Last Matches
EVERTON 5-1 Huddersfield
Six goals scored on the night from the better half of Liverpool with one of them finding its way into their own net as Heitinga nodded past his own keeper. Everton, already two up at this point, courtesy of Fellani & Rodwell, were well on their way to victory before Jermaine Beckford scored his first Everton goal from the penalty spot. Huddersfield then sealed their own fate by having Lee Peltier sent off and conceding a further two goals from substitute Louis Saha with Leon Osman rounding things up with the sixth on the night.
ASTON VILLA 2-3 Rapid Vienna
Simply put
Travesty. Agbonlahor gives Villa the lead shortly after the 20-minute mark but Vienna`s Nuhiu levelled matters as Habib Beye dawdled on the ball and cheaply lost possession rather than hammering it away. Captain Petrov then missed a penalty and Heskey missed the follow up whilst shooting at an (almost) empty net. Emule made up for his blunder (almost) by allowing the ball to bounce of his chest and into the net to put Villa back in front. Then, Curtis Davies decided to take a leave out Beye`s book and act like a right div to thump the ball over Guzan`s crossbar to give away a very cheap corner when it would have been much simpler to knock it for a throw. Sonnleitner converted the corner to level the match but give Vienna the away goal lead. Now, needing a goal, Habib Beye goes missing (quite literally) as Trimmel finds himself in acres of space where Beye should be roaming, to cross in for Rene Gartler tuck away and destroy any hopes of a Villa come back.
Treatment Table
ASTON VILLA
Gabby Agbonlahor: Calf muscle strain (Slight doubt)
Richard Dunne: Back (Slight doubt)
John Carew: Knee (Slight doubt)
Fabian Delph: Knee (No chance)
EVERTON
Aiyegbeni Yakubu: Calf/shin (No chance)
Phil Neville: Ankle (Slight doubt)
Victor Anchibe: Knee (Doubtful)
Suspensions
ASTON VILLA
None
Everton
None
Key Men
Stephen Ireland: Had a good showing against Vienna and was involved in most of anything we created. Looked good on the ball, tracked back at times and moved the ball quite comfortably. The only area he could have been better was perhaps the area we signed him for, venturing forward. He was very deep at times but how much of that was down to him, and how much to the Villa team. He`ll get a free pass for his first few games as he aims to find his feet and his fitness. But, we need him now and he definitely has the ability to perform.
Jermaine Beckford: Has his first competitive goal now for the club, albeit a penalty, but he will need to push on and grab a few more goals for this season to prove not only to the fans, but to himself that he has the ability to perform in the top tier. Afterall, he`s a player that many Villa fans have past suggested as a ‘risk free` signing. We`ll see
Likely Line-ups
EVERTON
Goal: Howard
Defence: Bilyaletdinov, Baines, Heitinga, Jagielka
Midfield: Osman, Arteta, Cahill, Pienaar,
Up Front: Saha, Beckford
ASTON VILLA
Goal: Friedel
Defence: Cuellar, Collins, Warnock, L. Young
Midfield: Albrighton, Petrov, Ireland, Downing, A. Young
Up Front: Agbonlahor
Prediction
Hmm, I`m going to be bold (true to my optimistic self) and claim a steady defensive showing with just the one goal in it, afterall, Everton have hardly had the best start to the season themselves and as Osman says, we`re a “wounded animal.”
Aston Villa 1-0 Everton
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