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Key occasions
The gamers are again out they usually’re about to play extra soccer!
“We aren’t out of this by lengthy chalk,” trills Ian Sargeant. That’s the spirit! “Villa look affected by the Mings harm and if we are able to sneak one again (Soucek from a set piece? ) we could possibly be in right here.
Not a fan of Paqueta hitting the bottom so typically. That was naughty on the free kick. My thoughts goes again to the identical fixture at Upton park within the 80s. Peter Withe and Billy Bonds bought caught into one another – each ended up on the ground – and also you sensed that one among them would lump the opposite to get the primary blow in. As a substitute after an preliminary wrestle they each bought up and danced a couple of steps collectively.”
Half time: Aston Villa 1-0 West Ham
45+10 minutes: Half time has occurred. Villa completely thrashed West Ham for quarter-hour or so, and scored a objective whereas they had been doing so, however the away facet have labored their means again into the sport since then and it’s nonetheless utterly up for grabs.
45+9 minutes: Now Digne is down. This recreation fairly badly wants half-time to occur, it’s simply turned a bit foolish.
45+8 minutes: The ball ultimately is available in, bounces round a bit, and is volleyed vast by Paqueta.
45+7 minutes: Now Money is on the bottom. He did get correctly shoved by Soucek, and the referee has a chat with them each.
45+6 minutes: Seems like Digne frivolously tapped him with an elbow whereas gamers jostled ready for the free-kick. VAR appears at it and decides he’s not bothered by it.
45+6 minutes: Now Paqueta’s on the bottom, presumably making an attempt to attract consideration to an off-the-ball incident.
45+5 minutes: A primary reserving of the sport, Tielemans booked for fouling Paqueta (although it appears like Ramsey did the fouling). After which Cresswell talks his means into becoming a member of him.
45+3 minutes: Money is fouled on the correct and the free-kick results in a chaotic minute or two, challenges (principally clear) flying in and possession altering fingers, which ends solely when Money is fouled once more on the correct.
45+1 minutes: Into stoppage time and there’ll be loads of it. Six minute, to be exact.
43 minutes: Wan-Bissaka crosses to Alvarez, who chests it down, half-volleys nicely over the bar, and is then given offside.
41 minutes: Kudus runs up behind Tielemans and knocks him down like a skittle. The referee waves play on whereas the midfielder lies on the bottom and West Ham assault for some time, boos ringing out as soon as they lastly lose the ball.
38 minutes: Ian Maatsen comes on, and can play at left-back with Digne shifting to the center. Right here’s Mings on the ACL harm he suffered in August 2023, talking after his first league begin after his restoration, towards Brentford simply final month:
It was [the journey back] terrible, completely terrible. However I’ve performed it earlier than and I did it once more. I used to be at all times questioning what was preserving me going, whether or not it was nights like tonight, household, or private delight. It was a bit of little bit of the whole lot. When instances get robust, you ask, ‘What am I nonetheless doing this for?’
“The messages I had from them (supporters), was actually heartwarming and performed a giant half. I thank the Villa followers for that as a result of the roar when your title is known as out and all of these issues add as much as my journey again.
36 minutes: Mings pulls up once more, and this would be the finish of his recreation. He appears fairly distraught about it.
35 minutes: Likelihood! Villa have a free-kick on the left. Tielemans sends it into the realm, Watkins heads it narrowly vast.
33 minutes: Play has restarted, and Mings is again on the sector.
32 minutes: Mings is up, and limping in the direction of the touchline. He’s not instantly being substituted.
29 minutes: Mings is down and clutching his left knee, after he tries to cross the ball out of defence simply as Kudus comes throughout to dam him.
27 minutes: Now Tielemans has a shot from simply exterior the realm, an honest hit along with his left foot nevertheless it runs a foot vast.
25 minutes: Digne crosses and Watkins heads at objective, however he will get no energy on it and Areola catches.
22 minutes: One cross out of defence from Tielemans finds Rogers simply exterior the centre circle, and he turns to search out himself a part of a three-on-three break. He carries the ball to the sting of the realm then overhits a cross to Bailey which runs out of play.
20 minutes: West Ham play out of the Villa press fairly well, and having performed so win themselves a nook, which is cleared.
