I'm always apprehensive when we have a return match against a team that we've already beaten convincingly, when they've played badly. They have that extra incentive to prove their critics wrong. Like when we beat Pompey 6-0 and the lost the away match 2-0. Villa's away fans gave them some real stick at our place and they'll be particularly keen to erase that memory.
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Match Day: Aston Villa v. Manchester City FC
- Thread starter NathanC
- Start date
Rammyblues
Well-Known Member
Team and Tactics v Aston Villa (Away)
It's only three weeks since City crushed Aston Villa at Eastlands, but there is renewed hope for the Villans as Darren Bent looks set to make his debut against Mancini's men this weekend. Bent is a striker who probably doesn't get the plaudits he deserves, and he's often given City problems over the past few seasons with his combination of pace, strength, positional awareness and good finishing - he scored Sunderland's winner against us at the Stadium of Light earlier this season. According to reports, Houllier is keen to convert Villa from a team that has usually played a traditional 4-4-2 formation to a more fluid 4-3-3, with Bent as the central striker flanked by the likes of Young or Albrighton, but whether we'll see that approach against City is impossible to say. Will Young and Bent threaten the City rear? (Ooo-er, Missus!) Defensively, Villa have been less than stellar this season, but it looks like Dunne and Collins are recapturing some form, and Friedel is a reliable keeper, so I'm certainly not expecting another 4-0 victory in this game.
Although Houllier has recognized that his team is especially weak in the midfield department, new signing Jean Makoun will not feature against City, so this aspect of the encounter is maybe where City can assert some control. Reo-Coker, Petrov and youngster Barry Bannon have been unable to control games on many occasions this season so expect Villa to use the pace and trickery of Young and Albrighton on their flanks, exposing City's full-backs. Although Zabaleta has been a solid performer for us this season, Boateng, Richards and Kolorov have all disappointed from a defensive standpoint. It seems that Richards is fit again, and Boateng is apparently back from illness, so Mancini has a full roster of full-backs to choose from for this game - it will be interesting to see if he elects for Zaba at left-back and Micah on the right, or continues with Zaba at right-back and Kolarov on the left. Kolarov's finally getting to grips with the Premiership, I'd be tempted to stick with him, and let Zaba keep doing what he's doing.
Our defensive display at set-pieces has been woeful and Villa do have the players that can hurt us. Ashley Young is capable of excellent delivery, so Joe Hart and the boys will need to show distinct improvement over recent games. Kompany is obviously first on the team-sheet, but the problem of who to partner him remains; Kolo is quite quick, good in the tackle, reads the game well and is composed on the ball, but he is not the best in a physical battle or at picking up big players at set-pieces. Lescott, on the other hand, is better in this department, but he's slower, tends to make the odd mistake and does not look comfortable bringing the ball out of defence. Frankly, if I was Mancini I'd ask Vinnie who he prefers playing alongside and go with that, but on balance the extra pace and quality of Kolo Toure wins the day, especially up against a player with Darren Bent's abilities. All said, I'd go with this team to face Villa -
------------------------Hart--------------------------
Zabaleta-------Kolo----------Kompany--------Kolarov
------------De Jong----------------Barry--------------
-----------------------Yaya---------------------------
------Silva----------------------------------Tevez----
----------------------Dzeko---------------------------
Bench: Given, Richards, Lescott, Vieira, Milner, AJ, Jo
The above formation is nominal, as the players have more-or-less become a unit now, so expect Tevez and Silva to roam with Dzeko being the focal point and link man. Yaya must improve his game off the ball, although I've no complaints about his contribution going forward - the guy is quickly becoming a major threat when given a run on goal. The duo of De Jong and Barry continue with their usual roles; Barry especially being important by covering for Kolorov against the dangerous Albrighton, and linking play to the front four. With plenty of good options on the bench, Mancini has the luxury of using Micah or Lescott if Villa's physicality is causing problems, or introducing Milner and/or AJ if required. City have the quality to defeat Aston Villa if they can match their rekindled spirit and maintain concentration and commitment for the full game, but no doubt it will be a keenly-contested encounter in front of an expectant Villa Park audience.
I agree with this.
It's only three weeks since City crushed Aston Villa at Eastlands, but there is renewed hope for the Villans as Darren Bent looks set to make his debut against Mancini's men this weekend. Bent is a striker who probably doesn't get the plaudits he deserves, and he's often given City problems over the past few seasons with his combination of pace, strength, positional awareness and good finishing - he scored Sunderland's winner against us at the Stadium of Light earlier this season. According to reports, Houllier is keen to convert Villa from a team that has usually played a traditional 4-4-2 formation to a more fluid 4-3-3, with Bent as the central striker flanked by the likes of Young or Albrighton, but whether we'll see that approach against City is impossible to say. Will Young and Bent threaten the City rear? (Ooo-er, Missus!) Defensively, Villa have been less than stellar this season, but it looks like Dunne and Collins are recapturing some form, and Friedel is a reliable keeper, so I'm certainly not expecting another 4-0 victory in this game.
