WakefieldVillan

I think the worry that @One For The Road may have, along with a few others that are wanting us to go with a strong side is that if we make too many changes then we may come unstuck and to be fair that would be a real shame given we are capable this season of beating anyone on our day, we've proved that - and it would be absolutely massive to get an FA Cup trophy after such a long time. I hate the fact the the blues fans have the 2011 league cup success and our last success was back in the 90's (play-offs aside) and it would really shut them up once and for all (ok, perhaps not, but you know where I am coming from). Obviously there is a long way to go, even if we take care of the scousers but with a bit of a kind draw there is no reason at all why we can't be the ones lifting the cup on May 15th (with supporters or not). Against Stoke in the League Cup our starting eleven was Steer, Guilbert, Elmo, Hause, Taylor, Lansbury, Nakamba, Ramsey, Traore, Davis, El Ghazi - we were pretty dreadful that night and Stoke fully deserved to progress. I fear if we choose a similar side (perhaps Hourihane for Lansbury) then I think it will be an early exit. Which will be a shame - But probably fine for some. I do trust most of our fringe players, but only when they come into an already strong team. That's why the balance is key for me for this one.

Saka is the one I want. Genuine great competition for Targett. Young. Quick. England International. He linked up quite well with Jack, in fact, he looked a bit in awe of him at times and just kept giving him the ball at every opportunity - So he would fit in well with the rest of the team . Even if we don't get this type of signing, I hope we would be looking to do so, and I know it's not really how we do business making our potential signings known, but if we did, it would at least show other potential targets what we are trying to build here as a club - Which I hope is to be playing European football regularly in the next few seasons. A side note - We got Martinez from Arsenal and look how well he's settled in with us, so I don't think it's wrong to write it off as a no chance scenario. Anyway, failing that we can take Tierney! Ultimately it wouldn't be done this window, but I do feel we will strengthen this position in the summer - Probably with Rico Henry (if Brentford fail to go up).

My boss is a season ticket holder at Anfield (luckily for me, he's actually a decent bloke - surprisingly). I have just mentioned to him "big game on Friday" and he didn't have a clue what I was talking about - he was thinking it was Man Utd in the league next up for them!! Hopefully this is the same kind of mindset that Klopp and the Liverpool players take come Friday night. I think they would love to reverse that 7-2 score line and come out full strength all-guns blazing but they simply can't afford to with their current injury list and busy schedule. As @OutByEaster? said above, can see a front three of Shaqiri, Minamino and Origi which deserve respecting - as do whoever they select for this one - but defensively they definitely can be got at so it bodes well for a very decent attacking game (again). Goes without saying that managers would love to know the opposing team prior to picking their starting eleven but I think this one even more so - if only we could send a spy . I'd still go relatively strong - players naturally prefer playing than training. No real pressure though, so just go out and play some good football - and hopefully any fringe players take their opportunity - I'm looking at you KD!

Yep, most teams need a dog in their side. Scrapping for ball or picking it up off the centre backs and spraying a 30 yard ball out wide to a full back under no pressure - basically what Phillips does. He does that because he hasn't the ability to beat 2 or 3 men. Or score goals. Or create (m)any goals. Also a bit tongue in cheek. He's decent - But if I had the choice of him or Luiz I would choose the latter all day long. As for Pirlo, without turning full on Ray Wilkins "my word, what a player"

Have to disagree with this. Keinan's main strengths are his strength, hold up play and bringing others into player. He's a target man. I really can't see him playing any other position. Possibly in a front two or wide in a front three. Definitely not a midfielder though. The problem that everyone can see his that he just isn't scoring goals, but like others have alluded to, it's not for the want of trying or the technique as such. I think injuries haven't helped and I think he's been unlucky at times, but bottom line is it's more or less make or break time now for his Villa career. I still think that he has the attributes to make a decent Premier league footballer, but strikers are judged on goals and it's NOW he has to step up. There's a very good chance he will start on Friday and I will be willing him, probably more than anyone, to show that he has a future here and as a certain Stevie Bruce would say "that'll shut a few up"! To be fair, I think 99% of the criticism is fair, it's just a minority that see his stats and nothing else. A loan deal would probably the perfect outcome for both us and Keinan at this stage but I would only be happy with this if it meant we had strengthened in this area elsewhere (IE not using Traore or a recovering Wesley).

I was going to suggest Eriksen earlier today as I was bored at work and built a nice (but unrealistic) first and second eleven I had him along with; Max Aarons, Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Ross Barkley, Sander Berge, Milot Rashica, David Brooks, Arkadiusz Milic, Tammy Abraham...with Conor, Trez and Guilbert through the door To be honest, I don't expect much if anything this window but moving forward we really need to make a couple of statement signings in the summer to progress for Jack.

