WakefieldVillan

Voted Grealish MOTM but only cos he had to endure 90 minutes of that turgid Villa performance and deserves so much more than what his team mates offered today. Trezeguet was lively when he came on and fair play to him. In hindsight his and Nakamba's energy could have made things a little more bearable to watch. The team selection and notable inclusion of Drinkwater backfired immensely and he contributed to 3 (I think) of their goals. I'm not going to write him off because as daft as it sounds in the first 10 minutes he looked ok but then his legs went - 50 minutes before I thought they would. Was always going to be extremely difficult to get anything from the game as we all knew, but the players well n truly looked beaten before a ball was kicked and then it was just a case of keeping the score down. Defensively were shocking and having no real focal point to our attack meant it was just wave after wave of attacks and it was a painful watch. I rated Smith very poor but I think the players still let him and themselves down today and I wont be calling for his head off the back of this game. We need to regroup, get some signings in and do our upmost to stay in this league. Fair play to the Villa crowd that were still there singing at the end, class that.

**** it I'd drop the 5 at back at HT, were just inviting them on anyway. Nyland Guilbert Konsa Mings Hause Nakamba Luiz Trez Grealish Hourihane El Ghazi

As I said in pre-match they are obviously on a different level, but let's make them at least work for their goals and I'd be happy... we've done the exact opposite, we have been a disgrace to be fair. Absolutely no belief whatsoever in our play from minute 1 - and it's just getting rapidly worse. All we can hope for now is them to feel sorry for us and just play a bit of keep ball instead, pretend in their heads 20 passes = a goal (or something!) Nakamba for Drinkwater Guilbert for Taylor In fact I don't even know, we're just so bad!

Great debut from Drinkwater.... NOT! This could be 10!

Our team looks and IS severely inferior to that of City's, I doubt that the inclusion of Elmo over Guilbert changes that much. I don't expect 3 points, I don't expect 1 even, but I will be nevertheless happy if we play to our capabilities, give 110% and not be masters of our own downfall, if (or when) they score make them f**king work for it, that's all I ask! UTV

Lots of talk about Benteke, apologies if I have missed them, but has there been any real concrete links that this could seriously happen ? I for one hope it does, I wouldn't usually clamour for signing ex players and I realise Christian's form has plummeted since he left us - but I personally think he could and would work well with our current line up. It may be my heart more than my head, who knows, maybe it's just the desperation of our need for a new striker, probably two strikers but I would love it if he came here on a 6 months on loan (along with a higher calibre striker of course).

I think the one certainty is that we will be keeping the same formation for this one and rightly so, perhaps for the remainder of the season too. Having said that our back 3 might not have a clue whom to mark if Pep chooses to play with no striker Not sure what the injury update is on the likes of Targett, Kodjia and Davis along with the match fitness of Drinkwater but I trust Smith will pick the team that he feels will give us the best possible chance of a result. Hopefully give a good account of ourselves and pick up no more injuries - anything else is a bonus.

Good post and yes I agree totally - Leicester are arguably the 3rd best team in the league right now and it was always going to be a backs-to-the-wall kind of performance against a strong side on their home patch. Nakamba did a lot of the 'dirty' work and I appreciate that side of his game, I also agree that Luiz was more culpable in giving the ball away. To be fair both worked extremely hard without the ball but the problem is you get your 'rests' when you're in possession and we didn't keep it enough to get those rests.

I didn't expect this would be our type of signing with his recent problems off the field and his age (though he's hardly over-the-hill!) however it could turn out to be a masterstroke getting him here. Hopefully he has learnt from his mistakes and comes here with the motivation and desire to get his career back on track - if he does, he will strengthen our first eleven which is what we need to stay in this league.

