ad-free website, UTVPODCAST | The Website, is now accepting small donations to help support its continuous evolution and operating costs. We love creating this content for you and want it to be as successful as possible. If you can help; treat us to a coffee. Thank you.
MY PREDICTED LINE-UP
Let’s take a look at my predicted line-up for this upcoming fixture at Villa Park…
Do you agree? Who makes your side? Share yours now and let’s discuss?
MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR: LIAM DAVIES
“Thank you for reading: any likes, retweets, or shares on the social media post where you found this article would be highly appreciated“.
“Are you on Twitter? Drop me a follow; all released articles will be posted to my feed”.
Click the icon below…
Thumbnail Media Credit: www.avfc.co.uk
HUGE SAVINGS ON ASTON VILLA MERCHANDISE @ KITBAG
UTVPODCAST | The Website is pleased to partner with Official AVFC Store, Fanatics, and Kitbag. Throughout the season, we will bring you exclusive offers and discount codes.