1) Leeds - Living in Yorkshire I know several supporters of this rancid club - and funnily enough hearing so much more from them now they are back in the top flight - Literally had barely seen anything on social media Leeds related from them (pre-Bielsa) now it is constant. Well, when they win. Our 3-0 league cup final win was one of my favourite memories along with the 3-2 Carbone hat-trick. Detest their fan base and thuggish nature. 2) Liverpool - Was jealous of their success growing up in the 80's. Still am jealous of their success to be fair. But would not change supporting our great club for any of that. Again - it's the fans. And their self-entitlement. Always the victims. Never their fault. Famous atmosphere, ETC. Despise the ex player pundits they have - Carragher, Souness, Murphy, McManaman ETC. Beating them 2-1 in the FA Cup semi, spoiling Stevie's birthday & 7-2 this season - Fantastic stuff. 3) Man Utd - See above re: jealousy (90's this time). Can not buy a win against these words removed. Some horrible defeats - League Cup final 2010 (robbed), Macheda late winner, Hernandez winner, FA Cup defeat - all 3-2 - all games we were winning. And 1992 Steve Bruce scoring those two late goals. Makes me want to put on the 1994 League Cup final video on. W***ers! More a results based hate for these. It was difficult to choose amongst these three but I wanted Liverpool to beat Leeds first game of the season and I usually want United to beat the scousers - But that may change over a period of time.

This. Listening to the match commentary when these play is making me dislike them more and more with each game - along with their horrible fan base (but that goes without saying ) But that aside, they are competing well, their matches are definitely entertaining to watch - but for all the attacking intent to their play, and they are really decent in this aspect - if I was a supporter I would be questioning why a manager of the calibre of Bielsa does not have a plan B when they are getting tonked by the better teams (conceding 6 at Man U, 4 at Liverpool, 4 at Palace, 4 v Leicester, 3 at Spurs) or why he chooses not to change things? Surely a world class manager would do this?

Really difficult one to decide how to approach this one. We will have had 7 days rest by the time this comes around so no problems in that respect, but then 3 tough matches in 7 days is slightly concerning in respect of players fatigue. The City rearranged game has made the selection for this more difficult but Liverpool playing on Monday evening certainly should help our chances so pros and cons. In an ideal world I would like to rest our current spine (Martinez, Konsa, Mings, Luiz, McGinn, Grealish, Watkins) but I think that if we do that we will struggle to beat whichever Liverpool team they put out. Therefore I would go with something like this; Heaton Elmo/Fred Konsa Mings Targett Ramsey Hourihane Barkley Traore Davis Grealish If Barkley isn't ready yet then Luiz/Nakamba in with Ramsey further forward. Winning breeds confidence, and I think that we have a team that can beat anyone on our day so we shouldn't just write this competition off. We are also a young side and these are all very fit athletes so will all be wanting to play in every game. Hopefully we have enough to win, and if we're in a good position we can bring off the likes of Jack after an hour. UTV

I agree there's a case for it. Not many will agree though, because they can't see past Davis 'doesn’t score goals, so he's not an option". Even though he has attributes (in this game) that we are lacking. It will be a case of Smith trying to get more from the current wide players though (till at least 70 mins or when we're further behind).

Mixed bag. Poor for first 10-15. Better team then, till last 5 mins. Really, really poor goal to concede. Traores free-kick woeful, Pogba making McGinn look silly, AEG switching off & Mings should be in a position to clear that, or Konsa. We were 1-0 at HT at Chelsea so won't throw the towel in just yet, but these do look far more incisive in their play and at times just too good at passing & moving and we have been caught ball watching umpteen times. Struggling in particular in wide areas (feel like we've been here before) - Bertrand/Anwar need to step up big time for us to get something out of this one. Fingers crossed we play with a bit more belief.