Not read all the comments but last night I would've rated him around 7.5 without the ball and a 3 with it. He made me nervous at times but I definitely am not writing him off, in fact there's not one player in our squad that I have totally written off which makes a pleasant change from previous seasons. There are obviously players that are out of form, players that are weaker than others ETC but if they are working as hard as they can (a bare minimum) then after some of the dross we have had over the past decade then I am prepared to cut them a bit of slack. Watching Nakamba and Luiz in possession last night however made me appreciate what Jordan Henderson does for Liverpool so much more - I am not a fan of his by any stretch of the imagination, watching him get hold of the ball and play it square or back 99% of the time, but what I would have given last night for someone like him to get a hold of the ball and keep it simple and retain more possession as last night we criminally gave the ball away so many times that we were always eventually going to concede.

El Ghazi started as the main central striker with Trez and Grealish either side - Though the goal came from a cross from his more natural position wide. He did ok though, worked hard, received a yellow for a late tackle when he was tracking back, got a bloody nose not sure what from and eventually went off (not sure if it was enforced or not). Vassilev came on for him last 15, not the easiest game for him to come on to but he showed the minimum you would expect in terms of work rate and the experience will have done him good for the future.

Who?

Voted Nyland MOTM, closely followed by Mings both deserved a clean sheet. Thought Guilbert had a great game too and did well for the goal, had the better of Chilwell which is no mean feat. Sloppy goal to concede and this may sound silly but I am glad we are going into the tie at Villa Park on level terms as opposed to being in front?! I think we will still be underdogs (rightly so) but I think that suits us and takes the pressure off us but still gives us confidence that we can match them (a little). We will need a bit of luck at VP and some striking reinforcements but can't ask for much more from the lads tonight for work rate, discipline and effort. If only Nakamba and Luiz were as comfortable on the ball as Conor and Henri or the latter two had the work rate & speed across the ground as the former two then we would have the perfect midfielders - hopefully Drinkwater makes us stronger in this area. Gave Smith a good rating, we weren't going to go toe-to-toe with them but he set us up perfectly. Our possession was poor but for 15 minutes after our goal. Bring on the second leg!

I know it could be said to all games but I feel tonight the first 20 minutes really are key to how this one goes. It's vital that we settle early, don't concede, be brave on the ball, disciplined without it and also show some aggression in our tackles. If we do that then hopefully it will instill a bit of confidence in the players and we can produce a good account of ourselves. By no means will it be easy and if offered right now I would bite your hands off for a 2-1 defeat but lets not write it off before a ball is kicked - It's 11 vs 11 at the end of the day, let's not just turn up to have our bellies tickled! UTV

If Targett isn't fit I personally would go with a back 3 (or back 5) of; Nyland Konsa Chester Mings Guilbert Hause Even if he is fit, I'd still be tempted by this. Think Chester was probably our best player on Saturday and looks to be returning to match fitness. Given the above and the fact we're away from home against a good side, that bit of extra experience (with the pace of Mings & Konsa each side to hopefully take care of Vardy) might give us a more solid look about us?!

Before today's game I said (3-4-3); Nyland, Konsa, Mings, Hause, Guilbert, Luiz, Nakamba, Targett, Trezeguet, Davis (if fit), Grealish. Nakamba was so poor today that I want to leave him out, but then again so was Henri and Conor so who knows... All I know is we're gonna have to show a lot more fight and passion (& ability) than today to have any chance.

Maybe they are just not quite ready yet. Maybe Smith wants to bed them in gently. There's a few around the first team squad now and that can only do them good in the long run. Have a little patience and trust the manager will know a lot more about our youth players than any of us!

Maybe Smith wants to rest Konsa, Mings and Hause for the Leicester match (which looks very likely) and feels that Chester and Engels are better suited to playing in a back 4. Also Fulham are set up as a 4-3-3 therefore you would hope that the 2 centre halves can look after Cavaleiro whereas at Burnley we had 3 covering both Wood and Barnes. No brainer for me (if we are resting players).

