Aston Villa head coach Dean Smith held his pre-game press conference on Thursday afternoon as our attentions turn fully to the Play-Off Semi-Final doubleheader with West Bromwich Albion.
We welcome Jimmy Shan’s side to Villa Park on Saturday for the leg, before heading to The Hawthorns later in the week to complete the tie.
Confidence is high ahead of the game and we know West Brom’s strengths and weaknesses going into the game, so if we can give ourselves a good advantage in the home leg, it obviously makes the away trip a little more comfortable – Smith knows himself though you only have to look at the recent Liverpool and Tottenham games to know that no two legged affair is ever truly over.
Speaking to the Official Site as he met with the media, Smith gave his usual pre-match injury update and we have a clean bill of health across the board, other than goalkeeper Orjan Nyland, so there would be some disappointed faces when he selects his squad.
“Orjan Nyland will miss out. He’s the only one. We’re in good shape. The tough part now is picking a team and a matchday 18. That’s when you have to upset people. But I’m used to doing that as a Head Coach. I’d rather they were upset than happy about being left out. I’ve got a team in mind, so I’ll sit down with my coaches and pick it with them.”
I’d say the squad picks itself really, the only question marks are over who appears on the bench I would think.
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