I would usually stay stick with a winning team (last night was almost as good as a win) and they all did more than enough to keep their shirts.. however.. 3 games in such a short period, including 45 minutes with 10 men and a tough encounter last night, I think it's probably best that we utilise the squad a little for this game and let's face it, by including the likes of Barkley and Mings we are improving the starting eleven (at least on paper) so it's a great position we find ourselves in - and with an extra day's rest Mings for Hause / Barkley for Traore for me then. Then look to mix it up a bit more against Liverpool. History would tell me we haven't a chance of winning this but current form indicates otherwise - if we keep up our levels of performance then we have a decent chance of picking up at least a point. They have some very good attacking players but are definitely gettable at the back so I expect goals in this one (at both ends) and I think we will need at least 2 to win. Whatever the outcome, it's just fantastic to be looking forward to these types of games and feeling like we having a genuine good chance of picking up points rather than 'watching' from behind the sofa! **** it, we're Aston Villa, we win where we want... Man U 1-2 Villa (Watkins 2)

Thoroughly deserved point and we won't earn a better one this season! So proud of these lads. They were able to make 6 changes and still field a real class outfit whereas all ours played 48 hours ago and to work as hard as we did and match them, particularly McGinn who was colossal tonight, was absolutely superb. Not to mention without Mings either just adds to a fantastic result. I will add that Jim Beglin (co-commentator) is a complete word removed. Love this club

Anyone that wouldn't take a point right now would be crazy IMO. A draw would be a terrific result. They have class players all over the park regardless of who makes the starting eleven. I would feel more confident if Mings was starting - purely down to the presence he has - (which may sound rather odd given yesterday's poor showing) - but it's a real huge test tomorrow for our central defensive pair and our team as a whole really. Love the positivity in the thread so far though, and again, just emphasises how far we have come as a team that we feel we can win at Chelsea. Same side as boxing day with Konsa for Tyrone. I think this will probably end up 3-1 but if we were to get a point I'd be over the A win... and I'll start looking in the title thread

That second half performance was as good as we've played all season and it was us that looked like we had the extra man advantage not Palace. Absolutely outstanding effort from every single player (barring Mings) and huge credit to Smith (& the coaching staff)! To boss the second half like we did and to still keep creating chances, dictate play, pass and move like we did was a joy to behold. It really was. We are really good to watch right now and have such a likeable squad that I am on cloud 9 right now. The turn by El Ghazi, the goal by El Ghazi, the flick by Grealish, the link up with Jack & Ollie, was just a delight to watch it really was. Dean picked the right team for me, regardless whether Barkley would have been fit. And I understood fully why Traore came off even though at that point he was clear MOTM. For me that was a tough call and a bold one but ultimately proved to be the correct one. We have a real capable squad and competition is fierce but it is only a good thing and by sticking with the players that are performing is a major reason (for me) why there is such a great camaraderie amongst the squad. Watkins MOTM for me, ran the channels superbly second half and worked tirelessly all match, deserved a goal but it will come sooner rather than later. 9/10. The rest (bar Mings) 8.5. Smith 10/10. Thought the sending off was harsh, but Mings needs to know better. He has a cool persona about him but when forwards get under his skin (Bamford/Zaha) he becomes a liability. Hopefully its a kick up the arse to stay more focused moving forward. Up to 5th. What a season. UTV

Will be a massive boost to have both Konsa & Barkley back, but stick them on the bench and keep with the same side that performed brilliantly at The Hawthorns. The likes of Hause, AEG and Traore (in particular) know that if their standards drop they will be replaced and this can only be a good thing for us. I could see an argument for Ross coming in based on the fact he's unavailable for the Chelsea match so would help rotate a little, but I think Dean as built a great team spirit and a lot of that is based on sticking by players that are performing. Can see a 2-2 here - but hope we can nick it

Ah I didn't realise that El Ghazi or Traore then.. Really hope Ross is fit, squad's a bit stretched but we should still have enough.

Hope we don't take these lightly, their current form isn't too bad with 8 points from their last 5. We know they aren't going to out-football us but they will be compact and just sit in and hope to hit us on the break or from any set pieces around our box. They have decent attackers in Wood and Rodriguez who need to be handled and I think the battle of those two with Konsa & Mings will be key to which way this one goes. We defend well, with no stupid lapses then we more than have enough creativity in forward areas to secure 3 points. If Barkley is fit, I would go with the following side; Martinez Elmo Konsa Mings Targett McGinn Hourihane Barkley Trez Watkins Grealish Think Trez will just give us a bit more defensively than Traore, think Elmo works better with Trez than Guilbert (though I can see arguments for Fred starting for his energy levels). I would play Hourihane over Nakamba / Ramsey and have him and McGinn sitting a bit deeper but hopefully controlling the midfield from minute 1. Barkley doing what he does, roaming around and linking with Jack & Ollie. If our attitude is on a par with how it was at Molineux then we will win this, anything less and we will be left feeling frustrated at VP again. Prediction 3-1 - Watkins 2, Barkley - Wood. UTV

Supposed to be, sorry.

@AntrimBlack this is why called you post-match... arrogance.

