Aston Villa v Juventus FC Pre Match

[darren woolley]

I'm going to be positive even with how we have been playing recently I'm going for a 2-1 win.

[Nii Lamptey]

Watching the Palace 'highlights' back on MotD this morning, I was left fuming at that first goal....

Maatsen was the only player chasing back with their goalscorer, with two further Palace players in hot pursuit, ready for any potential rebound. Where were Torres and Diego Carlos..... jogging back without a care in the world, that's where!

As mentioned on the post match thread, Torres may be a footballing centre half, but his first job as a defender is to fucking defend! Putting it nicely, he's not very good at this part. And enough has been said about Diego Carlos.

I think we need to go back to basics. We look like we're currently playing a midfield triangle with the pointy end in 'the hole'. We need to drop Rogers (or put him on the left wing), and spin that triangle around with the pointy end being a midfielder PLANTED in front of the back four.

If Kamara and/or Onana aren't fit for Wednesday, I'd stick McGinn in there - Someone not afraid to put it about, and has a little more energy than either Tielemans or Barkley.

If Unai has the same squad to choose from, this would be my 11. Whilst McGinn isn't the best at DM, I think he's the best choice we have at present.


                Martinez
Cash     Carlos   Mings    Digne
                  McGinn
         Barkley      Tielemans
Bailey                             Rogers(*or Maatsen)
                   Watkins

[eamonn]

Monty, what is the craic with Luiz at Juve, why isn't he getting a look-in? You cover calcio for La Stampa, vero? Please enlighten us.

[Ads]

McGinn isn't a defensive midfielder and he isn't anymore disciplined than the other two. He does have presence, although his arse roll is lessening with impact.

Martinez

Cash
Mings
Torres
Digne

Rogers
McGinn
Barkley
Bailey

Tielemans
Watkins

Key is that the bottom of the box in McGinn and Barkley doesnt make the space between them and the centre halves too great. Now and then we need to compress space.

[Demitri_C]

Monty, what is the craic with Luiz at Juve, why isn't he getting a look-in? You cover calcio for La Stampa, vero? Please enlighten us.

Juventus open to selling Douglas Luiz in January
Alessandro Bai Alessandro Bai
56 seconds ago

Ex-Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz failed to really bounce back from his troubled start to the season at Juventus and the club are so disappointed with his performances that he could be put on sale in the winter transfer market.

The Brazilian midfielder was one of the Bianconeri’s most expensive signings of the last transfer window, as he moved to the Allianz Stadium in a deal worth an overall €50m, also including players Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior, who joined the Premier League side

However, the 26-year-old has made such a poor impact on Serie A that the Old Lady would be open to dispatching the player to recoup at least part of the money they invested or finance other deals.

Why Juventus could put Douglas Luiz on sale in January
Douglas Luiz’s below-par performances and coach Thiago Motta’s limited trust in his new signing are pushing Juventus to consider the sale of the midfielder in the upcoming transfer window, as reported by Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Brazil international’s start to his Bianconeri career was marked by huge criticism from his supporters and the press, particularly after he gave away two penalties in two consecutive matches, one of them costing his side two points as it allowed Cagliari to rescue a late 1-1 draw at the Allianz Stadium.



In addition, the pink newspaper reports that the improvements Thiago Motta expected from Douglas Luiz never came, as he kept struggling to show the intensity the coach required, with his latest injury further hindering his adaptation to Italian football.

With Juventus forced to bolster their defence and attack, mainly due to injuries, with a limited budget, selling the former Aston Villa midfielder in January would be a way to get the funds they need to sign other players or lower the price of one of their target by potentially including him in a deal.


From sky italia. Sounds like he has flopped bad there. I bet he regrets pushing for the move now. He should have stayed still and signed with us

[Olneythelonely]

Did he actually push for a move? I thought it was a case of no one really wanted it to happen, but financially it had to be done. I know there were rumours about an unsigned contract, but that might have been due to us not offering him what he thought he deserved. I might be wrong.

[Demitri_C]

Did he actually push for a move? I thought it was a case of no one really wanted it to happen, but financially it had to be done. I know there were rumours about an unsigned contract, but that might have been due to us not offering him what he thought he deserved. I might be wrong.

Im sure i read somewhere someone said he wanted the move. Cant remember if it was unai or monchi

Probably clubs hands were tied if that was the case as we couldnt risk losing on a free.

I think he would jump at the chance to come back. Being linked with manure

[ChicagoLion]

It looks like his last 6 months firm with us has carried on. Makes me think twice about resigning him.

[Demitri_C]

It looks like his last 6 months firm with us has carried on. Makes me think twice about resigning him.

Thats why id prefer a loan first if thats a option available. I do think uts just him unsettled there.

90% of his time here he was very good. Jusy as you say the last 6 months his form dipped but so did mosts

[VillaTim]

Torres marking Vlahovic isn't something i'm looking forward to

[Olneythelonely]

Torres marking Vlahovic isn't something i'm looking forward to

You might not need to worry about that

[olaftab]

I am looking forward to Torres playing a superb pass like the one to McGinn yesterday that led to Ollie's goal.

[PaulWinch again]

I am looking forward to Torres playing a superb pass like the one to McGinn yesterday that led to Ollie's goal.

Indeed, the pile in is just utter nonsense and I keep coming back to it he was playing in defence when we were defending pretty well start of last year. He has some flaws defensively, but he’s not some mug.

[UK Redsox]

I hope we don’t get any corners.

Remembering the 'Cornalty' days. However, at least back then it was the opposition taking the corners rather than Villa

[eye digress]

Torres marking Vlahovic isn't something i'm looking forward to

Not sure he’s that quick, is he?

It’s brawn and pace we struggle against with the Carlos/Torres axis.