Pretty much what I chose (& expected) apart from Nakamba starting (I had Ramsey) who may still get a bit of game time from the bench. Although Fulham have rested the obvious two in Cairney and Mitrovic it still looks a decent side on paper and it will be a good test and should be a good game with a few goals. (Get backing 0-0 now ). I don't think it matters personally that we've gone back to what looks a 4-3-3, it will be a much different side against Leicester and I would be amazed if we didn't return to 3 at the back for that game given the performance against Burnley, our result and performance against Leicester in the league and the way Leicester themselves set up - at least it leaves them guessing on our formation and we can become less predictable. I hope to see some improved performances from the likes of Jota, El Ghazi and Kodge!

We all know how winning breeds confidence and it would be a great boost going into the Leicester match on the back of consecutive wins. The severe injuries to Wes and Heaton have been extremely tough to take but I don't think it should deter us from competing in this one and aiming to progress into the next round, though I admit it is the last of our three priorities given the late stage we have reached in the Carabao Cup. Difficult to select a squad today without knowing the fitness of certain players but I trust Smith, Terry and co to get the right balance for this and Wednesday nights game at the King Power. I think Wednesdays semi final team needs to be stronger than today and once we get past that we can reassess fitness of the players for Man City - which is going to be an extremely tough task regardless of who starts. Dependant on fitness and any potential new signings, my team for Leicester would be (3-4-3) Nyland, Konsa, Mings, Hause, Guilbert, Luiz, Nakamba, Targett, Trezeguet, Davis, Grealish therefore today I would go (4-2-3-1) Nyland, Elmo, Engels, Chester, Taylor, Lansbury, Hourihane, Jota, Ramsey, El Ghazi, Kodjia. I think Nyland needs to start today and hopefully he can continue where he left off against Liverpool, Mings and Grealish should be nowhere near the squad and possibly Kodjia & Davis could be swapped around. I'd like to see the likes of Archer, Sulliman, Vassilev and Wright on the bench too. 1-2 villa (Hourihane, Kodjia)

Continuing the 'B' theme.. Leeds look like signing Cauley Woodrow from Barnsley, who I think is a decent player but perhaps may struggle in the Premier League. For me it's a signing that suits Leeds as they no doubt are just looking for a back up to Bamford. (I think he has a similar style). But.... what if its Bamfords replacement .. nah I know he won't be.. but I'm interested to know what peoples thoughts would be if we were in for him?! (Besides being a word removed, I actually rate him and think he would be an asset).

Let's sign all the 's Benrahma, Batshuayi, Bowen, Butland, Benteke, B......... I'd have all the above to be honest, well maybe not Christian... Still think Batshuayi is a long shot but would prefer him over Giroud (even more so with a loan to buy option) but would be happy with either. Although Butland's form has considerably dropped if we could get him on the cheap (8 to 10m?) then could be a bargain.

I was gonna post something on signings, but got sidetracked on Twitter

**** get in BIG Wes !

Fear this one will go the same way as the Sheffield United and Watford games where we could get out-worked, out-muscled and out-thought. Man for man, I believe we are at least as good as they are and we possess the best player on the pitch by some distance BUT we need to go out there and dare I say it "roll up wor sleeves"! Crucial that we have Mings back, just as much for his leadership qualities as is playing abilities. I think Kodjia or Davis (if fit) needs to start because Smith ain't doing himself any favours by sticking with Wesley. Apart from big Wes I do think Smith as a rule has been trying to play players who have done well in the previous game and omit ones that have been poor, but for whatever reason the ones that start each game are just not consistently playing well. I'd like to see either a 3-5-2 or a 4-2-3-1 formation to (at least) give something else a try, because the current formation is just not working and we are conceding way too many efforts on goal. Although Jack can play anywhere, with McGinn out he needs to play central. Depending on certain individuals fitness I'd go either; Heaton Konsa Engels Mings Guilbert Targett Luiz Nakamba Grealish Davis Kodjia Or; Heaton Guilbert Engels Mings Hause Luiz Nakamba Hourihane Grealish Davis Kodjia