Tag: Aston Villa

  • “Premier League Showdown: Liverpool Challenges Man City, Everton Fights for Survival”

    “Premier League Showdown: Liverpool Challenges Man City, Everton Fights for Survival”

    By Milcah Tanimu

    As Liverpool aims to break Manchester City’s stronghold at the Etihad, Everton faces a survival battle following a significant points deduction. With Arsenal eyeing the top spot and Tottenham confronting in-form Aston Villa, AFP Sport highlights three key talking points for the Premier League action post-international break.

    1. **Liverpool vs. Man City: Renewing Rivalry**
    – Liverpool, the consistent challengers to Manchester City, seeks to end their winless streak at the Etihad since 2015.
    – The reigning champions, Manchester City, boasting a home winning streak, are in a fierce battle for supremacy.

    2. **Everton’s 10-Point Penalty: Survival Challenge**
    – Despite recent positive performances, Everton faces adversity with a 10-point deduction, putting them level with bottom club Burnley.
    – Manchester United, their upcoming opponent, aims to capitalize on Everton’s situation, yet their own form raises concerns.

    3. **Tottenham’s Struggle Against Villa’s Form**
    – Tottenham, led by manager Ange Postecoglou, grapples with consecutive defeats and the absence of playmaker James Maddison.
    – Aston Villa, under Unai Emery, poses a threat with their impressive home record but seeks to improve their away form.

    The Premier League promises intense battles and potential shifts in the table as teams vie for supremacy and survival.

  • FA Cup: Aston Villa vs Liverpool Tie To Hold Despite COVID-19 Outbreak

    FA Cup: Aston Villa vs Liverpool Tie To Hold Despite COVID-19 Outbreak

    Aston Villa have confirmed that Friday’s FA Cup third-round clash with Liverpool will go ahead even though many of their players and staff have tested positive for coronavirus.

    Villa were forced to close their training ground on Thursday and there were concerns they would have to forfeit their match against Jurgen Klopp’s team.

    “Aston Villa can confirm that the Emirates FA Cup third-round tie with Liverpool will be played at Villa Park this evening,” read a brief statement on the club’s website.

    It is understood that no first-team players will take part in the match, with reports saying 10 players in the first-team bubble had tested positive.

    Instead, under-23s coach Mark Delaney is expected to oversee a side made up of under-18 and under-23 players.

    The outbreak at Villa also raises questions about how and whether their upcoming Premier League matches can go ahead.

    They are due to face Tottenham on Wednesday and are then up against Everton on January 16.

    There are growing concerns over whether the Premier League season can be completed on schedule as infection numbers spike in Britain.

    A record high 40 positive tests were detected among Premier League players and staff in the week between December 28 and January 3.

    Newcastle’s match against Aston Villa last month was the first top-flight fixture this season postponed by a coronavirus outbreak at a club.

    Steve Bruce’s side lost captain Jamaal Lascelles and winger Allan Saint-Maximin for a long spell as they suffered the after-effects of the virus.

    Lascelles is fit for Saturday’s FA Cup clash with holders Arsenal but Saint-Maximin is still waiting for the all-clear to return to training.

    Magpies manager Steve Bruce questioned the morality of playing on as the pandemic worsens.

    “The speed which it hit our club within a week, and ripped through, is something which all clubs will be looking at now,” he said.

    “It’s difficult to contain and it leaves people sick. Financially it’s right to play on but morally, for me, it’s probably wrong.”

    Southampton’s FA Cup match against Shrewsbury is off after a Covid-19 outbreak at the League One club.

    Wayne Rooney’s Championship side Derby will fulfil their fixture at non-league Chorley with a youth team after nine positive tests among first-team players and staff.

    AFP

  • Man City told Grealish will cost ‘astronomical’ fee as Hutton sees Aston Villa star’s price tag rising above £80m

    Man City told Grealish will cost ‘astronomical’ fee as Hutton sees Aston Villa star’s price tag rising above £80m

    Manchester City are reported to be mulling over a move for Aston Villa playmaker Jack Grealish, but Alan Hutton has warned that the England international will cost any of his suitors an “astronomical” sum.

    Various landing spots were mooted for the talented 25-year-old during the summer transfer window, with Manchester United seemingly leading the chase for his signature at one stage.

    Tottenham have also been credited with interest in the past, while Arsenal are being urged to join the clamour for one of the Premier League’s most creative influences if a bidding war is sparked.

