What: Premier League, Game-week 29
Who: Aston Villa (6th, 48pts), Middlesbrough (12th, 29pts)
When: Wednesday March 12, 1945 GMT
Where: Villa Park, Birmingham
Focused
Aston Villa have been out of the cups for a while now, and as a result they played just three games in February, one game so far in March and are looking decidedly well-rested every time they take the pitch.
They’ve been firmly focused on their task of picking up as many points as possible, with the outside chance of springing a surprise on the top four, but more realistically the aim is to secure UEFA Cup football next season with a few games to spare.
They look like doing it; a well-earned draw at Arsenal could have just as easily been a win, they thumped Newcastle United after having been behind to an early goal and also picked up a creditable draw at Anfield, albeit against a slightly more shaky Liverpool than Rafael Benitez’s current crop of European Cup resurgents.
Good performances on the road suggest a lot of promise for when they do get a team back to their own back yard. Arguably their only disappointing result of the year has come against Fulham, a game they lost 2-1. It was in the final few minutes when Jimmy Bullard hammered a free-kick into the back of the net and Roy Hodgson’s relegation struggling side grabbed an unexpected win. Villa could perhaps be labeled as guilty of underestimating their opponents on that occasion, but on the other hand it looked like a game which Fulham simply had to win to stand any chance of surviving.
A lack of sharpness should be Martin O’Neill’s only worry as his side play their first game in almost a fortnight on Wednesday. Focus will be key, just as it has been in their recent run of largely clinical results and he should be confident of preying on a Middlesbrough side who are somewhat regressing to their early season worst.
Cup Calamity
A graph of Middlesbrough’s form this season would most likely resemble a mountain, and they’ll now have to climb another of sorts to ensure safety and, ideally, credibility. Their dreadful start saw them leaking more goals than any side besides Derby County, before they suddenly — somehow — started stringing results together and climbing toward mid-table.
Indeed at one point they looked within touching distance of West Ham United and perhaps even Portsmouth, but they have succeeded only in self-destructing since then, perhaps evidence of their overall lack of quality.
A saving grace had been their cup run, something they had become famed for earlier in the decade. Gareth Southgate — due to a fortunate string of opponents and motivated performances — guided his team as far as the quarterfinals where they met Cardiff City.
Manchester United and Chelsea both suffered shock eliminations on the Saturday, when it came Middlesbrough’s turn to host Cardiff on the Sunday they must have realised that they — along with the United-conquering Portsmouth — were the overwhelming favourites to win the competition, something that would without doubt make history.
That only seemed to succeed in going to their heads, whether they will admit it or not. They were caught cold by a Cardiff side who smelled blood in the water and went for the game from the off, and Boro seemed both powerless and clueless to do anything about it. It was described by some pundits as one of those worst showings by a Premier League side in the FA Cup, which may have been a slight exaggeration, but underlines just how awful an evening it was for Gareth Southgate and his side.
Like Villa they are now left with just the league to worry about, but following a poor run of results that was capped with the cup calamity, they will now see the 11 points required from as many games to reach the probable ’safe zone’ of 40 league points an eternity away, with every loss striking the fear of God within them and even draws feeling like the bare minimum.
Wins, however, would be absolutely priceless. Three of them would all-but guarantee safety while four would surely do the job. Their record away from home has been dismal though, and the chances of their slump continuing here are quite high, which will worry Southgate, who would have no doubt hoped to deliver some kind of thrashing following the Cardiff embarrassment to get his side back on the right track.
FORM GUIDE
Aston Villa
01 Mar: Arsenal vs Aston Villa - 1-1 (Premier League)
24 Feb: Reading vs Aston Villa - 1-2 (Premier League)
09 Feb: Aston Villa vs Newcastle United - 4-1 (Premier League)
03 Feb: Fulham vs Aston Villa - 2-1 (Premier League)
26 Jan: Aston Villa vs Blackburn - 1-1 (Premier League)
21 Jan: Liverpool vs Aston Villa - 2-2 (Premier League)
Middlesbrough
09 Mar: Middlesbrough vs Cardiff City - 0-2 (FA Cup)
01 Mar: Middlesbrough vs Reading - 0-1 (Premier League)
27 Feb: Middlesbrough vs Sheffield United - 1-0 (FA Cup)
23 Feb: Liverpool vs Middlesbrough - 3-2 (Premier League)
17 Feb: Sheffield United vs Middlesbrough 0-0 (FA Cup)
09 Feb: Middlesbrough vs Fulham - 1-0 (Premier League)
TEAM NEWS
Aston Villa
Zat Knight will step in for Curtis Davies who is out with an achilles problem. Nigel Reo-Coker should be available despite a recent back injury, while Olof Mellberg is 50:50 for the game with an ankle problem.
Last XI (vs Arsenal): Carson, Gardner, Laursen, Davies (Osbourne, 40), Bouma, Young, Reo-Coker (Knight, 32), Barry, Maloney (Harewood, 71), Carew, Agbonlahor
Unused substitutions: Taylor, Salifou
Middlesbrough
No team news has yet been reported by the club but Gareth Southgate will most likely look to ring changes from the first eleven that capitulated against Championship side Cardiff.
Last XI (vs Cardiff): Schwarzer, Young, Wheater, Huth, Pogatetz, O’Neil (Johnson, 59), Arca, Rochemback, Downing, Alves (Mido, 46), Sanli
Unused substitutions: Turnbull, Boateng, Grounds.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Aston Villa - Ashley Young
Young has proved a brilliant signing from Watford and this season he has well and truly come into his own. He is proving a nightmare for many a full-back across the country and is capable of scoring as well as assisting. His pace and trickery could prove the difference against what is likely to be a well-manned Boro back line.
Middlesbrough - David Wheater
The young defender has been something of a revelation this season for the north-eastern club and will no doubt need to be on guard against the threat of John Carew and co. He’s also fairly dangerous going forward, having picked up a fair few crucial goals for Gareth Southgate’s men this season from set-pieces, which may be one of the few ways in which a currently toothless Boro will be able to fashion chances against Villa.
PREDICTION
Boro have been in woeful form as of late, and though the ultimate embarrassment of the Cardiff loss could well induce a fighting performance to surprise Villa on Wednesday night, the safer money would be on Martin O’Neill’s men having the game won in their heads as well as at their feet, where they undoubtedly possess superior players.
Aston Villa 2-0 Middlesbrough
Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com
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