Although Houllier has recognized that his team is especially weak in the midfield department, new signing Jean Makoun will not feature against City, so this aspect of the encounter is maybe where City can assert some control. Reo-Coker, Petrov and youngster Barry Bannon have been unable to control games on many occasions this season so expect Villa to use the pace and trickery of Young and Albrighton on their flanks, exposing City's full-backs. Although Zabaleta has been a solid performer for us this season, Boateng, Richards and Kolorov have all disappointed from a defensive standpoint. It seems that Richards is fit again, and Boateng is apparently back from illness, so Mancini has a full roster of full-backs to choose from for this game - it will be interesting to see if he elects for Zaba at left-back and Micah on the right, or continues with Zaba at right-back and Kolarov on the left. Kolarov's finally getting to grips with the Premiership, I'd be tempted to stick with him, and let Zaba keep doing what he's doing.
Our defensive display at set-pieces has been woeful and Villa do have the players that can hurt us. Ashley Young is capable of excellent delivery, so Joe Hart and the boys will need to show distinct improvement over recent games. Kompany is obviously first on the team-sheet, but the problem of who to partner him remains; Kolo is quite quick, good in the tackle, reads the game well and is composed on the ball, but he is not the best in a physical battle or at picking up big players at set-pieces. Lescott, on the other hand, is better in this department, but he's slower, tends to make the odd mistake and does not look comfortable bringing the ball out of defence. Frankly, if I was Mancini I'd ask Vinnie who he prefers playing alongside and go with that, but on balance the extra pace and quality of Kolo Toure wins the day, especially up against a player with Darren Bent's abilities. All said, I'd go with this team to face Villa -
------------------------Hart--------------------------
Zabaleta-------Kolo----------Kompany--------Kolarov
------------De Jong----------------Barry--------------
-----------------------Yaya---------------------------
------Silva----------------------------------Tevez----
----------------------Dzeko---------------------------
Bench: Given, Richards, Lescott, Vieira, Milner, AJ, Jo
The above formation is nominal, as the players have more-or-less become a unit now, so expect Tevez and Silva to roam with Dzeko being the focal point and link man. Yaya must improve his game off the ball, although I've no complaints about his contribution going forward - the guy is quickly becoming a major threat when given a run on goal. The duo of De Jong and Barry continue with their usual roles; Barry especially being important by covering for Kolorov against the dangerous Albrighton, and linking play to the front four. With plenty of good options on the bench, Mancini has the luxury of using Micah or Lescott if Villa's physicality is causing problems, or introducing Milner and/or AJ if required. City have the quality to defeat Aston Villa if they can match their rekindled spirit and maintain concentration and commitment for the full game, but no doubt it will be a keenly-contested encounter in front of an expectant Villa Park audience.
I agree with this.
turks head
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 24 Dec 2010
- Messages
- 49
i had a dream that we beat ya 2-1 with bent getting a pen.... bring it on ... but then again i had a dream i killed my sisters f ing ex husband and im still waiting for that ... :P
PaleBlue
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 11 Jun 2008
- Messages
- 3,729
- Team supported
- Man City
Worried about this one, I think they'll play much better and if we start slowly (as we've done lately) they could grab one or even two and we'll be chasing the game. I reckon a 2-2 draw, Bent will get good service from Young and Albrighton and Dunne will no doubt have a blinder against us.
r.soleofsalford
Well-Known Member
turks head said:i had a dream that we beat ya 2-1 with bent getting a pen.... bring it on ... but then again i had a dream i killed my sisters f ing ex husband and im still waiting for that ... :P
if you winning 2-1 tomorrow, i bet your alarm goes off.
just lean over knock it off and try and get back to sleep :)
best of luck for the season after tomorrow
turks head
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 24 Dec 2010
- Messages
- 49
r.soleofsalford said:turks head said:i had a dream that we beat ya 2-1 with bent getting a pen.... bring it on ... but then again i had a dream i killed my sisters f ing ex husband and im still waiting for that ... :P
if you winning 2-1 tomorrow i bet you alarm goes off.
just lean over knock it off and try and get back to sleep :)
best of luck for the season after tomorrow
if i knock anything off tommorow if we win 2-1 i will be knocking summot off and it wont be tha alarm clock .. :p
Be nice if you guys won the league but hey theres dreams and nightmares .... :)
MadchesterCity
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 12 Sep 2009
- Messages
- 17,682
turks head said:r.soleofsalford said:if you winning 2-1 tomorrow i bet you alarm goes off.
just lean over knock it off and try and get back to sleep :)
best of luck for the season after tomorrow
if i knock anything off tommorow if we win 2-1 i will be knocking summot off and it wont be tha alarm clock .. :p
Be nice if you guys won the league but hey theres dreams and nightmares .... :)
Thanks turks head, nice to see some positivity from a Villa fan, welcome to the forum!!
Will be very tough game tomorrow aston Villa are a good side.
will there be any negativity since we take your best player every year?
p.s dont bang your sister!!
r.soleofsalford
Well-Known Member
turks head said:r.soleofsalford said:if you winning 2-1 tomorrow i bet you alarm goes off.
just lean over knock it off and try and get back to sleep :)
best of luck for the season after tomorrow
if i knock anything off tommorow if we win 2-1 i will be knocking summot off and it wont be tha alarm clock .. :p
Be nice if you guys won the league but hey theres dreams and nightmares .... :)
your welcome to jo if you want him, well swop him for bannon
skyblues4ever
Well-Known Member
City's away form has been superior to their home and our side's confidence must be high. On the day it's all about performance, tactics and a bit of chance.
On current form 2-4 to City
Come on you blues
If Bent scores, we'll probably buy him ;)
On current form 2-4 to City
Come on you blues
If Bent scores, we'll probably buy him ;)