OxfordVillan

Seems to be doing ok, around 3 goals and a similar amount of assists. I think he’s the type who is missing the big stage and wants to get back there

I’d still love to see Ismaila Sarr in the Villa squad, that’d be a tremendous option to have from January!

If there’s one team that I could choose where Luiz and Barkley can’t play, then it’s Burnley. Keep McNeil marked tightly and stop him getting the ball and you remove almost all the open play threat that Burnley have. They have Ashley Westwood in their CM ffs! I’d like to see us go 3 at the back and fill the CM area to win and retain the ball for the majority of the game. Burnley will be looking to sit deep, not concede. They’re happy with 1pt and a 0-0 right now. If we bring Grealish central then Burnley will double or treble up on him leaving space down the sides for us to exploit. I hope we’ve been practicing hitting crosses in from wide positions at ground level, because that’s where Burnley’s meat heads will struggle, facing their own goal with the ball on the floor

I think that if there is a possibility that a player or two Dean Smith wants becomes obtainable in January, our owners will do everything possible to get it done. Everything. Especially given the way this season is panning out, where it genuinely looks like a title that is open to a host of clubs to go and win it. There’s been no outstanding team this season, it’s looking very reminiscent of the 2015-16 season. Imagine having the adrenaline shot of 1 or 2 good quality new players walking into the club in January! That’s why I think that if Villa are in with a sniff of top4 (which we will be) in January then we’ll find the money for the RIGHT player.

Doesn’t really dwarf it? $200m = £150m

There is no rivalry with Leeds whatsoever from a Villa point of view, it’s all in the heads of Leeds fans.

Having an injury wouldn’t give us anymore leverage with FFP, we’ve either got funds left to play with or we haven’t. I think we have.

Wolves beat Chelsea just days after Villa have beaten Wolves. Maybe Villa actually are quite decent this season?!

Agreed. We must make sure complacency isn’t a thing and defend properly, first and foremost. Then we need to be disciplined and patient, in Grealish we have a player who will likely create the single opportunity required to win a game. The mindset for this game must be “clean sheet”. If we do that then I’d be confident that we can create a good enough opportunity or two for someone to win the game for us. I’d be massively encouraged if this is a game we can win 1-0

I think you’re probably on the money with the lineup, but I’d like to see us with a back 3 for Burnley. I think Burnley are a team you can afford to go 3 at the back, with Mings or Konsa walking it out most of the time as there’ll be space in front of them. Burnley aren’t going to play on the front foot, they’ll play for set pieces and 2nd balls, looking for their two lumps up front to do the damage. That’s where I think Hause could help us, as he does have good aerial ability and likes the physical challenge. Having heard the press conference I don’t think we’ll see Barkley in the squad, so we’ll be going into this game without Cash, Luiz, Barkley, and Trezeguet. Given those missing I think Grealish has to come in from the left, probably a free role but more centrally biased. I’d put ElGhazi on the left and Traore on the right. Probably McGinniesta and Ramsey as the central two with Nakamba sitting behind. ..........................Martinez......................... .......Konsa.........Mings........Hause.......... .........................Nakamba......................... ................Ramsey.............McGinn........... Traore...............Grealish..............ElGhazi ..........................Watkins............................ I simply don’t see Burnley committing the numbers forward from midfield that might make our flanks over vulnerable behind ElGhazi and Traore, nothing that Hause or Konsa couldn’t see off in tandem with a covering Nakamba.

I hope our players are being well briefed on Ben Mee, perhaps being shown replays of his scissor assault on Wesley. It should serve to focus minds.

If we could obtain a player who can get crosses in early and well from the right hand side, then I think we’ll see even more from Watkins, whose movement and pace will see him on the end of those crosses. Trez isn’t a great crosser, and Traore has no right foot to send in a quick and early cross. Elmo is our best crosser but he doesn’t exactly hit the line and send crosses in from advanced positions near the touchline. So if we could get a good right sided forward then I think we’ll see a further improvement in goal output. Imagine Watkins attacking crosses bending away from the goalkeeper from a beckham type!

