Pre-match thread

[srsmithusa]

21 minutes ago, jjaacckk91 said:

Such an important game at 1pm on mother's day is not good.

not good for my mama !!!  

[oishiiniku_uk]

5 hours ago, sheepyvillian said:

This is it. At no time can we afford to be passive. The reason I use that term is because at times we have allowed teams too much space and almost invited teams to gain the initiative, hence, the first - half against Ajax. 

I think we've seen enough slow starts in ECL games this season to think that maybe it's a tactic to try and keep things tight and controlled and also conserve energy for a squad of limited resources. I'm hopeful that we will see a full force Villa tomorrow. 

[Marka Ragnos]

Spurs -- no worries at all. Not sure what everyone is so anxious about. Wife tells me I seem a bit tense today, a bit keyed up, but inside I'm as calm as an ocean.  Yeah, that's it. 

But seriously, I think we'll grind this one out -- I do -- but I think we'll pay a price of colossal, skull-thumping, teeth-grinding anxiety in-game that makes us wonder why we're Villa fans, and then we'll later feel ashamed for thinking that way (as we should).

Edited March 9 by Marka Ragnos

[Adam2003]

Got a feeling - and people will hate me saying this - we will see Cash on the right wing. I think if JJ is out he might play Tielemans further left and Bailey off Ollie.

Then he can play Konsa and Pau without dropping Lenglet, which I think he’ll like.

[fruitvilla]

Tomorrow morning, I'll get up in a leisurely fashion around 8 am. And watch a recording of the game. During which, Mrs FV has promised to make breakfast. We 'spring forward' tonight so not going to sweat it. I will avoid VT before watching and if we don't get at least a draw, I am staying away until Monday.

Enjoy the game.

[DJBOB]

17 minutes ago, Adam2003 said:

Got a feeling - and people will hate me saying this - we will see Cash on the right wing. I think if JJ is out he might play Tielemans further left and Bailey off Ollie.

Then he can play Konsa and Pau without dropping Lenglet, which I think he’ll like.

We last saw Cash RM Tottenham away and then he did play higher for Chelsea FA Cup at home but still RB. 
 
I’m hoping we don’t see it as they have been by far our worst performances with the exception of Burnley away that we can just chalk up to them being shit. 

[fightoffyour]

On 08/03/2024 at 10:27, fightoffyour said:

Bunch of shite cocks, easy win for us 4-0, Cash to end Romero's career just by staring at him from the bench.

On 08/03/2024 at 16:14, TreeVillan said:

Haven't been through the thread but who the feck has been predicting us to be beating spurs 4-0? The same people stirring the shit as always or the ones saying Luton was a 5-0 minimum? 

5 hours ago, chrisvilla4 said:

4-0 

Cashback.

[VILLAMARV]

An actual 6 pointer but need to remember win or lose it's still only 3 points.

To be fair to them I thought they were a good team when we played them and we were pretty fortunate to come away with the win.

I think a draw wouldn't be the worst result in the world for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4-0

[Villa87]

Nervous for this one! Can’t believe it’s 1pm on Mother’s Day. A win in this would be incredible. I’d like to think we come out firing and absolutely on it, but dear Spurs will too. Their attacking threat, with pace, is a real concern against the way we set up. As ever, I have a feeling McGinn will be the decider here. If he is at his best we will win. 

[Villan_of_oz]

Let's have 3 points!!!

[villa4europe]

After saying he's shite and not good enough to make a difference there's obviously a timo werner masterclass coming up today 

[Brumstopdogs]

Feels like we might be playing them at an unfortunate given they are pretty much back to full strength.

However, if we play to the level we know we can at home then we should have enough to win.

Not confident for this one but always hopeful.

4-0 UTV!

[villaglint]

I wonder if this place will be cross pit or garden of Eden later? 
 

Genuinely got no idea. 

[AVTuco]

Ok, so this is it. The game. Season-defining.

Must not lose. Would be great to win.

Very difficult for Unai.

[Delphinho123]

I firmly believe that the key to us winning (or in fact, not losing), lies in whether Ramsey is fit or not. Not because Ramsey is some sort of superstar, but because he is a very good player and our entire team becomes unbalanced with him out. Tielemans isn’t athletic or dynamic enough to play off the left in my opinion and that gives us a massive headache. No Kamara means we can’t just throw McGinn out there and Bailey/Diaby prefer to play on the right or as a second striker. 

Team picks itself with Ramsey fit (Konsa at RB conundrum aside). Without Ramsey, I feel we become a lot weaker as a system and you have to start juggling.

Won’t be easy today. They’re a good side and have an entire squad of fit players to choose from. I’d bite your hand off for a draw.

[Vive_La_Villa]

With Ramsey and Kamara out we haven’t really got any on form ready for a big game options at the moment. Who starts in Ramseys place ? Is it Zaniola, Rogers or Diaby? 
 

I mention Kamara because if he was fit McGinn or Teilemans could have shifted left, 

[Vive_La_Villa]

6 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

I firmly believe that the key to us winning (or in fact, not losing), lies in whether Ramsey is fit or not. Not because Ramsey is some sort of superstar, but because he is a very good player and our entire team becomes unbalanced with him out. Tielemans isn’t athletic or dynamic enough to play off the left in my opinion and that gives us a massive headache. No Kamara means we can’t just throw McGinn out there and Bailey/Diaby prefer to play on the right or as a second striker. 

Team picks itself with Ramsey fit (Konsa at RB conundrum aside). Without Ramsey, I feel we become a lot weaker as a system and you have to start juggling.

Won’t be easy today. They’re a good side and have an entire squad of fit players to choose from. I’d bite your hand off for a draw.

Read this after I posted already. Totally agree. Ramsey is massive for us.

[Kiwivillan]

I'll take a win against Spurs and Ajax

[Leeroy]

I think how we handle Ramsey's absence if he is out or not fit to start is key to winning this match. If he is available it is a huge boost. 

 

I think these are the following options to replace Ramsey in the team:

• Play Diaby and move Bailey to the left - I'd probably do this but it might unsettle the balance of the team and Diaby isn't exactly in form
• Play Moreno as a left midfielder with Digne at left back - this is probably my second preferred option, I think Moreno would be better in a more attacking position but can still help defensively and we'd be well equipped to deal with Porro and exploit the space in behind
• Play Cash at right midfield and shuffle Tielemans or McGinn over to left midfield - I don't think this is a good solution because Cash at right midfield sucks IMO and McGinn on the left is ok but Tielemans as a 6 isn't, and Tielemans on the left is too slow to track Porro I think
• Play Iroegbunam and shift McGinn to the left - again not a good solution I think because lots of pressure on Tim in the middle to beat the press and track runners which I think he'll struggle with given his lack of experience
• Play Zaniolo - I think it could be an option but it's a big risk given his lack of form and playing time recently, he did look lively against Ajax though and created the two best chances of the game for us
• Play Rogers - again not for me, looked out of his depth at Ajax and this is an absolutely huge game where we need 100% commitment from every player both defensively and offensively

 

If we handle Ramsey's absence well I think we win the game (or at least not lose) and if he's available I think we get a positive result. The first two options above are probably the best ones if he's missing and I hope Emery chooses one of them. 

[lapal_fan]

Lenglet double hattrick.

Emi Martinez with a wonderful solo goal.

7-0 

The ghost of Hugo Loris to have a dump on Levy's head in the posh seats.