    Hutton can appreciate why Grealish has become such a sought-after commodity, given his recent performances for club and country, but he cannot see those at Villa Park sanctioning a sale.

    That is because they have tied their captain to a new long-term contract and made it clear to domestic rivals, including big-spending City, that their asking price for a prized asset has risen considerably since the last opportunity to table bids presented itself.

    Former Villa defender Hutton told Football Insider of the speculation that Grealish continues to generate: “For him to move, it would be astronomical now, I think.

    “They were talking about £80 million ($106m) before the start of this season and then look what he’s done this season. I think he’s that good at the moment and if he keeps progressing the way he’s going, he will command a starting role wherever he is, that’s how good I think he is.

    “People are now starting to see the real Jack – such high-level performances with Villa and then taking it up a level again, I think, with England. The more he plays, the better he’ll get and people are seeing, they’re starting to sit up and notice him.

    “It doesn’t surprise me that all the big clubs will be watching, I hate to say it as a Villa fan but it happens, he’s getting that good at what he does that everybody’s watching him and it’s only a matter of time before some silly offer does come in at some stage.”

    Another player on Villa’s books that City are said to have their eye on is Douglas Luiz, with the Blues retaining a buy-back option on a player they offloaded in 2019.

    Pep Guardiola’s are said to have an agreement in place that allows them to re-sign the Brazil international for £30m ($40m) up until June 2021, but Villans boss Dean Smith is reading little into those rumours.

    He has said: “He’s done really well for Brazil. There’s been talk about a buy-back option. I’m not aware of it, I don’t deal with contracts. I deal with the players.

    “What I know is Douglas Luiz is loving his time at Aston Villa and getting better and better. He’s performing very well for Brazil as well. Long may that continue.

    “Next summer’s a long way off for me, we’ve got 31 games in the Premier League left still so I’m concentrating on that.”

  • Mikel Arteta speaks on Arsenal defeat to Aston Villa

    Mikel Arteta speaks on Arsenal defeat to Aston Villa

    Mikel Arteta took full responsibility for Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa on Sunday, saying “we weren’t a team”.

    Victory at Old Trafford last weekend was another step in the right direction under Arteta, and the Spaniard would have expected his side to build on that morale-boosting result.

    However, they slipped to 11th with this defeat and Arteta wasn’t impressed with what he saw.

    “First of all congratulations to Aston Villa for the way they played and the victory,” he told Sky Sports.

    “After that, we performed below our standards and I have to say it’s the first time I’ve seen us play and we weren’t a team.

    READ ALSO: Premier League players set to be left out of Denmark squad

    “I take full responsibility. We didn’t start well enough, we got away with VAR for an offside situation but we lost all the races, the duels and we were sloppy on the ball. When we created chances we didn’t hit the target. It’s a really bad combination. We left spaces and on the counter we looked really vulnerable.

    “I take full responsibility. I am responsible to make the team perform on the pitch and today we were not a team and it is my job. It is why I am standing here.

    “It is a frustration. It takes a lot to build momentum, to build a way of being, living and performing and when something like that comes up it’s a hard one to take but in a hard moment you learn more than in a positive moment and I want to see how we react.”

    Speaking in his press conference, he added: “I didn’t see the spirit for the first time – and it’s totally my fault as that’s why I’m here. Today I’ve not managed to get the team to play at the highest level like we need to every three days.

    “I’m struggling to find the reason but obviously there was something there today. They wanted it more than us. If you can’t defend your box, it’s a really complicated way to win football matches.

    “We need to be more ruthless but today it was about how we went about the job and who we were as a team. I didn’t like it from the first whistle when we got away with the goal and then afterwards. It just wasn’t good enough.”

  • James Ward-Prowse magic inspires Southampton in seven-goal thriller against Aston Villa

    James Ward-Prowse magic inspires Southampton in seven-goal thriller against Aston Villa

    James Ward-Prowse scored two sublime first-half free-kicks as Southampton moved into third in the Premier League table with a thrilling 4-3 victory at Aston Villa.

    The Saints midfielder marked his 26th birthday with an unforgettable display, doubling his side’s lead with an outrageous free-kick from 25 yards out just past the half-hour mark after assisting Jannik Vestergaard’s opener some 13 minutes earlier.

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    Ward-Prowse’s second of the day – coming on the stroke of half-time – was a carbon copy of his first as he once again gave Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez no chance with a curling free-kick that ended up in the top left corner.

