Preston North End vs Aston Villa pre-match thread

[Richard]

Brazil v Argentina isn't till tomorrow night.Hope Emi can be back for Sunday lunchtime.

It's midnight tonight our time.

[VillaTim]

Olsen then . Jeez

[Richard]

Olsen then . Jeez

No it will be Martinez.

[cdbearsfan]

Well, no. Martinez played the full ninety minutes in our home league games with Palace and Everton and, in each case, he'd had a shorter break after an international match than he will have had before the Preston game comes around.

[Nelly]

At PNE I have been scanning off my phone the same as at Villa all season so I'd be surprised if you needed to print it.

Cheers Agent Amfy , might be a nervous Nelly and print mine anyway

It's absolutely what I'd do.

[Brend'Watkins]

Tickets have arrived but there appears to be no download to apple or google wallet icons?  I've printed them off in any case so no big deal really.

[cdbearsfan]

At PNE I have been scanning off my phone the same as at Villa all season so I'd be surprised if you needed to print it.

Cheers Agent Amfy , might be a nervous Nelly and print mine anyway

It's absolutely what I'd do.

😁

[mrfuse]

Tielemans and Asensio aren't in the strongest team available?

The team that finishes the game is the one that wins it . Ascensio has been used well from the bench so far , like a far far better version of the Colombian kid who went to the desert .

There's no way Tielemans doesn't start in our Strongest team available, Player of the season for me.

[VillaTim]

Not sure I still think Emery may look to use the squad given the week ahead and all those who have been on transatlantic flights . Not what I'd do but Emery knows best . Still think Olsen may play .

[Dave P]

I'll tell you something, if Olsen starts and we lose, this website could reach 030303 levels.

[sid1964]

So if Olsen starts it is going to be all his fault if we lose?

[Nev]

Right, with the pesky internationals out of the way we now have clarity on any injuries to our players and that looks good at the moment.

Despite our progress over the last few years domestically and in Europe, this feels like the biggest game for quite some time given the prize at the end, our wait for a trophy and the FA Cup being the Holy Grail for many of us. I feel a sea change in Emery's attitude to the Cup and this has been reflected in his team sections and this shouldn't be any different here. Perhaps he didn't realise the importance of winning this and the penny has now dropped ? We absolutely need to field our best side, we have a game on Weds but given the squad we have we really should be able to cope with both without "throwing" either game.

1-3

[TaxDodger]

To be fair, Emery's always played strong sides in the FA Cup. The only time he didn't was Stevenage at home, and I think he was justified in thinking the side we put out that day would beat a League Two side comfortably.

[UK Redsox]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/ceqj0ddy9j8o

As two of his former clubs aim to scale new heights in the FA Cup this weekend, Simon Grayson is getting ready to conquer his fears 4,500 miles away in Nepal.

"The scariest thing they've mentioned is going to Everest base camp, which is a two-hour helicopter ride away," the former Preston North End manager and Aston Villa player tells BBC Sport from Kathmandu.

"I'm not one for seeking thrills or anything like that."

Grayson is a four-time promotion-winning boss closing in on 800 games as a manager.

His latest challenge has taken the Yorkshireman to South Asia where he is in charge of Lalitpur City for the 2025 Nepal Super League season, which starts on Saturday.

[Nelly]

Unai did give an interview not too long back that sounded like he had gained an understanding of what the cup means to supporters. I may have been reading what I wanted to hear into it though. I know it's not a financial imperative, but fook me sideways with a spanner, it's the FA Cup. It's intrinsic to Villa's history. Lets seriously try and win it please.