Steven Gerrard’s men face The Clarets for the second time in the space of 12 days as Villa Park is set to host it’s final fixture of the season. The Villans do not have much to play for themselves, but can have a substantial say on both the relegation battle and the fight for the title in their two remaining ties.
BUILD UP
Aston Villa could only take a point away from their recent encounter with Crystal Palace after letting a 1-0 lead slip in the 82nd minute, courtesy of a Jeffery Schlupp tap-in. Forward Ollie Watkins bagged his eleventh of the season just past the hour mark, but it wasn’t enough to secure all three points on the day.
Steven Gerrard was left frustrated after the final whistle sounded, and believed his side “created the better chances” but “couldn’t take them”. With the summer transfer window nearing, could we see the former Rangers boss search for a clinical forward that can finish the big chances his side creates, as the club looks to progress further up the league and towards the heights of European football?
A report has emerged this week that explains the vast amount of time Villa’s Head Coach spends talking to Sporting Director Johan Lange ahead of his first summer window at the club, and joked that he speaks to Lange “more than he does to his wife”. There is a large turnover expected within the Aston Villa squad over the new few months, in what has been described as “a big summer rebuild at Villa Park”.
The focus turns to Thursday night until then though, with Mike Jackson’s Burnley travelling down to the West Midlands in what will be both sides’ penultimate game of the season, before the drama of the final day coming this Sunday.
Last time out saw Burnley taste defeat at the hands of UEFA Champions League-chasing Tottenham Hotspur thanks to a Harry Kane penalty on the strike of half-time. Ashley Barnes was deemed to handle the ball inside the 18-yard box after a late VAR check, and Spurs’ talisman did what he does best in putting that one past ‘keeper Nick Pope.
Jackson’s side will need every point they can manage from their remaining two, with The Clarets sitting just inside the relegation zone by a point, but with this game in hand on Jesse Marsch’s Leeds United who occupy 17th position on 35 points.
Aston Villa on the other hand seemingly have very little to play for, but boss Steven Gerrard has made it exceptionally clear over the last few weeks that he wants his squad of players to finish the season as strong as possible to gear up for a big summer ahead and the excitement surrounding the start of next season.
Can Aston Villa do the seasonal double over The Clarets, or will Burnley salvage what could be a valuable three points as they look to take themselves away from danger?
Let’s take a look at the team news from either camp heading into the huge game at Villa Park…
TEAM NEWS
On the back of the recent draw with Crystal Palace, defender Ezri Konsa appears to have damaged his knee ligaments. The No.4 was taken off early into the second-half after trapping his leg under the falling Jean-Phillipe Mateta during an aerial challenge, and having undergone a MRI scan to find out the extent of the damage, faces 16 weeks on the sidelines.
Steven Gerrard would have hoped the severity of the injury was low, so Konsa could return for the start of the 22/23 season, especially since these type of injuries can keep players sidelined for a while if badly damaged. The Aston Villa boss confirmed that the former Brentford man will miss the season’s finale, saying: “I’ll be extremely surprised if he plays again (this season)”, with January signing Calum Chambers expected to take his place for the remaining two fixtures.
Elsewhere, Leon Bailey and Kortney Hause, who both missed the previous affair with Crystal Palace, could miss the upcoming game due to the short turnaround of games leaving the pair without enough time to recover from their respective abdominal and ankles injuries. It is looking increasingly unlikely that we will see either player in a claret and blue shirt for the remainder of the campaign, and each of them will hope to make an impact and impress Gerrard at the start of next season.
Steven Gerrard revealed that goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez “has got a small issue” , but explains how the Argentine should “pull through” ahead of this one. The shot-stopper has played 35 times for his club this season, and has been impressive once again in net for the Villans. Back-up ‘keeper Robin Olsen will be the man to replace Martinez, if the No.1 is deemed unfit to start.
There appears to be no more injury concerns heading into the mid-week fixture under the lights at Villa Park, but the starting lineup may shift with the recent draw against Vieira’s Palace just days behind us and the season’s final game away to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City coming right around the corner this Sunday. Could we see Jacob Ramsey find his way back into the midfield, as well as play-maker Emiliano Buendía also appearing from the first whistle?
As for this week’s opponents, Burnley, they seem to have a number of key men that will be touch-and-go ahead of kick-off on Thursday. Defender James Tarkowski, who has been a staple in the Clarets’ side over the years, could miss the game with a hamstring injury sustained in the reverse fixture at Turf Moor. Burnley’s stand-in captain was taken off just moments into the second-half of the tie, with squad player Kevin Long the man to replace him.
Mike Jackson switched to a five-back formation for the previous contest at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, and could keep the system at Villa Park if Tarkowski deems unfit. Club captain Ben Mee has missed a good portion of the season after suffering a hairline leg fracture in the defeat at home to Leicester at the start of March. The 32-year old teamed up with Jackson following the departure of former boss Sean Dyche, and has contributed from a coaches’ point of view as his side attempts to avoid relegation for another year.
Forward Jay Rodriguez could return to the fold this week, with gaffer Jackson explaining how “Jay Rod has a possibility” in the lead-up to the game. The former West-Brom striker has played 29 times this season, but has only scored twice in that time. Could the No.19 return on Thursday, and bag an important goal that may save his team from the drop?
Former-Villan Ashley Westwood will miss the game after breaking his leg against West Ham United a few weeks ago, meanwhile forward Matěj Vydra will be sidelined after suffering a similar fate as Ezri Konsa, and rupturing cruciate ligaments in his knee. The Czech No.27 will of course miss the rest of the season, but following an operation in the next couple of weeks, will discover his approximate return date.
