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I just think its going to be that type of summer where its quality over quantity, the PL and the money involved continues to be strong so I think maybe a good opportunity to be a little braver - Im sure Ings is out of contract next year too so could be a bit of a Darren Bent style signing where we take a big player from one of our rivals

Big summer for Villa and for Dean Smith, if we can maintain top 10 this year then that is massive progress but its the next step that in my opinion is the big one, can you break into that top 8 and start to challenge for a cup competition all in the same season. In terms of targets (Some ambitious I know but not ridiculous) I would be looking at players like....... Sarr - Watford Bissouma- Brighton Lookman - Leipzig Ings - Southampton Bailey - Leverkuson Olise - Reading Armstrong - Blackburn Senesi - Feyenoord Malen - Feyenoord

Comical isnt it....players throughout the week will be in and out of sessions and after the huge focus on the Grealish news from the other week im sure the club aren't going to release info that easily through facebook videos Newcastle have their whole front 3 out.... i would take that in exchange for Jack being out!

Stop crying about it, he will be back when he is back - Smith has said he's not available and may be back for spurs - It is what it is

Think I would take a point now and then hope we beat the geordies however with the way Wolves play then we have the opportunity to break a bit more and we have the defensive capabilities as we have shown.... Im going to go 1-0 Villa

Didn't they beat a Man United side at the time who were top ? It does happen

Biggest gripe was the delay in reaction to the red card, we should have matched their 441 with a 442 and put Davis on, I do feel sometimes for all the expertise we have on the touchline it can delay decisions as there is always a big meeting around it Other issue responding to some of the above was that these are the teams we struggle to break down and with no Jack and Barkley not performing you can clearly see where we need to buy in the summer unless Smith believes Sanson is that man, playing teams like Wolves who will dominate the ball continues to suit us as they bring the game Anyway, its done, we are on 39 points and we are on a journey of improvement - Some need to calm down a bit

My view on the whole Europe thing is really a big cliché and that's one game at a time, at the moment we are to inconsistent to predict to far ahead so I really think its only worth getting in major flap about things if we are in the running with say 5 games to go. Having said that if you look at the next 3, there is no reason why we shouldn't take a minimum of 7 points and keep the pressure on the others above but as above with form we have shown that could easily be 4 points and then follow it up beating Spurs! Either way, its better than that stress of last season!

Tough game but one we have to go and win. In terms of the team I think you go as strong as possible but with a decision to be made about who is most appropriate for the opposition rather than they played the last game eg Nakamba was great in a game v Leeds where they had most of the ball however his passing stats are not always great and so you may think someone like Luiz is more pro active on using it better - Alot of teams do this in terms of team selection but Villa fans (On twitter especially) don't seem to be used to this thinking, probably as we haven't had the options like we have now in a while. Prediction... Im going 2-0 Villa, I think it will be a tight game but I think we will win and im going for Watkins to score and then a late El Ghazi penalty to finish it (I need to get a bet on that to just incase it actually happens )

Either 8/10 or 4/10 - Wingers can be like that..... Not his night but has had plenty of good days for us

Making a few look very silly on here...... Absolute rock again and all you can hear constantly throughout organising the whole team 13 clean sheets to date and a summer trip to the euros - Well done skipper

Proof will be in the team selection, hes not going to hammer Barkley in public when there is quite obviously something wrong with him and his confidence

Are we now seeing the true effects of the outbreak? One burst of energy v Man City but in truth lethagic in every game since. Everyone I now that's had this has struggled to get back to normal for a good 5-6 weeks (My 12 year old son has had a cough for 5 months and couldn't play youth football re it stopping because of it) especially with breathing and energy levels and im including some very fit people in this - Looking at our midfield inparticular last night they looked leggy throughout and i just wondered if we are seeing the after effects

I thought that, there was a clear difference in views on something

The games where we have been hammered this year in particular thinking of West Ham, Leeds and Southampton first half is where teams have pressed us and force us into errors. West Ham played really well last night and just pushed and pushed every time we had the ball at the back and we had no way of playing through. Dean Smith has been brilliant for Villa but there is something in the fact we haven't come from behind to win this seaon, that for me is around being able to change games in game and last night was a prime example. The one thing that stood out as soon as the team was announced was that Fredricks was starting to double up on Grealish - To me that means you start the game with Jack on the right and El Ghazi on the left and you play them at their own game straight away and give them something to think about. Then when we couldn't go through the press why didn't we try to go over and round it and stick Davis on as another forward to hold and play off - Again may not have worked but we seemed to just keep trying the same thing over and over to the point i called each of the subs 2 minutes before they were made as you just knew what was coming. Still plenty of positives but i think we need to show as we did v saints that we can bounce back and we are learning UTV

