Aston Villa host Patrick Vieira’s out-of-form Crystal Palace side next up in the Premier League. Here’s all you need to know heading into the upcoming clash at Villa Park…
THE BUILD UP
After putting a stop to their three game losing streak with victory over Sean Dyche’s Everton last Saturday, Villa are back at home and are gearing up to face a struggling Crystal Palace side.
At Goodison Park, Ollie Watkins put his name in the Aston Villa history books when firing home his penalty in the 63rd minute, becoming the first Villan to score in five consecutive games in the Premier League. Emi BuendΓa would top off a fine ‘super-sub’ cameo with a goal to put the cherry on top of the cake for Unai Emery’s side in a hard-fought 2-0 win on the road.
Emery has urged his team to transition the excellent away form into the performances at Villa Park. At B6, the claret and blue side have picked up just four points since the former Villarreal head coach’s arrival, but have a chance to turn things around this weekend against Palace.
On Monday night, Emi MartΓnez was invited to #TheBest awards in Paris following his nomination of The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper Award 2022 for his performances during the 2022 Qatar World Cup and domestically at Villa.
The No.1 would go on to win the award ahead of Moroccan star Yassine Bounou and Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois, crowning Argentina and Aston Villa’s shot-stopper ‘the best in the world’.
Crystal Palace find themselves on their worst run of form of the season and are win-less in 2023, having drawn five and lost four across all competitions since the turn of the year.
Last time out, the South-London outfit battled it out against JΓΌrgen Klopp’s Liverpool for a stalemate at Selhurst Park, in a game where both side’s had opportunities throughout the game but failed to convert.
Patrick Vieira’s team remained in 12th as a result – four points behind Aston Villa – and now look to earn their first three points of the year against the side above them on Saturday afternoon.
The last meeting between the two saw The Eagles come away 3-1 victors, with Wilfried Zaha the star of the show at Selhurst. Vieira will hope for a repeat of that performance this weekend as the Frenchman (and his team) aims to climb further towards the top-half of the table.
TEAM NEWS
ASTON VILLA
Aston Villa will be without midfielder Philippe Coutinho for up to month after the Brazilian suffered a hamstring injury in training last week.
The No.23 looked to be finding some form in claret and blue after an inspiring cameo off the bench against Manchester City, which left Unai Emery no choice but to name the 30-year-old in the starting line-up the following week against Arsenal, where he picked up his first goal of the campaign.
The former Barcelona maestro unexpectedly missed out on the trip to Merseyside last weekend however, as Emery revealed: “Coutinho is injured and itβs longer than one week. Itβs a muscular injury. I think heβll be out for one month, more or less. Yes, after the international break.β
Elsewhere, Diego Carlos continues to train with the first team as the central-defender targets a return to action later this month, whilst Jed Steer remains unavailable.
Robin Olsen has missed Aston Villa’s last three fixtures through injury, with young ‘keepers Oliwier Zych and Vilijami Sinisalo taking the Swede’s place on the bench. The cause and extent of the 33-year-old’s injury is unknown and therefore his availability for this weekend is up in the air.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Crystal Palace are expected to welcome talisman Wiflried Zaha back to the match-day squad this week. The Ivorian suffered a hamstring injury during The Eagles’ draw with Newcastle near the end of January and has missed the previous four Premier League games as a result.
Before the fixture against The Reds last Saturday, head coach Patrick Vieira revealed: “When there is a hamstring issue, you want to be 100 per cent sure, you don’t want to take any risks and the best decision was to give him another week training with the team.
“He should be ok for the week after.”
Vieira will be without goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, however. The former Villa loanee, who has struggled for playing time at Selhurst Park, has been missing for the last two weeks with a calf injury. Last week, Vieira revealed that: “Sam will not be involved. He will be out with a calf injury for the next couple of weeks.”
Saturday’s game also looks to come just too soon for defender Nathan Ferguson who is eyeing a return from a long-term injury that has kept him sidelined for the duration of the season. The 22-year-old recently played 45 minutes for Crystal Palace’s U21 side and has since trained with the first team.
On Ferguson’s condition, Vieira said: “He is making progress, which is really good for us.”
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A BIT ON CRYSTAL PALACE
Like their opponents this week, Crystal Palace have endured a mixed 2022/23 Premier League campaign, consisting of several impressive victories, a number of disappointing defeats, and a handful of draws too.
The Palace faithful are seemingly fed-up of their team’s ‘mediocrity’ and hope Patrick Vieira can break the cycle and put an end to the club’s consistent mid-table finishes with a place in the top half. The Eagles have finished between 11th and 14th each season dating back to the 2016/17 term, with a lack of consistency the common cause.
The appointment of Patrick Vieira, on the face of it, was an exciting one for the South-London club back in July 2021, with the 46-year-old instilling an exciting, more proactive approach onto his side.
Palace began the season well, picking up 19 points from a possible 39 after 13 games played. The World Cup break appeared to affect Vieira’s team however, and the 2-0 away victory over Bournemouth on New Years Eve is the only Palace win since the action in Qatar.
There have plenty of positive signs in the former Arsenal captain’s playing style though, and the likes of Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze have excelled under his stewardship. Other thriving players include defender Joachim Andersen and midfielder Cheick DoucourΓ© who have established themselves in The Eagles’ side and are consistent performers for Patrick Vieira.
Can a victory at Villa Park kick-start a change in form for Vieira or will Unai Emery discover where the issue lies in his side’s home performances and achieve back to back victories?
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PREDICTED LINE-UP
Letβs take a look at Liamβs predicted line-up for this upcoming fixtureβ¦
Do you agree? Who makes your side?
Have your own attempt by accessing the following link: https://utvpodcast.co.uk/line-up-selector/.
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AUTHOR | LIAM DAVIES
Authorβs UTV PODCAST archive Liam Davies – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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