18 minutes: It has been a number of minutes now since West Ham seemed like they had been nearly sure to imminently concede a objective, in order that’s one thing. In statistical information, along with his help Watkins made his a centesimal objective contribution for Villa, in his two hundredth recreation.
15 minutes: Half an opportunity for Lucas Paqueta, however as a substitute of lashing the ball goalwards he tries to carry the ball over Mings’ head, and fails.
15 minutes: West Ham have simply had a shot, although. Alvarez with it, from 20 yards or so. It hit a defender. “Greater than some other fixture, this one gives clarety in a complicated world,” quips Peter Oh.
14 minutes: A couple of minutes again I stated West Ham had had a objective disallowed when it was, clearly, Aston Villa. Apologies.
11 minutes: Bailey cuts in from the correct and shoots at Areola. The opening interval of this recreation couldn’t have been extra one-sided. “We’re looking for the correct steadiness between defence and assault,” Graham Potter stated. Properly, preserve trying.
11 minutes: Villa have a objective disallowed! Kudus loses the ball, Watkins is performed in and his low cross/shot is turned in by Rogers, however Watkins was offside.
10 minutes: And one other probability! Watkins has the ball within the space and passes again to Kamara on the sting, however Alvarez blocks his shot
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 West Ham (Ramsey, 8 minutes)
Now Villa take the lead, and it has been coming! Ramsey performs a one-two with Watkins, outpaces Coufal and slides a left-footed shot throughout the keeper and in on the far submit!
7 minutes: Now Rogers will get in down the correct and tries to sq. to Watkins, however Kilman will get in the way in which of that as nicely!
5 minutes: Aim-saving sort out from Max Kilman! It was a pleasant rat-a-tat interaction of passes from Villa to show a throw-in of their very own into an opportunity for Ramsey, however the cross into him wasn’t good and gave Kilman an opportunity to get in the way in which, if he nailed his sliding problem. Which he did.
3 minutes: West Ham put two passes collectively for the primary time within the recreation. In doing so that they’ve managed to win an attacking throw-in, which Coufal flings into the field and any individual heads out once more.
1 min: Peeeeeep! Aston Villa get the ball rolling.
Simply earlier than kick-off, right here’s Jacob Steinberg’s report on Tottenham’s newest misfortune:
Away from the mutinous chants pouring down from the south stand, the unmistakeable disgust with Daniel Levy and the gathering angst round Ange Postecoglou, it was doable to overlook about Leicester. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s facet have endured a horrible winter and, after they discovered themselves behind to a fragile Tottenham at half-time, they’d the look of a bunch ready for the candy launch of relegation.
At that stage they had been on their solution to their eighth consecutive defeat within the Premier League, equalling a membership report set within the 2000-01 season. If historical past was a information, although, then taking part in Spurs was excellent news for Van Nistelrooy. In spite of everything Leicester stopped the rot by beating them 4-2 at Filbert Avenue 24 years in the past. It meant there was nearly a grim inevitability to how this match unfolded. In management after Richarlison’s header, it was astonishing to see an injury-hit Spurs collapse within the first 5 minutes of the second half, 1-0 changing into 1-2 because of objectives from Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannous.
Way more right here:
The gamers are within the tunnel. Kick-off is only a few minutes away!
Jonathan Wilson was at Selhurst Park to see Brentford pinch victory. Right here’s his match report:
For Brentford, there was a measure of reduction. It’s most likely honest to say that the run of 1 win in 9 video games through which they went into this weekend was not consultant of how they’d performed however, nonetheless, it’s as nicely to stifle as early as doable any thought that they had been going by way of a mid-winter stoop just like final season’s. Survival could not fairly be mathematically assured however breaking the 30-point mark with 15 video games remaining makes it nearly sure they are going to be within the Premier League subsequent season.
After a gradual begin, the sport was quite higher than the situations. It was a day of actually filthy climate, a uncooked morning yielding to heavy rain, a blustery breeze, and skies of unremitting gray. It was a day to be glad about fashionable drainage, the pitch remaining slick and inexperienced all through. With Brentford in a blancmange pink and aubergine away equipment that evoked the once-aspirational toilet in a seedy bedsit through which horrible issues have occurred from an 80s crime drama, the general impact was of just about creative bleakness, a kind of Croydon Noir.