One bad game and ive read social media comments he should be dropped..... give me strength

We still not having Declan Rice in our side? Played with his slippers on last night......... energy, tactical control of the midfield, positional sense........... Need to take off the claret and blue glasses at times, top player and from what i can see a top lad to

Doesnt have to be a replace, just part of the squad and competition, could easily play that Luiz role - Luiz hasnt been as good last 5-6 games for example so could replace or even play centre back which is where he started out

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55820961

I really like Rice, definitely would have him for us

What a big game this is again but with completely different pressures to the one at the end of last year, real chance to get some points back on them and the sort of games that you have to win (against rivals) if you want to get that top 8 finish. That said think this will be a really tough game, as mentioned by others its the physical side of things where I think we have a bit of a disadvantage and we have to be better in midfield then we were v saints although i fancy our attacking players to cause them plenty of problems too Im going 2-2 - Barkley & Watkins

MATCH FACTS Head-to-head Southampton are vying to beat Aston Villa in five successive league matches for the first time. Villa are winless in nine games against Southampton in all competitions since a 3-2 triumph at St Mary's in December 2013 (D3, L6). Southampton Southampton's solitary victory in seven league matches came at home to Liverpool on 4 January (D3, L3). They only scored three goals in those fixtures. It's back-to-back defeats for the Saints, who last lost three league games in a row in November 2019. Nonetheless, 29 points is Southampton's second-highest tally at the halfway stage of a Premier League season. They had 33 points in 2014-15. A sixth home league win of the season would match their total for the whole of the previous campaign. Saints also need one more Premier League clean sheet to equal the nine they kept last season. Six of their eight clean sheets in 2020-21 have come at St Mary's Stadium. Shane Long has scored nine competitive goals against Aston Villa, more than versus any other club in his career. Danny Ings has scored five Premier League goals versus Villa. It's his joint-best record against an opponent, alongside Everton. Aston Villa Villa have gone four away league matches without a win, losing the past three and conceding at least twice in each defeat. However, Dean Smith's side have already equalled last season's final tally of nine Premier League victories. Regardless of Saturday's result, Aston Villa will have recorded their best points total at the halfway point of a Premier League season since 2009-10. Jack Grealish has been directly involved in 14 goals in 18 league games in 2020-21, as many as in 36 appearances last season. Ollie Watkins is looking to score in three consecutive league games for the first time since he did so with Brentford in August 2018.

Definitely an agenda with Mings IMO.... Cash fails to stop 2 crosses - Barely a new post Mings gives away a corner that Barkley/Luiz fail to defend - Mings post explodes as does twitter

Just having a feeling we will bounce back from Wednesday and get something here, I would stick with majority of the same team but maybe consider Trez over Traore and hopefully we have option of Sanson on the bench and will be interesting to wee if Walker-Peters and Romeu make it for them as that makes a difference - I would say form wise/position we are both probably in a similar position at the moment and both sets of fans will see this as a must win if you have ambitions of cracking the top 8. 3-2 Villa - Watkins/Grealish/Mings (Towering header!)

Taken from BBC Match Preview.... MATCH FACTS Head-to-head Burnley's only victory in the past nine competitive meetings was 1-0 away in the Premier League in May 2015. Aston Villa are looking to record consecutive top-flight wins away at Burnley for the first time since a run of four between 1895 and 1900. Villa have gone 33 top-flight visits to Turf Moor without a clean sheet since a goalless draw 101 years ago. Burnley Each of Burnley's past five Premier League matches ended 1-0 (W2, L3). Having beaten Liverpool last Thursday, the Clarets can win consecutive league games for the first time since June. No team has scored fewer home goals in the Premier League this season than Burnley, with five. Nonetheless, Sean Dyche's side have not conceded more than once in any of their past nine league fixtures. Chris Wood has scored in three of his four league starts against Aston Villa. Ashley Barnes is one short of 200 league appearances for Burnley. Aston Villa Villa have already equalled last season's final tally of nine Premier League victories. If they avoid defeat on Wednesday, Villa will reach 30 points after 18 top-flight matches for the first time since the 2009-10 season under Martin O'Neill. Dean Smith's side have gone three away league games without a win, losing the past two. Emiliano Martínez has kept nine Premier League clean sheets this season, second only to Manchester City's Ederson. Bertrand Traore has scored four goals in his past six Premier League appearances.