Hoping to enter the international break in good form, Aston Villa take on Southampton in the Premier League. Here is this week’s match preview followed by my thoughts heading into the fixture.
THE BUILD UP
On the back of a well-fought draw against Manchester City and the postponement of last week’s away fixture against Leicester City, Ralph HassenhΓΌttl’s Saints pay a visit to Villa Park. Steven Gerrard’s team will hope to build upon a fine showing against Pep Guardiola’s star-studded side with all three points this Friday.
The Villans find themselves just outside of the relegation zone in 17th, on a measly 4 points. Their opponents this week are in 12th on 7 points, and so the claret and blues can make up ground with a victory under the lights.
Gerrard emphasised his and the team’s desire to build upon the previous result, saying: βWeβre on the back of one positive performance, the challenge is to back that up.β Form and confidence are everything in football, and the Head Coach will hope to improve both in this upcoming contest.
Last time out against Southampton, Villa run rampant and emerged as 4-0 winners. Goals from Ollie Watkins, Douglas Luiz, Philippe Coutinho and Danny Ings helped the side to arguably their most impressive victory of the season. Can the home side replicate this superb display again, or will Southampton learn from their mistakes and take the points back with them to the south-coast?
A BIT ON SOUTHAMPTON
Southampton had a busy summer transfer window – nine players entered the fold and each are considered first-team quality. A total of around Β£70 million was spent by The Saints across the two month period, and the likes of Gavin Bazunu, Duje Δaleta-Car and Joe Aribo joined the red and whites ahead of the Premier League campaign.
Another new name to arrive at the St. Marys Stadium is centre-back Armel Bella-Kotchap. This is a name that not many (including myself) would have heard of until he made his way to the Premier League. Nonetheless, he is a player who has made an impressive start to life on the south-coast and now finds himself as a part of the German national set-up, after receiving a call-up for the upcoming international fixtures.
HassenhΓΌttl’s side have endured a mixed start to the season, with two wins, a draw and three defeats from their opening six games. This doesn’t tell the true tale however as these defeats came at the hands to superior teams such as Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Saints are a spirited side who have tasted victory over newly-owned Chelsea and a struggling Leicester City though. Their sole draw this term was against Leeds United; a second-half comeback from The Saints put the scores level.
The performances have been creditable on the whole thus far, and Southampton will certainly pose a threat to Aston Villa in game week 8. It will be a tight affair, but who do you think will just edge it?
PRE-MATCH THOUGHTS
My initial thoughts heading into tonight’s game is that of excitement. There is nothing quite like going to Villa Park at night to watch the boys play, and over the years this type of setting has resulted in some fantastic matches.
I am also somewhat hopeful. It is safe to say that it has been a pretty lacklustre start to the term, but that draw against City shows just how capable we are as a side when there is desire and that bit of fight. We need to see that same energy and passion tonight, as if we do, I can see us getting all three points.
However, I am wary too. Whilst we have enjoyed some good times against The Saints over the years, we have also had some underwhelming ones. That 4-3 defeat a couple seasons ago springs to mind, on a day where James Ward-Prowse ran riot in the first-half. We need to be careful.
A draw will be the bare minimum this week, but you could argue that the home crowd will demand a win given the terrible beginning to the campaign. Steven Gerrard commented on the fantastic atmosphere at Villa Park last time out, and the same noise and energy will need to be there again tonight. Come on the Villa!
AUTHOR | LIAM DAVIES
Author’s UTV PODCAST archive liamayrtondavies – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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