Close Diarra Down

Steve Sidwell believes that Villa must win the midfield battle against Lassana Diarra on Saturday if we wish to take all 3 points from the game.

Sidwell knows all about Diarra from his Chelsea days, and believes that just like himself Diarra needed to move away from a top 4 club, to a challenger to reestablish his career.

Speaking on the official site Siddy said:

‘Lassana is very comfortable on the ball, he is strong and he can get around the pitch with ease.

‘He covers so much ground and can chip in with the odd goal. He has been Portsmouth’s lynchpin player since he signed.

‘Like me, he elected to leave Chelsea to re-establish himself somewhere else.

‘A lot of players do that. When they are at the top clubs, they move and believe in their own ability to go somewhere else and perform for another team.

‘He elected to go to Portsmouth and I’m sure Harry was delighted to sign him. The longer they can keep hold of Lassana the better because if he left it would be a big blow.

‘He is a quiet lad off the field. He came into training at Chelsea, worked hard and then went home. He did his talking on the pitch, which is the best way to be.’