Even though we played well last night,I worry about the amount of high balls they'll keep putting in our box,Guzan needs to be on top form. 2-1 them.Cuellar in a RB might be useful for corners etc.
We need to think radical. After Jones went off for Man U last night they had Valencia at full back. Clark has to stay in midfield. Cuellar has to stay at centre half. Collins and Heskey have to stay out the team! Gary Gardner superb athlete who will run all day long plus over 6ft so he can help out with the aerial bombardment. We need a feel good factor and Clark, Herd, Bannan, Albrighton and Gardner can give us that.
Yes Gardner at right back. Good players can play anywhere. If Valencia can do it for United im sure Gazza can.
1-1. Crouch 90+4. Bent 79.
2-0 stoke as we revert to type. He seems to be picking teams to match the oppostion when we haven't got the squad to do it. He should pick his best team and stick to it.
2-0 stoke as we revert to type. He seems to be picking teams to match the oppostion when we haven't got the squad to do it. He should pick his best team and stick to it.
MON used do that. Same 11 every week. Same subs, same time every game.
Cue much moaning and groaning when we won again but it wasn't pretty enough.
Another bloody 6th place finish.
Oh Santa baby, I'm sorry, please return me to those days.
McLeish has to resist the urge to throw Collins back into the fold to counter the obvious threat of Stoke at set pieces. Good teams that play good football can beat Stoke without having to out duel them at their game. I'd rather we went there trying to play the football we saw last night than try and out Stoke Stoke.
Hate to say it but I'd bring Collins back in for this one, move Carlos to RB, and keep Clark in midfield to shore up our defences for 90 minutes of aerial bombardment. So I'd go:
Guzan
Cuellar Collins Dunne Warnock
Petrov Clark
Albrighton Gabby N'zogbia
Bent
Still think we'll only get a draw - 2-2
4 centre halves, 2 wingers, 2 strikers, say
Guzan
Cuellar Collins Dunne Warnock
Albrighton Bannan Clark N'Zogbia
Bent Gabby
Subs Marshall Stevens Gardner Petrov Delph Ireland Heskey
Gabby to drop wide and N'Zog push inside to help out at times. Clark over Petrov for height, Bannan over Ireland as he wont tire soo quickly, bring Ireland on for last half hour.
2-1 Villa, Clark and Bent.
2-0 stoke as we revert to type. He seems to be picking teams to match the oppostion when we haven't got the squad to do it. He should pick his best team and stick to it.
MON used do that. Same 11 every week. Same subs, same time every game.
Cue much moaning and groaning when we won again but it wasn't pretty enough.
Massive for McLeish this game,defining in his tenure,his total philosophy about football is encapsulated in this fixture,IMO.Or maybe it's just another game for him.
Barclays Premier League
Venue: Britannia Stadium
Date: Monday, 26 December
Kick-off: 1945 GMT
Coverage: Watch live on Sky Sports 1 and highlights on Match of the Day; listen on BBC Radio 5 live and local radio; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles
TEAM NEWS
Stoke are optimistic that Peter Crouch will return after he missed the defeat at Manchester City through illness.
Glenn Whelan (calf) is again doubtful but Ryan Shawcross is back from suspension.
Aston Villa striker Darren Bent is expected to return after a two-match absence with a thigh injury, while Emile Heskey (Achilles) and James Collins (knee) are also in contention.
Stephen Ireland should overcome a thigh strain but Alan Hutton serves a ban.
MATCH PREVIEW
Going to football on Boxing Day is, for me, one of the best days of the season. There seems to be a smile on everyone's face and a general air of optimism with the New Year approaching. This year the Match of the Day rota for 26 December has dealt me an even better hand - an evening kick-off at the Britannia - and not only because the late start means that I may get to enjoy a lie-in!
Stoke fans are great - the noise they make has in past seasons been rated as the loudest in the Premier League, with a measurement of 101.80 decibels -which apparently is the same as an aircraft taking off. Add in the fact that night matches always seem that bit more special and you have the recipe for a memorable evening.
It could be a special match for Peter Crouch. The striker will reach a landmark of 100 career league goals if he scores against one of his previous clubs, providing he is fit enough to play. Villa have failed to score in four of their last six games so will be desperate for Darren Bent to return to action.
We all know how effective Stoke can be from set-pieces and Alex McLeish has spoken of Villa's poor defending from them. You only have to look at both goals conceded against Liverpool last weekend and Arsenal's winner on Wednesday to see why he might be a little concerned.
Stoke start this match five points ahead of Villa. I'm a bit wary of making any prediction after confidently stating that goals might be at a premium for QPR v Sunderland last Wednesday (it finished 2-3!) - having said that, I wouldn't be too surprised if the gap was still five points at full-time.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• Aston Villa are yet to win in three previous Premier League matches at the Britannia Stadium (D1, L2). Blackburn, Sunderland, Liverpool and Manchester City are the four other clubs to have failed to win at Stoke since the Potters' promotion.
