Aston Villa vs. Everton – The Preview!

The Premier League enters its ninth week of the 2013-14 season this weekend and the most played fixture in English football is set to grace the Villa Park turf come Saturday at 3pm. Roberto Martinez brings his in form Everton side to B6, where they will be looking to repeat the form shown last season when they dispatched of Paul Lambert’s side 3-1. The Toffees found themselves 0-3 up at half time in that match and a red card for Ciaran Clark in the second half added the final nail to the claret and blue coffin that day.

This season promises to be a different encounter though for a number of reasons, the main one being the return of a fully fit Christian Benteke to lead the line and try to put an end to the worry and doubts that some have over the home form of our beloved side. Also, the match last season was only the second of the season and Paul Lambert was still trying to find a side worthy of challenging in the top flight, let alone dispatching a side such as Everton. This time round, the odds are a lot more even; with the younger players having gained more experience, this match could be a good one for the neutral to watch.

Lately, much has been made of Villa’s home form and the way in which the team is set out when Villa play at Villa Park, with many people questioning whether or not we pose a threat to the opposition and how adventurous we are on our home turf. The home games we have had so far, apart from Newcastle, have all been against sides who should be right up there challenging for top honours. Following on from three defeats and one win out of our four home games this season, I feel that many are panicking too early and overreacting. Admittedly, the performance against Newcastle was poor but we still had enough chances in that match to come out of it on the winning side. The second half against Liverpool was encouraging and in the win over Manchester City our players displayed bravery, passion and resilience. Is there really cause for concern after eight games?

However, the game tomorrow will be a big test for Villa and we will get a good insight into what our realistic ambitions should be when we have games against teams such as Everton, a team, like us, that wants to be back challenging for those European places.

Projected Team:

The Villans are set to welcome back Ciaran Clark and Christian Benteke to the starting XI for the game against the blue half of Merseyside tomorrow. Clark is back after overcoming a sickness bug whilst Benteke is set to be introduced from the start rather than off the bench after getting back to full fitness following his hip injury. There is also talk, from some, of Lambert going with Benteke and Kozak up front in a more conventional 4-4-2 formation but I feel that he will stick with a system that he both seems to enjoy using and that is familiar to him.

Another question about the team for tomorrow is whether Sylla or Westwood should start in the middle of the park to complete the midfield trio. Lambert has publically stated that Sylla will get his chance soon and I believe that the Scot will choose tough-tackling Sylla ahead of Ashley Westwood, who has been disappointing lately. Westwood, like other stars from last season, has been a shadow of his former self and a spell out of the team could be the wake-up call needed in order to get him back to best.

The Opposition:

Everton defender John Heitinga suffered soft tissue damage in training and is a doubt for tomorrow’s game whilst Steven Pienaar is pushing for a recall after coming off the bench to score against Hull on his return from injury. Martinez’s Everton side has started the season well and the players have done considerably better than most predicted under Martinez, who deserves great credit for the way his team is playing.

The Toffees were the last unbeaten side in the Premier League and they were unlucky to lose that record away at Manchester City recently but Villa fans could take heart from the fact that the Toffees were lucky to beat Hull last weekend as the Tigers should well have been ahead at half time in that match.

Martinez has stated in his press conference this week that, “You look at Villa in terms of energy, the way they are set up and the way they can be flexible and reorganised. Their front three have incredible understanding and threat. It makes for a dangerous side and, unless you are at your best, you cannot compete at Villa Park this season.” It would seem that the Spaniard is not under the same illusions as some when it comes to our home form.

Game Information:

Kick off: 3:00pm
Venue: Villa Park
Tickets: £23 – £42 [adults], £23 – £42 [concessions], £15 – £35 [U16s], £10 – £35 [U8s], £32 – £38 [adult/junior combo]
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Previous meeting: Aston Villa 1-3 Everton

Prediction:

The Villans 2 – 2 The Toffees; [Benteke, Clark; Lukaku x2]

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