Middlesbrough v Aston Villa pre-match thread

[AV84]

No Pau, Tielemans, Olsen tomorrow. Thankfully no Fin Azaz hat trick for them either as he didn’t sign in time. Cash likely back.

I would hope we go for a standard back 4 tomorrow of Cash, Carlos, Lenglet, Moreno. Give Konsa a rest.

Playing a high defensive line with Carlos and Lenglet is asking for trouble, as we saw at Old Trafford.

who says it's them two tomorrow

Who else would it be if Pau is out and Konsa is being rested?

[VillaTim]

No Pau, Tielemans, Olsen tomorrow. Thankfully no Fin Azaz hat trick for them either as he didn’t sign in time. Cash likely back.

I would hope we go for a standard back 4 tomorrow of Cash, Carlos, Lenglet, Moreno. Give Konsa a rest.

Playing a high defensive line with Carlos and Lenglet is asking for trouble, as we saw at Old Trafford.

who says it's them two tomorrow

Who else would it be if Pau is out and Konsa is being rested?

has it been confirmed Konsa is being rested ? We also have Chambers to possibly consider

[AV84]

No Pau, Tielemans, Olsen tomorrow. Thankfully no Fin Azaz hat trick for them either as he didn’t sign in time. Cash likely back.

I would hope we go for a standard back 4 tomorrow of Cash, Carlos, Lenglet, Moreno. Give Konsa a rest.

Playing a high defensive line with Carlos and Lenglet is asking for trouble, as we saw at Old Trafford.

who says it's them two tomorrow

Who else would it be if Pau is out and Konsa is being rested?

has it been confirmed Konsa is being rested ? We also have Chambers to possibly consider

If you read the posts you're replying to..... my first one said who I'd hope to see play, with Konsa being rested. TV replied to that saying Lenglet/Carlos playing a high line isn't a good idea. Hypotheticals.

[VillaTim]

No Pau, Tielemans, Olsen tomorrow. Thankfully no Fin Azaz hat trick for them either as he didn’t sign in time. Cash likely back.

I would hope we go for a standard back 4 tomorrow of Cash, Carlos, Lenglet, Moreno. Give Konsa a rest.

Playing a high defensive line with Carlos and Lenglet is asking for trouble, as we saw at Old Trafford.

who says it's them two tomorrow

Who else would it be if Pau is out and Konsa is being rested?

has it been confirmed Konsa is being rested ? We also have Chambers to possibly consider

If you read the posts you're replying to..... my first one said who I'd hope to see play, with Konsa being rested. TV replied to that saying Lenglet/Carlos playing a high line isn't a good idea. Hypotheticals.

i hope Konsa is rested he really needs it

[bill]

We play 1 game in 15 days. Nobody needs a rest.

[PaulWinch again]

It’s not as straightforward as that, it’s cumulative fatigue. I assume the club monitor this closely, but if say player x has reached the “red zone” and needs a sustained rest then actually  this is the perfect opportunity to rest and try and minimise the impact on the team. It’s a balance, because we want to win, but we have to use this January period to maximise the recovery of the team.

[Clampy]

That's right Paul. Just because there's not many games this month, doesn't mean the rest of the season will be like that.

[Tony Daleys Shorts]

Full strength please, like many have said I want to see us win The FA Cup before I die.

Just some of the clubs who’ve won it since we have - Wimbledon, Wigan, Portsmouth, Coventry fucking City!

[VillaTim]

It’s not as straightforward as that, it’s cumulative fatigue. I assume the club monitor this closely, but if say player x has reached the “red zone” and needs a sustained rest then actually  this is the perfect opportunity to rest and try and minimise the impact on the team. It’s a balance, because we want to win, but we have to use this January period to maximise the recovery of the team.

i'd say Konsa / McGinn / Luiz / Watkins are all in that "red zone"

[gpbarr]

If we win today, i'll be delighted. If we lose, i'll be frustrated for 5 mins but then remember we have a much more important game next weekend which, if we win, might take us top of the PL.

I get the sentimentality, but like most the Villa podcasts this week have said, we simply must prioritize the PL and CL qualification because that will be a game changer in a way that winning the FA Cup will not.   

[Brazilian Villain]

Second string side please, need to rest players for our Champions League push.

I have never and will never understand this way of thinking.

I never thought we'd be second in the league in January. Any other year I'd want us to focus on the Cup but we've a great opportunity to finish top 4, with the revenue/higher profile that Champs League football brings. At the moment, I think that's more important for our long-term progress. Put it this way, I don't think we'd be in Europe or 2nd in the league if we'd beaten Stevenage or Everton (as annoying as those cup defeats were). The other factor is that is that if we fall away to 5th or 6th place, the narrative will be that we're a decent side but not an elite one, and that we just had a temporary uptick in form (despite it lasting well over a year).

The ideal situation is that we put out a weakened team as do Broro, and we get through. Then a couple of handy draws that get us to the quarter-finals, and we can see where we're at come mid-March.

[Bad English]

If I am, ahem, 'in the UK', can I stream this live on iPlayer tonight?

[PaulWinch again]

It’s not as straightforward as that, it’s cumulative fatigue. I assume the club monitor this closely, but if say player x has reached the “red zone” and needs a sustained rest then actually  this is the perfect opportunity to rest and try and minimise the impact on the team. It’s a balance, because we want to win, but we have to use this January period to maximise the recovery of the team.

i'd say Konsa / McGinn / Luiz / Watkins are all in that "red zone"

Yeah I wouldn’t disagree, so resting in this period is really important. It’s not without risk clearly, but if we push them too far they’ll likely breakdown and be out for longer.

[VillaTim]

It’s not as straightforward as that, it’s cumulative fatigue. I assume the club monitor this closely, but if say player x has reached the “red zone” and needs a sustained rest then actually  this is the perfect opportunity to rest and try and minimise the impact on the team. It’s a balance, because we want to win, but we have to use this January period to maximise the recovery of the team.

i'd say Konsa / McGinn / Luiz / Watkins are all in that "red zone"

Yeah I wouldn’t disagree, so resting in this period is really important. It’s not without risk clearly, but if we push them too far they’ll likely breakdown and be out for longer.

It's highly unlikely Boro will go full strength

[Drummond]

If I am, ahem, 'in the UK', can I stream this live on iPlayer tonight?

Yep.