To conclude, Johann Gudmunsson will miss the game after taking time away from football for personal reasons, whilst Dutch full-back Erik Pieters is unlikely to feature for The Clarets. The midfield ranks will be bolstered by the return of Dale Stephens, with the former Brighton & Hove Albion man absent from the game in North-London on Sunday, but fit and ready for the game at Villa Park.
Let’s now take a closer look at the opposition Steven Gerrard and his side face-up against this week…
THE OPPOSITION
Burnley, despite taking ten points from a possible twelve at the start of Mike Jackson’ reign, have struggled of late, and are approaching this game having lost twice on the bounce. One of these defeats were of course against their midweek opponents Aston Villa at Turf Moor, with Ollie Watkins, Danny Ings and Emiliano Buendía the trio to sink The Clarets on the day, before a late Maxwel Cornet consolation salvaged some pride from the contest.
Their recent loss away to Antonio Conte’s Spurs was not a disappointing one however, and it took a tight VAR call to decide the fixture. Jackson’s men were rigid and tough to break down; a characteristic that this Burnley side have been renowned for over the years. A five-back formation was set out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and despite the wealth of attacking talent that the Lilywhites deployed, namely Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, they could no score from open play during the 90 minute affair.
Jackson will hope his side can display such a defensively sound performance again this Thursday against Aston Villa, and will also hope his shot-stopper Nick Pope can put in a performance similar to the one seen on Sunday, which saw Burnley’s No.1 pull of a total of six saves throughout, denying multiple clear-cut opportunities on the day and receiving the ‘man of the match’ award as a result.
Winger Maxwel Cornet is expected to start Thursday’s fixture, and the Ivorian has already punished Aston Villa this season. His 25 minute cameo on the back of a knee injury resulted in the No.20’s eighth of the season, and the 25 year-old is arguably Burnley’s best threat going forward, offering an immense amount of pace, whilst also possessing a fine left-foot.
Calum Chambers will face a slightly different battle compared to his previous at Turf Moor. Villa’s No.16 was played in the holding-midfield role in the 3-1 victory for added physicality in the middle of the park, but looks set to drop deeper into the center of defence in Ezri Konsa’s absence on Thursday.
Chambers will play a crucial part on the night, as he possibly faces up against the towering Wout Weghorst and the brutish Ashley Barnes in the Burnley attack, alongside captain Tyrone Mings. These two make it hard for any Premier League defender, and Chambers will have to continue his fine work since his arrival in January in this one.
Midfielder Joshua Brownhill has recently been linked with teams such as Aston Villa and West Ham United ahead of the summer, with the hard-working 26 year-old steadily becoming a well-rounded Premier League midfielder since joining from Bristol City in the January window of 2020. Burnley’s No.8 is another that is expected to start in this game, and will cause a problem or two for the Villa midfield on the night.
Burnley have always been described as a side who play ‘route 1’, and this unique style of football will be on display once again on Thursday. The idea is to frustrate the opponent when out of possession, by sitting deep and allowing no spaces between the midfield and defence; ultimately being tough to break down and generate a chance against. When on the ball, play is typically sent long for the physical forwards to deal with and make something happen before the midfield support catches up with play and can help out.
Whether you like this unconventional playing style or not, it has worked for Burnley over the years, and will be in full effect on Thursday as Mike Jackson and his side fight for Premier League survival. Can The Clarets continue to use this system to frustrate Steven Gerrard’s side on the night and snatch a vital win on the road?
Let’s take a look at my final thoughts ahead of the contest…
FINAL THOUGHTS
My initial thoughts heading into this one is that we should see Aston Villa come away with all three points, and with some comfort too. Fighting for their lives, Burnley are expected to sit back at Villa Park, like they did against Tottenham, and with the creative quality in the Villa side, I believe we can break the away sides’ back-line down numerous times on the night.
Ollie Watkins finds himself in a rich vein of goal-scoring form at the back-end of the campaign, scoring four in his last seven club appearances, and if the No.11 is presented with a few chances, you can bet your life he will finish one of them.
The same applies to his strike-partner, Danny Ings, who too finds himself bang in-form and full of confidence ahead of this fixture. The former Southampton forward has four assists and three goals in his last nine appearances, and with good supply from his midfield counter-parts, could we see the No.20 on the score-sheet against his former side once again?
With Chambers likely dropping back into defence in place of Konsa, Marvelous Nakamba is expected to make a third consecutive start in claret and blue, but is his physicality enough in the middle? Maybe a man of Tim Iroegbunam’s stature would be more sufficient for Gerrard’s side on the night. I believe the youngster is due some more minutes in the side, especially given his fine performance against Norwich City a couple weeks back.
As always, Burnley will not be a pushover, and regardless of how they are playing, Jackson’s side always seem to give us a good game. Last season’s fixture at Villa Park instantly springs to mind, where the Villans produced a total of 27 shots at goal throughout the 90 minutes but to no avail, and the game finished a goalless draw.
The reverse fixture at Turf Moor was even worse for the claret and blue side, as Villa seemingly dominated the first-half and should have been out of sight, but the battling Burnley fought back and took all three points after a mammoth-resurgence in the second forty-five minute interval.
To summarise, I think Aston Villa will come away with the victory, but the scoreline will be tight, and it will not be a completely enjoyable watch for the Villa Park faithful on their final visit of the season. I’ll call a close 1-0 victory, with the prolific Danny Ings to grab the game’s sole goal.
Up the Villa!
Liam
AUTHOR | LIAM DAVIES
Author’s UTV PODCAST archive liamayrtondavies – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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