Thursday saw the Premier League 2 fixtures for the 2018/19 campaign for Aston Villa’s Under 23 side released, along with the provisional date for the Premier League Cup competition.
Villa had a good year in Division 2 last season. We narrowly missed out on chasing Blackburn Rovers down in top spot with an eight-game winning streak towards the end of the campaign that more than put us back in the mix. We had to settle for a Play-Off spot in the end and we ultimately lost out 2-0 to Brighton at Villa Park as they secured promotion into Premier League 2 Division 1 for this season.
U23s to begin their new #PL2 campaign with a home fixture against Norwich City 📅
Fixtures in full 👉 https://t.co/3F7a5y3nKH#PartOfThePride #AVFC pic.twitter.com/ewFXneHRJK
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) July 26, 2018
Our Premier League Cup campaign did end in success though as we took a penalty victory over Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium to lift the silverware, so 2018/19 sees us reign as defending Champions.
With it expected that the core of our Under 23 setup will now be on first-team duty with ongoing Financial Fair Play concerns, it means we can welcome through a new bunch this season and the challenge is there for them to make a name for themselves as plenty of others have done before.
The campaign for Kevin MacDonald and Mark Delaney’s boys begins at the Banks’s as we host Norwich City and then we face Manchester United at the Leigh Sports Village.
The full dates are below – there will undoubtedly be changes.
August:
Villa U23s v Norwich City U23s
Monday 13th August – 7pm
Banks’s Stadium, Walsall
Manchester United U23s v Villa U23s
Friday 17th August – 7pm
Leigh Sports Village
Villa U23s v Fulham U23s
Monday 27th August – 1pm
Villa Park
September:
Middlesbrough U23s v Villa U23s
Sunday 2nd September – 2pm
Riverside Stadium
Villa U23s v Stoke City U23s
Friday 14th September – 7pm
Villa Park
Southampton U23s v Villa U23s
Friday 21st September – 7pm
Staplewood Training Ground
October:
Sunderland U23s v Villa U23s
Monday 1st October – 7pm
Eppleton Colliery Welfare
Villa U23s v Newcastle United U23s
Monday 22nd October – 7pm
Banks’s Stadium, Walsall
West Bromwich Albion U23s v Villa U23s
Monday 29th October – 7pm
Aggborough, Kidderminster Harriers
November:
Villa U23s v Reading U23s
Monday 5th November – 7pm
Villa Park
Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s v Villa U23s
Monday 26th November – 7pm
New Bucks Head, Telford United
December:
Villa U23s v Southampton U23s
Friday 7th December – 7pm
Villa Park
Stoke City U23s v Villa U23s
Monday 17th December – 7pm
TBC
January:
Villa U23s v Manchester United U23s
Monday 7th January – 7pm
Villa Park
Norwich City U23s v Villa U23s
Friday 11th January – 7pm
Colney Training Centre
February:
Fulham U23s v Villa U23s
Friday 1st February – 7pm
Motspur Park
Villa U23s v Middlesbrough U23s
Monday 18th February – 7pm
Banks’s Stadium, Walsall
March:
Villa U23s v Sunderland U23s
Monday 4th March – 7pm
Banks’s Stadium, Walsall
Newcastle United U23s v Villa U23s
Monday 11th March – 7pm
Northumberland FA
April:
Villa U23s v Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s
Monday 8th April – 7pm
Banks’s Stadium, Walsall
Reading U23s v Villa U23s
Friday 12th April – 7pm
Adams Park, Wycombe Wanderers
Villa U23s v West Bromwich Albion U23s
Monday 29th April – 7pm
Banks’s Stadium, Walsall
Premier League Cup: Provisional match dates
Saturday 6th October: Group Stage 1
Saturday 10th November: Group Stage 2
Saturday 1st December: Group Stage 3
Saturday 19th January: Group Stage 4
Saturday 9th February: Group Stage 5
Saturday 23rd February: Group Stage 6
Saturday 16th March: Last 16
Saturday 30th March: Quarter-Finals