These are exactly the kind of comments I hate to see before our games, winnable or not. That said, I hope you're right.

Another decent performance from Jack who was possibly heading for MOTM (possibly Mount) before Foden struck twice. Sancho looked lively albeit against a weary Iceland side. Took the shine off Jack's performance but it could be a good thing for Villa, he knows he has fierce competition in the England squad so needs to keep firing on all cylinders. He won the free-kick for the first goal, played a huge part in the lead up to the second and those moments made it easy for England. The formation didn't suit Jack, weird watching our defenders (usually McGuire) play so far forward, Saka pushing on just condensed all the space for Jack to play in. Difficult to pick the best England side at the moment with so many attacking choices. I know he's captain and it ain't going to happen but I wonder if our best eleven would be excluding Kane

Not sure if @villalad21 has started his Christmas drinking early with all the negative Wesley comments but personally I think it is ridiculous to write him off already. I think we only need to look at the turnaround in form of Trezeguet as an example of giving a foreign player time to adapt and settle in a new country before getting rid. Trez was absolutely abysmal for majority of last season and I will be the first to admit I was thinking how bad is this guy, but to be fair he's got his head down, got fitter, contributed with goals, is working harder than every player on the pitch and is now a solid squad member. Wesley, prior to his injury, showed glimpses of ability, albeit not as much as we would have liked, but he looked 100 times the player Trez was and before the injury was playing his best game for us. I genuinely think that if he hadn't have suffered the injury he did, we would have stayed up more comfortably but I guess we will never know. The one obvious concern now is how he recovers from the injury, but from what I have seen and heard from him, as a character, what his Villa team-mates say about him - he has the right attitude to come back from this and still at a fairly young age to improve as a player. Of course Watkins will be No 1 striker, which again, is a good thing as it relieves any pressure on Wes, but if the physios and coaching staff can get him up to speed it will be a real boost to see him get minutes off the bench, adding more competition and pressure on the ones wearing the shirt to perform consistently. Playing with the likes of Ross and Jack on current form too will also benefit his game no end. May not work out, not all transfers do - but let's give him a proper chance hey.

Head 1-2 Have a nagging doubt that we might slip up here. Obviously hope I am wrong, just have a feeling our returning international players might be slightly off the pace. It will aid us somewhat if their injury list is as severe as the one above, but tbh we shouldn't have to rely on this to get the three points - We have already been quite fortunate IMO to face a weakened Liverpool side and a Vardy-less Leicester. Team selection may come down to the fitness and rest period of the international players though I am sure Smith would prefer to send out the same team that faced Arsenal - think that goes without saying. These aren't a bad side at all and I think their performances probably deserve more than the 6 points they currently have. In the games I have seen I thought they were a little unlucky to lose to Chelsea (by a 1-3 score line) and Man Utd (last kick) and had 20 shots away at Palace before grabbing a last minute equalizer. They play good passing football, on the deck, with some decent players and I think Potter has done quite well since he's been there. They bossed us for 30 minutes at VP last season until Mooy was sent off, though to be fair we will probably have 7 different players starting from that day so can't really decipher too much from that game to this one on Saturday - Just remember being pretty impressed with them. I think if our energy levels are there, provided in particular by the likes of the non-playing internationals such as Konsa, Cash, Barkley and Watkins then I hope we can nick the 3 points. Heart 2-1 UTV

Underwhelming. Says it all that Jack is the best player on the pitch (again) without (for me) reaching his Villa performances. He still had a decent game though I just feel Southgate is holding him and the team back with his formations - IE three at the back - though at least last night, the wing backs had more license to roam forward. Thought Mount played well, he's a good player, it's ridiculous that the media (well, Southgate) has made it a Mason or Jack scenario - last night, albeit against very poor opponents you can see they are capable of playing in the same side and playing well - But anyone with half a footballing brain would see that. Sancho also played better than I have seen him play for a while, took his goal well, but again, he's no Jack. I would love to see (against a poor side) a 4-3-3 with Mount, Maddison and Grealish behind Sterling, Kane & Rashford - As I think they are our best 6 attacking players we have. Ok, maybe not against the big boys because we would be left incredibly exposed but it would be fun to watch nevertheless We have an abundance of quality attacking players and it's impossible to select them all but I think in the big games (Euro's) then Kane, Sterling and Grealish have to start. (Pope, Chilwell & Henderson would be my other definite starters) I think once we see Jack perform with them two his levels will go up even further. I don't care where you put Jack, left of a three, wide midfield, central midfield, in the hole anywhere, just get him in there.