    It could have been worse for Aston Villa as Southampton had the ball in the back of the Villa net with less than three minutes on the clock, with Ezri Konsa getting the final touch on Ward-Prowse’s corner delivery, but the Villa defender’s blushes were spared as Che Adams was adjudged to be in an offside position after a VAR check.

    Southampton inflicted more misery after the restart as Danny Ings got in on the act with an unstoppable shot from the edge of the penalty area with less than an hour played. Unfortunately, the talisman was forced off with a worrying knee injury late on.

    Tyrone Mings gave Villa a glimmer of hope by converting a lovely Jack Grealish cross and Oli Watkins’ scored a stoppage-time penalty before Grealish himself got in on the act after seven added minutes, but it was too little too late as Dean Smith’s men fell to a second successive defeat following the 3-0 loss to Leeds last weekend.

    The victory extends Southampton’s unbeaten run to five games and they move up to third in the table, three points behind leaders Liverpool, while Villa drop to seventh.

  • Watkins hat-trick as Aston Villa humble champions Liverpool with 7-2 defeat

    Watkins hat-trick as Aston Villa humble champions Liverpool with 7-2 defeat

    A sensational first half hat-trick from Ollie Watkins helped Aston Villa to a stunning 7-2 victory over Liverpool in the English Premier League (EPL) on Sunday.

    It was a result which not only ended the champions’ 100 per cent start to the season, but also was a severe humbling.

    Liverpool started badly at Villa Park as a poor pass from Adrian —- deputising for Alisson in goal for the visitors — gifted Watkins the opener in the fourth minute.

    If there was an element of good fortune about Watkins’ first goal in an Aston Villa shirt, his second was all his own fine work.

    He cut inside before firing into the top corner to stun the champions and make it 2-0 in the 22nd minute.

    Mohamed Salah’s fine left foot finish seemed to get Liverpool back in the game in the 33rd minute, but John McGinn’s deflected strike two minutes later restored Aston Villa’s two-goal advantage.

    Read more: Manchester United humiliated as Mourinho lead Spurs to massive win at Old Trafford

    Watkins completed his hat-trick inside 39 minutes.

    Former Everton midfielder Ross Barkley —- making his debut after joining Aston Villa on loan —- made it five 10 minutes into the second half.

    Salah did give Liverpool hope on the hour mark, before a late double from Grealish completed a remarkable victory for the team which just avoided relegation last season.

  • Aston Villa Humiliates Liverpool  7-2 in EPL

    Aston Villa Humiliates Liverpool 7-2 in EPL

    BREAKING: Aston Villa demolish Liverpool 7-2

    Defending Champions Liverpool have been massacred by Aston Villa 7-2.

    Villa’s captain Grealish was the star player, scoring two goal and assisting three others.

    Details shortly…

  • Manchester City thrash Aston Villa with Aguero’s record-breaking hat-trick

    Manchester City thrash Aston Villa with Aguero’s record-breaking hat-trick

    Sergio Aguero became the most prolific foreign goalscorer in English Premier League (EPL) history with a hat-trick as Manchester City thrashed Aston Villa 6-1 to reclaim second place on Sunday.

    The Argentine striker struck Manchester City’s third, fifth and sixth goals at Villa Park to take his league tally to 177.

    This is two more than what Frenchman Thierry Henry managed for Arsenal, and is fourth on the all-time list alongside Frank Lampard.

    Manchester City’s resounding victory, in which Riyad Mahrez also scored twice and Gabriel Jesus once, meant they moved above Leicester City.

    They also trimmed Liverpool’s lead to 14 points, although Liverpool have played a game less.

    Mahrez’s dribble and shot opened the scoring in the 18th minute and the Algerian struck again six minutes later.

    Champions Manchester City’s slick football was too much for Aston Villa who had dropped into the relegation zone before kick-off, after Watford’s win at Bournemouth.

    Aguero’s fierce strike from outside the area made it 3-0 in the 28th minute, before Jesus tapped in a fourth on the stroke of half-time after a stunning pass by Kevin De Bruyne.

    A razor-sharp Aguero moved clear of Henry with a neat finish in the 58th minute.

    He continued to torment a sorry home side by completing his 12th Premier League hat-trick in the 81st minute.

    Aston Villa, who have fallen to third from bottom, did not manage a shot on target until they were awarded a stoppage-time penalty kick that was tucked away by Anwar El Ghazi.(Reuters/NAN)