Can Aston Villa kick-start a successful FA Cup campaign with victory over League Two high-flyers Stevenage? Here’s the latest heading into this third round fixture at Villa Park…
THE BUILD UP
Following on from Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw with Wolves in the Premier League, Aston Villa look to continue an unbeaten start to 2023 with cup victory over fourth-tier title candidates Stevenage. The Villans have a distasteful recent record in the FA Cup, with their last win in the competition coming eight years ago in the 2-0 beating of Wycombe Wanderers in a third round replay.
Unai Emery has made it clear that winning a trophy is something he would like to achieve at Aston Villa and is determined to bring silverware back to Villa Park. This year’s FA Cup presents itself as a good opportunity for the Spanish head coach to do so as he aims to become the first Villa manager to win the prestigious trophy since the 1956/57 season when Eric Houghton’s side got the better of Manchester United in the final thanks to Peter McParland’s double.
Stevenage started their 2023 in winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Gillingham. The Boro sit second in League Two at the half-way point in the season and look likely to be playing League One football next year. Manager Steve Evans has transformed the Stevenage side since taking over in March 2022 – successfully leading them to survival last season, before making them candidates for promotion this term.
The Hertfordshire based side have never been further than the fifth round in the FA Cup, but have started this year’s campaign well with victories over Gateshead in the first round and King’s Lynn in the second. A moment that sticks out for many Stevenage fans derives from the 2011/12 campaign when The Boro welcomed Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham Hotspur to Broadhall Way and earned themselves a fifth round replay at White Hart Lane after battling it out for a 0-0 over 90 minutes.
TEAM NEWS
ASTON VILLA
Unai Emery looks set to welcome Jacob Ramsey back to the Aston Villa match-day squad ahead of Sunday’s game. Ramsey has been out of action since the return of the Premier League, having picked up a hamstring injury during the club’s trip to Dubai in December. The 21 year-old started both games under Emery pre-World Cup, playing a significant part in each.
John McGinn will not play this weekend as he continues to recover from a hamstring strain suffered in the latter stages of Villa’s 2-0 New Years Day victory over Tottenham Hotspur. The Scottish midfielder could return in time for the clash with Jesse Marsch’s Leeds United at Villa Park next weekend however.
The only other confirmed absentee is Diego Carlos who has been continuing to recover at Bodymoor Heath ahead of a possible return to action next month.
Elsewhere, Cameron Archer has joined Michael Carrick’s Middlesborough on loan for the rest of the season. The 21 year-old forward has rarely featured under Unai Emery, playing just eight minutes in the league since the former Villarreal boss’ arrival, but is sure to rack up valuable minutes in the Boro front line and continue his development.
On the transfer front, it appears as if Real Betis’ Álex Moreno will become Emery’s first signing at Aston Villa. As reported by the reliable Fabrizio Romano, talks with the Spanish club for the left-back has reached the ‘advanced’ stage and other reports state the deal will be in the region of £12 million.
STEVENAGE
Defender Terence Vancooten could miss this weekend’s game through injury. The Guyanese centre-back was withdrawn early into the second-half of Stevenage’s latest victory over Gillingham and is set to spend some time on the sidelines as a result.
Steve Evans has been busy in the first week of January transfer window and has brought two new faces to Broadhall Way. Midfielder Daryl Horgan arrives on loan from League One side Wycombe, whilst Jake Forster-Caskey completes a move from Charlton Athletic to further bolster the Boro midfield.
Elsewhere, on loan left-back Saxon Earley has been recalled by parent club Norwich City and midfielder Arthur Read has departed, leaving to fellow League Two outfit Colchester United for the remainder of the season.
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A BIT ON STEVENAGE
As mentioned, Stevenage are having quite the campaign in League Two, bettered only by Richie Wellens’ Leyton Orient who are top of the table. Steve Evans’ side have won 51 points from 24 games played and boast the second best defence in the league, conceding just 17 goals thus far. As it stands, the 2010/11 League Two play-off winners are five points clear of third-place Northampton, who were defeated by Salford earlier today, and have an extra game in hand on The Cobblers too.
The Boro don’t rely on one man for their goals, with their top scorer Jordan Roberts bagging just six goals this term; Danny Rose and Luke Norris each have five. Defender Carl Piergianni is currently in good goal-scoring form, finding the net three times in the last two games, including the winner against Gillingham on Monday.
Leading up to the tie, manager Steve Evans commented on his excitement on reuniting with Villa ‘keeper Emi Martínez. Evans managed Rotherham United between 2015 and 2018 and had the World Cup winner on loan for the 2015/16 campaign.
On tomorrow’s reunion with the No.1, he said: “I’ve played less than a fingernail in his career but probably an important part when you consider he was at a crossroads at Arsenal when he came to Rotherham in the Championship.
“I hope he’s got his World Cup medal to show me”.
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PREDICTED LINE-UP
Let’s take a look at Liam’s predicted line-up for this upcoming FA Cup third round fixture…
Do you agree? Who makes your side?
Have your own attempt by accessing the following link: https://utvpodcast.co.uk/line-up-selector/.
AUTHOR | LIAM DAVIES
Author’s UTV PODCAST archive Liam Davies – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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