Bloody hell you’re difficult to please! We’ve won 6 of 10 games so far, including beating the reigning champions 7-2. Two of our losses can be attributed to poor VAR decisions in games we should have won against Brighton and West Ham. If we win our games in hand we’ll be sat in 3rd position and 1pt off top spot......with a third of the season gone. And you say we’ve done “alright”?! What did you expect from this season, 10 straight wins and a 6pt lead at the top?!

Burnley don’t really utilise the middle of the football pitch, they’re more likely to fly over it. Their back four are filthy beasts, as are their front 2. I’m not too concerned about JJ coming up against the likes of Westwood

We’ve kicked ass this season. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be delighted to see Kalvin Phillips in the Villa squad, but we’re doing very well without him.

100% agree. Ramsey is going to properly (and naturally) fill out over the next year or two. When he does he’ll be some athlete. It took Grealish until he was around 22yrs old to fill out. Ramsey is likely going to be some unit.

Kalvin Phillips isn’t leaving Leeds unless they get relegated. And they’re not going to be relegated anytime soon. The only other scenario that might agitate a move would be Bielsa leaving, and I don’t see that being a possibility anytime soon either. We need to look elsewhere.

The only reason offers weren’t forthcoming is because of the previously mentioned injury. I believe he’s proving his fitness this season and fully expect Bournemouth to receive substantial offers in January. I’d like to think Villa would be in for him but I doubt we will be having shelled out substantially on Traore.

I don’t mind that Villa and Dean Smith are flying under the radar, I think it’s to our advantage and long may it continue. The on field performances are improving, the performances are getting more mature and slip up’s becoming far less frequent. I honestly believe (having seen how this season is panning out) that we could be 2 signings away from seriously challenging for top 4/5 this season. If we are able to add a splash of quality in January then it’s game on to remain around the top teams for the 2nd half of the season.

This season is presenting a fantastic opportunity for an outsider to win a title or grab a top 4 place. Stay within a win or two of top spot at the turn of the year and you’re still well in the hunt. We might even see a meaningful January window if a few teams are still well in the hunt

Hause was part of a winning display against Burnley in a back 3 last season. He’s good in the air and physical, very useful in our box against Burnleys only threat of Wood and Barnes at set pieces. We’ve got more than enough football up front to trouble Burnley, we need a little bit extra in our own box to protect against the aerial threat. I would have mentioned Engels but he doesn’t seem close to the 1st team.

Could we possibly go with a back 3 for this game, bring in a bit more height and physicality? Will Davis be fit? It’d be interesting to see him and Watkins paired up against an anti-football Burnley side. We’ve no Matty Cash or Douglas Luiz for this one, so I would be tempted to look at a 3-5-2 for a limited but physical Burnley team. Starting lineup could look like; ........................Martinez....................... .......Konsa.........Mings.........Hause....... Trez....SJM..Nakamba...Barkley...AEG ......................Grealish............................ .....................Watkins..........................

I don’t think we’ll start seeing the best of Traore until around March/April. I think he needs time to get his fitness and adapt to the league, and it’s difficult for those waiting in the wings to get a run of games this season. Patience required.

I’m going to go for a haemorrhoids induced substitution

The sad reality is that it’s going to be incredibly difficult for Wesley to salvage his Aston Villa career. The noises being made indicate that it’ll be March, at the earliest, for a return to action. My uneducated guess is that I don’t think we’ll see very much at all of Wesley in the 1st team this season, because as long as Ollie Watkins is fit then he starts ahead of Wesley every time. By the time Wesley is back to full fitness it’d have been around 18months of missed football, and he was only just getting to grips with the demands of Premier League football before the injury. We’d all love for him to get back and hit the ground running, but I fear the injury may prove to have been incredibly bad timing for the bloke.