The Villans welcome Brentford to Villa Park following Thursday night’s sacking of Steven Gerrard. Find out all of the latest in game week 13’s match preview.
THE BUILD UP
Thursday night’s heavy defeat away to Fulham spelled the end of Gerrard’s reign at Villa and the Midlands side now begin a search for a new manager. Aaron Danks will pick things up and lead the team into battle this weekend, following the release of other backroom staff, namely Gary McAllister and Neil Critchley.
Brentford held Chelsea to a goalless draw at the Brentford Community Stadium on Wednesday. Thomas Frank’s side remained resilient and frustrated The Blues – this result put The Bees up into 10th place.
Sporting CP manager RΓΊben Amorim is the current favourite for the vacant role at Aston Villa. The 37 year-old won Sporting their first league title in 19 years in what was a fantastic season, whereby the Lisbon-based side lost just once and conceded only 20 goals across 34 games.
TEAM NEWS
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will be available for selection this weekend after a successful appeal of the red card received in midweek. The club released the following statement on Friday:
There are no fresh injury concerns for the claret and blue side, but Lucas Digne, Diego Carlos, Boubacar Kamara and Ludwig Augustinsson all remain sidelined on a long-term basis.
Thomas Frank will be without four players for Sunday’s fixture. Versatile full-back Aaron Hickey misses out after damaging ligaments in his ankle – this injury jeopardizes his World Cup hopes. Goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha suffered the same fate and will be absent this weekend too.
Danish international Christian NΓΈrgaard will not make the trip to Birmingham after suffering an Achilles injury. Thomas Frank confirmed the midfielder will “miss a number of weeks”. Also unavailable is Pontus Jansson who has a hamstring issue.
A BIT ON BRENTFORD
Thomas Frank is another name linked with the vacant Aston Villa job, although the 49 year-old is set to stay with Brentford. The former BrΓΈndby IF head coach has been with The Bees since 2018, taking over from former Villa boss Dean Smith after stepping up from the assistant role. In that time, he has led the West-London side to the top division and made them an established Premier League team.
So far this season, Brentford have won three, drawn five and lost three, sitting on 14 points as a result. Standout performances include a 4-0 victory over Manchester United and a 5-2 win over Jesse Marsch’s Leeds United.
A key performer for The Bees this campaign is forward Ivan Toney. The former Peterborough striker won his first England call-up for September’s UEFA Nation’s League fixtures and has eight goals in 11 Premier League games. The 26 year-old will look to continue his fine form ahead of November’s World Cup as he looks to be a part of Gareth Southgate’s squad in Qatar.
Frank plays an intense, high-pressing system that has caused many teams problems over the years. The Danish head coach typically sets his team out in a 3-5-2 formation, allowing for exciting, expansive football.
PREDICTED LINE-UP
Below is Liam’s predicted line-up for Sunday’s game at Villa Park:
He thinks there will be a defensive alteration – do you agree? What changes would you make?
Make your own attempt by accessing the following link: https://utvpodcast.co.uk/line-up-selector/.
AUTHOR | LIAM DAVIES
Author’s UTV PODCAST archive liamayrtondavies – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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