Way more right here:
“I can’t consider a extra defensive West Ham crew in my lifetime,” says Jamie Redknapp. “I assume he simply desires to ensure they’re tough to beat. I believe he’s it considering, let’s get management of midfield and you then hope [someone] can do one thing particular. He simply hasn’t bought the gamers at his disposal and a lot of the gamers which can be match are defensive ones”
Graham Potter has a pre-match chat:
We’re looking for the correct steadiness between defence and assault, making an attempt to get the crew steady. We’ve got to get that steadiness. However I’m actually proud of how the group have taken on the concepts. We’re at first and we have to preserve working.
Everytime you are available January the perfect state of affairs can be the whole lot’s calm and we’ve no issues or challenges and clearly that’s not the case. However we’ve bought a crew we’ve been working with this week and a crew we’ve been proud of. All you are able to do is concentrate on the gamers you’ve got and preserve working.
Within the early afternoon kick-offs Brentford have overwhelmed Crystal Palace 2-1 away from residence, and Leicester have performed the identical to Tottenham. The league desk in full:
Seems like a fairly dismal day in Birmingham. Let’s hope we get some sunshine soccer, or one thing.
The groups!
The crew sheets have been handed in, and right here is the information. Ollie Watkins begins once more, with Duran on the bench for Villa, with Leon Bailey and Lucas Digne the brand new faces from the crew that drew with Arsenal. West Ham usher in Alphonse Areola in objective, and Vladimir Coufal and Carlos Soler out of objective.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Money, Konsa, Mings, Digne, Tielemans, Kamara, Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey, Watkins. Subs: Olsen, Zych, McGinn, Duran, Buendia, Garcia, Malen, Maatsen, Bogarde.
West Ham: Areola, Coufal, Kilman, Cresswell, Wan-Bissaka, Alvarez, Soler, Emerson Palmieri, Lucas Paqueta, Soucek, Kudus. Subs: Fabianski, Foderingham, Luis Guilherme, Ings, Rodriguez, Irving, Casey, Scarles, Orford.
Referee: Peter Bankes.
Howdy world!
“After all, West Ham, they aren’t being constant, however they’ve now a brand new coach. Tactically, they will enhance,” stated Unai Emery on Friday. We’re about to learn how a lot enchancment they’ve managed, however Villa have some enhancing to do: certain, they’re eighth within the desk which is ok “(“An important for us is the Premier League, and to be within the desk’s high eight positions,” Emery added), and have misplaced solely one among their final 5 league video games, however away from residence they’re not so sizzling: two wins and 5 defeats of their final eight within the league, which might put them sixteenth in a notional last-eight-away-from-home desk (in mitigation, these fixtures included visits to Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Liverpool). Emery stated their ambition was to “attempt to be constant like we’re in the meanwhile at residence”, the place they might be sixth and unbeaten in a last-eight-games desk.
Graham Potter additionally thinks West Ham are going to enhance. “Our ambition is there – we wish to get higher. We wish to transfer in the direction of a method of play that our supporters recognise and are keen on,” he stated at his press convention on Friday. “It has been good to have an honest stretch of coaching. We’ve got managed to do some good work, analyse the final recreation and put together for Aston Villa, so I believe we now have used the time nicely. In each coaching session and after each message, I believe the intention has been there.”
This can be a perfect check of their enchancment since Potter’s arrival, and what he’s managed to realize with that first rate stretch of coaching: these groups performed right here within the FA Cup a few weeks in the past, a day after he was unveiled as Julen Lopategui’s substitute, and Villa received 2-1.
Since then West Ham have overwhelmed Fulham 3-2 (in a recreation the place they’d 4 photographs total and solely three on course) and misplaced 2-0 to Crystal Palace (in a recreation the place they’d 4 photographs total and none in any respect on course). For context, final season the typical Premier League recreation featured 27.2 photographs in complete. Since Christmas West Ham have had a complete of 11 photographs on course throughout six video games, whereas conceding 15 objectives on the different finish. It’s apparent the place that enchancment must be demonstrated. So, let’s see how they’ve bought on, lets?
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