Stoke City v Aston Villa Pre-Match Thread

[Shrek]

Gabby has to play, yes he didn't have his best game, but he is our best player.

[Matt Collins]

I don't see how we can or should drop gabby, albrighton or n'zogbia though. I guess marc is the easiest to drop and nzogbia has been dropped before.

Based on recent performances it would have to be bent. But the easiest option of all is Ireland.

Difficult one

[Irish villain]

Three points at Stoke would be a great result. As it stands, even a point wouldn't be too bad.

We should just go for it. Yes they are dogged and good at getting results, but there's no point in us going there with any fear. As against Arsenal, we should just play our game and not always be so worried about the opposition.

[l_mckay]

we really need something out of this game,if we can play like we did against the Arse then we can definatly get at least a point.

[toplad4u]

Bent should start on the bench and come on for gabby around the 70th. Best to easy him back then risk a further injury.

[Legion]

From Auntie

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.

[TaxDodger]

Draw written all over this.

[VancouverLion]

Heskey & Collins in contention.......DOH!

[Risso]

Heskey & Collins in contention.......DOH!

Hopefully they mean here.

[VancouverLion]

We're not that lucky Risso! lol

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Drop Gabby to the bench and bring in Bent.
4-5-1 with in form Albrighton and N`Zogbia wide.
Fill the midfield and maximise the chances of your two wide players getting service to put quality balls into the box. We spent £20million on a natural chance taker - feed him before he gets impatient and wants to leave.

[Shrek]

Or leave the lazy, non contributing goal hanger on the bench and fill the team with players that want to play for Villa and not to boost their own PR.

Same 11 for me but with Delph in CM, Clark at CB and Cuellar at RB. Collins doesn't deserve a recall

[rob_bridge]

As others have said - does Oo Eck revert to type and pick big (in the physical sense) players Collins and Heskey or does he stick to the team (other than Hutton) who gave the best performance of the season? The former we will lose badly because Stoke have a better team and squad than us (GKs aside) and that is painful to admit. If we play football, because we are crap at hoof ball esepcially compared to Stoke, then we have a chance.

[luke25]

"Sometimes teams get intimidated by Stoke but you have to get ugly back at them" unfortunately I think with that quote he's only going to play one way, I can't do links but its the last sentence at the end of the Daily Mail Bent non story.

[Chris Smith]

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.

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.