Aston Villa seek back to back wins in the Premier League as they prepare for a trip to the south-coast to face Southampton. Here’s the latest heading into Saturday’s fixture at the St Mary’s…
THE BUILD UP
Last time out, Unai Emery’s side saw off Leeds United 2-1 at Villa Park. Leon Bailey opened the scoring inside three minutes with a delightful, curling finish past Ivan Meslier, after a scintillating counter-attack orchestrated by Boubacar Kamara. Emi BuendΓa would strike next just past the hour mark, following up Bailey’s parried effort with a header that, after a VAR check, put the home side two goals up.
Patrick Bamford’s 83rd minute strike off the bench pulled one back for the visitors, but as has been the trend under the new Spanish boss, Villa were able to see the game out relatively comfortably to secure another three points. The Villans sit happily in 10th on 25 points as a result – ten clear of the drop-zone and just five points off the European places.
Southampton, meanwhile, headed to a feisty Goodison Park to play Frank Lampard’s struggling Everton, in what looked to be a big battle at the bottom of the table. The Toffees went a goal up just before half-time after Amadou Onana rose highest from Demarai Gray’s out-swinging corner to nod in past Gavin Bazunu.
The Saints equalled things up right away in the second-half however, as captain James Ward-Prowse expertly maneuvered past a lunging Ben Godfrey, before slotting home past Jordan Pickford. Nathan Jones’ side would go on to win the game and it was that man again Ward-Prowse who put away one of his signature free-kicks in the 78th minute to send Southampton marching home with all three points.
TEAM NEWS
ASTON VILLA
On Monday, Aston Villa announced that an agreement had been reached with MLS outfit Chicago Fire for the transfer of Colombian forward Jhon Dhader DurΓ‘n. The 19-year-old arrives at Villa Park for a reported Β£15 million + add ons and, despite contrasting reports, will not be returning to his home nation to compete in the 2023 South American U20 Championships.
A number of players have departed the club this week too, most notably striker Danny Ings who looks set to join West Ham for a reported Β£12 million + add ons. Despite leading the goal scoring charts for the club, it is understood the 30-year-old forward is not a part of Unai Emerys plans.
Full-back Fred Guilbert and striker Indiana Vassilev ave also left on permanent deals, joing RC Strasbourg and St. Louis City SC respectively.
Moving away from transfer news, both John McGinn and Lucas Digne will miss this weekend’s trip down south due to injury. McGinn continues to recover from the hamstring strain picked up against Spurs and is still one or two weeks away from returning to full training with the squad. Digne meanwhile, is unavailable for Saturday due to the injury (shoulder) he picked up against Leeds United last Friday.
However, Unai Emery has Ollie Watkins, Matty Cash and Ludwig Augustinsson all available for selection. Despite a scare against Leeds, Watkins is fine and has trained all week. Cash and Augustinsson have both recovered from respective injuries and will return to the match-day squad on Saturday also. Diego Carlos is working alone on the pitch at Bodymoor and is continuing to progress well with his recovery.
SOUTHAMPTON
Nathan Jones has also been busy in the January transfer window, introducing two new talents to the Southampton squad in a bid to stay in the Premier League. Croatian forward Mislav OrΕ‘iΔ joined from HNL champions Dinamo Zagreb near the beginning of the month for a reported Β£6 million fee. The 30-year-old winger adds experience to the Saints’ side, having totaled over 300 club appearances throughout his career and 27 caps for his nation.
Argentine midfielder Carlos Alcaraz arrived last Wednesday from Primera DivisiΓ³n side Racing Club, in a deal worth around Β£12 million. The 20-year-old made his debut in the final half an hour of the victory at Everton on Saturday.
In regards to absences, Nathan Jones will be without German international Armel Bella-Kotchap this weekend. The 21-year-old defender suffered a knee injury in the 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest earlier this month and looks set to miss another week or so of action.
The Welsh head coach will also be without defender Juan Larios, who has a groin problem, and full-back Tino Livromento, who suffered a setback on his return from a serious knee injury sustained last year.
Elsewhere, goalkeeper Alex McCarthy has missed the last six matchday squads with an ankle injury but has been spotted back in training with the first team this week, as has forward Theo Walcott who could be in with a chance of returning to the matchday squad against Villa this weekend.
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A BIT ON SOUTHAMPTON
Despite sitting bottom of the Premier League table, Southampton enter Saturday’s game in good form. Nathan Jones’ side have won each of their last three games in all competitions, including an FA Cup third round victory over Crystal Palace, a Carabao Cup quarter-final triumph over Manchester City and the win over Everton in the league last week.
The former Luton Town manager arrived at Southampton on the 10th November, succeeding Ralph HasenhΓΌttl at the helm, and although he saw defeat in each of his first four Premier League games, seems to have had an impact on the Saints side.
The south-coast team have been on the winning side just four times this season, losing 12 and drawing three. They hold the worst home form of any side in the league, having gained just six points at St Mary’s this term, where they have scored only nine goals – worsened only by Wolves (6) – and conceded 16. The majority of their wins derive from away fixtures, where Jones’ side have picked up narrow wins over Leicester and rivals Bournemouth.
James Ward-Prowse is the club’s top scorer this year with six goals and striker Che Adams is just behind with five. Injuries have certainly hampered their season, but all in all it’s been a disappointing first half to the 2022/23 campaign for the Saints.
Can Southampton continue their winning run and steer clear of the relegation zone, starting with victory over Villa on Saturday, or will the poor home form persistent and Emery’s side find another three points on the road?
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PREDICTED LINE-UP
Letβs take a look at Liamβs predicted line-up for this upcoming fixture at St Mary’sβ¦
Do you agree? Who makes your side?
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AUTHOR | LIAM DAVIES
Authorβs UTV PODCAST archive Liam Davies – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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