Aston Villa v Crystal Palace Pre-Match Thread

[Steve kirk]

Am going to go to Boxing Day 1975 and Sir Dennis debut, 4-1 Villa. Why am I drinking again :-(

I was at that boxing day game, little did we know then what a wonderful Villa player Dennis would be, my all time favourite.

[edgysatsuma89]

1-1, and awful football. Merry Christmas to one and all 🎅

[Lsvilla]

Am going to go to Boxing Day 1975 and Sir Dennis debut, 4-1 Villa. Why am I drinking again :-(

I was at that boxing day game, little did we know then what a wonderful Villa player Dennis would be, my all time favourite.

Was that west Ham and the height of the balloons pre-match ? I vaguely remember and it was just genius

[Le Lapin]

Need to get a win or draw here. Could be a tricky period for us over the next few weeks. Heads will drop even further and who knows what can happen. Going to be another interesting second half to the season.... It has become that bad that I will settle for mid table mediocrity again.

[walsall villain]

Boxing Day memories of wins are hard to recall. The last I reckon was 2005-6 when we beat Everton 4-0. That fact and our current form makes me think we will lose.

[ozzjim]

2-1 in a very, very nervy encounter.

Kozak at the Holte. Gabby with the other.

Them to score to get back in around 80 minutes and not a fingernail left in the house. Similar to QPR last season at the end.

[SoccerHQ]

I have a feeling we're more likely to beat Swansea than Palace. Swans have a ton of injuries and Lambert has a really good record against them over the last few years.

I'll donate 20 quid to golden muppets if we win both home games I've decided (tenner if we get 4 points).

[Dave Clark Five]

The Boxing Day equivalent game at Swansea, when Charlie Aitken scored, was a cracker.
It was on 27 Dec and a good Villa mob went on The Special.

Googled:

Score   2-1 to Aston Villa
Competition   League Division Three
Attendance   24,419
View Swansea City v Aston Villa head to head
1Swansea City

2Aston Villa

Goals:
Goals:
Ray Graydon         
Charlie Aitken         
Starting lineup:
Starting lineup:
GoalkeeperJim Cumbes
Right backMick Wright
Left backCharlie Aitken
Centre halfFred Turnbull
Centre halfGeorge Curtis
MidfielderJimmy Brown
MidfielderBruce Rioch
Centre forwardAndy Lochhead
ForwardGeoff Vowden
WingerRay Graydon
WingerWillie Anderson

[Monty]

I rather liked Spurs' demented version of 4-4-2 today, a middle four with no width and loads of attacking midfielders. Crazy stuff. Sadly, we have no attacking midfielders, so I think the best tactic would be to go for a solid 4-3-3 with Gabby and Albrighton wide of Kozak and to actually, you know, pass to them.

[Dave Clark Five]

We should revert to 2-3-5.

[BoskoDjembaSalifou]

Hope he goes with a 352 formation or something. 433 is basically just our usual counter-attacking 451, which never works at home.

Is Westwood suspended for this? If so, we MIGHT score from a corner! Wooooo!

[adrenachrome]

We should revert to 2-3-5.

When number 10 was inside left,  6 was left half, and there was only one centre  half, number 5.

Those were the days.

[Dave Clark Five]

We should revert to 2-3-5.

When number 10 was inside left,  6 was left half, and there was only one centre  half, number 5.

Those were the days.

When full backs put the winger into the stand in the first five minutes, much to the delight of the crowd.

[ozzjim]

I have a feeling we're more likely to beat Swansea than Palace. Swans have a ton of injuries and Lambert has a really good record against them over the last few years.

I'll donate 20 quid to golden muppets if we win both home games I've decided (tenner if we get 4 points).

I will match that you know. Just to see if it changes our luck!

[Toronto Villa]

At least Kozak should be brimming with confidence ?

He should be brimming with self-confidence. Pity he is going to look around him and wonder what on Earth he has left Lazio for.

He's left Lazio to play in the PL for one of England's biggest football teams, in a fantastic stadium and great fans. The team just happens to be going through a sticky patch. Why on earth would he regret the move?