Chelsea v Aston Villa Pre-Match Thread

[WALTERS WARRIORS]

Love PL when he is defensive of our players. And when he has a certain menacing persona when ask certain questions .....

[devilla]

226-4 61.5
Kieswetter 100
Barrow 16
Kieswetter dropped on 1,22,74

I originally thought this was a clever suggestion of a cricket score.

I thought it was the shipping forecast.

[Meanwood Villa]

Day of the match. Time to be bullishly confident so, do you think Mourinho will walk (again) when we beat them (again)?

[Mister E]

Got round to watching MOTD2 last night and saw how Chelsea were playing.  I know Hull are no great shakes, but they were VERY good early doors and then took their foot off the gas.  I'm unconvinced about their CBs as Cahill can be got at (see how easily Miller turned him for his goal against England) and Terry is aging, plus an utter prick.  Midfield is their strength, so Sylla back to help us compete there would really help.  The wide players like to cut back inside and link up, so whenever possible our FBs should be trying to show them outside and cross to Torres, who's never been great in the air.

Your comments about the Chelsea CB are right: I wonder though whether Benteke can take the shit that we know they'll be giving him ...
And I also agree that the midfield is where they will try and overwhelm us.

Villa need to be disciplined, keep their shape and work like dogs. And if that ain't working Lambert needs to be big enough to change shape / tactics to accommodate whatever Chelsea throw at us. My biggest worry last season was Lambert's stubbornness at Stamford Bridge to address some obvious tactical errors.

[danlanza]

Going to enjoy this game tonight. Got a good feeling.

[Dr Butler]

Come on Villa...beat this classless lot of Chavs..

[LeeS]

I've got that nervous excitement that only comes with a mid-week away game.

Drinks and food on the Kings Road first and then home in time to watch the highlights of our win on Sky at 10.30. Benefits of living in London.

[Jimbo]

No points tonight, but we'll bounce back on Saturday for at least a point.

[avfcpg]

Think we will get beaten but a nothing to lose game for us I guess. Everyone thinks that our win at Arsenal was a one off and only due to ref decisions and Arsenal being poor. Would love us to get something tonight and get a few people sitting up and taking notice...

[Matt Collins]

Sorry to be pessimistic, but I'm getting an increasingly ominous feeling about this one. We've been annihilated a few times at Stamford bridge over the years, which isn't helping! Chelsea can afford to make a few changes without weakening their side. I wonder what lambert will do.

I think lukaku is likely to play tonight. Clark did well on Saturday, but this would be the sort of physical test clark has struggled with in the past.

Still, we should put up a much sterner test than hull did. But while Chelsea took their foot off the gas after half an hour on Sunday, mourinho was talking about how he wanted to destroy teams when they have the chance.

Our best chance must be to exploit their centre backs' lack of pace and mobility.

[Hillbilly]

I reckon Gabby running at Terry will be hilarious. And effective.

[PaulWinch again]

I hope to arrive in Tunisia to hear we won, I really do.

[Salsa Party Animal]

My ideal score is 9-0 win with Benteke's Hat Trick, Agbonlahor's Hat trick and 1 for Tony Moon and two for Weinmann Mourinho then declare Aston Villa will be Premier League Champions.

[Marlon From Bearwood]

Can't see us getting anything tonight, but you never know. The most important thing is to avoid a confidence shattering hammering, to ensure we still go into Saturday's game full of confidence.

If we can get 3 points against the Scousers then 6 points from the opening 3 games will have been an excellent start to the season.

[Ads]

As of 17:00 last night 1357 tickets have been sold. Whether the other 143 are going to be available on the door I don't know.