• Villa's last away victory in this fixture came in a 3-1 win at City's old Victoria Ground during the 1984/85 season, when Stoke were last relegated from the top flight.
• Stoke have lost both previous Boxing Day encounters between the clubs. Aston Villa won 6-0 in 1894 and 1-0 in 1980, both at Villa Park.
Stoke City
• Stoke occupy their best position at Christmas in 37 years since being seventh in the old Division One during the 1974-75 season.
• The Potters have maximum points against fellow Midlands clubs this term - beating both West Brom and Wolves away.
• Tony Pulis's men have conceded more goals (16) against sides in the bottom half of the table than they have against teams in the top half (12).
• Peter Crouch has scored 99 career league goals. He notched six goals in 37 Premier League appearances for Villa between 2002-04, and has scored three league goals against them since leaving.
Aston Villa
• Alex McLeish's side have taken just eight points from the last 30 available.
• Villa are without a Boxing Day win since 2005, when they beat Everton 4-0 at Villa Park. It's 12 years since their last away win on this date, a 2-0 victory at Derby in 1999.
• Villa have won just once (v Norwich) in eight games against top-half clubs so far this season.
Heskey & Collins in contention.......DOH!
If you don't match Stoke physically you will lose. They play to win corners, free kicks and throws and then pile all their big men into the box. If you can't deal with that then all the pretty football in the world isn't going to help. To think that you can just go thru and dictate how the game is played is naive in the extreme.I'm not niave in any way when it comes to Stoke, I just hope that this ugly approach that he talks of is not us trying to match there tactics, play like we did against Arsenal when we have the ball and tighten up at the back when we don't and i'll be happy.
That's not to say we forget about playing our own gsme but we have to take into account the unique challenges thus game brings.
I've just seen this on the BBC live football thing -
'There are seven Premier League games in total today, culminating in a televised classic at the Britannia as Stoke host Aston Villa (1945). We have got to be talking Only Fools & Horses viewing figures for that one. North of 20m, surely?'
Sums up general media attitude to those outside the 'elite' clubs, nice and patronising.
I've just seen this on the BBC live football thing -
'There are seven Premier League games in total today, culminating in a televised classic at the Britannia as Stoke host Aston Villa (1945). We have got to be talking Only Fools & Horses viewing figures for that one. North of 20m, surely?'
Sums up general media attitude to those outside the 'elite' clubs, nice and patronising.
-----------Guzan
Cuellar-Clark-Dunne-Warnock
-------Petrov-Delph
--N'Zogbia-Ireland-Gabby
------------Bent
Collins is shit. Bent will play so I'd rest Marc and keep Ireland who was superb against Arsenal. Gabby will have more space with Bent pulling defenders around and Delph is a good player, he just needs games.
No Collins, Heskey and Delph and we will play them of the park. Play those trio and we will lose in a dire game of attrition and AM will be in the firing line and righty so.
No Collins, Heskey and Delph and we will play them of the park. Play those trio and we will lose in a dire game of attrition and AM will be in the firing line and righty so.
I don't see what team you could possibly put out without Collins or delph??! Petrov and bannan / ireland in midfield?
Cuellar in central midfield!?
My Brother-in-law is over from Poland and I was hoping to drag him to the pub for the game, but he said he has to work tonight...he's been given the Villa game to set odds for.
He works for an online betting company, and as long as there is a broadband connection he can do his job anywhere in the world. He set the odds pre-game last night and gets a live stream during the game and adjusts the in-game odds for all the stuff like bookings, next goal etc.
His prediction?
"Villa should always beat Stoke, but 1 - 0 to Stoke"
Which un-discovered tribes of pygmies could probably predict.
No Bent?
They're going to sell him, aren't they?
Heskey? WHY!?
Heskey? WHY!?
I've a horrible feeling that, after the brief elation of him seeing the light against Arsenal, he's going back to old habits.
My Brother-in-law is over from Poland and I was hoping to drag him to the pub for the game, but he said he has to work tonight...he's been given the Villa game to set odds for.
He works for an online betting company, and as long as there is a broadband connection he can do his job anywhere in the world. He set the odds pre-game last night and gets a live stream during the game and adjusts the in-game odds for all the stuff like bookings, next goal etc.
His prediction?
"Villa should always beat Stoke, but 1 - 0 to Stoke"
Which un-discovered tribes of pygmies could probably predict.
Old school. Not many operators use traders these days, especially not for live events.
*nods head appreciatively*
We're going to lose.
*shakes head sadly*