Pre-season friendlies: Dates & times

We'll update this as more details emerge:

The Albufeira games are billed as training matches...

Sat July 11
6.30pm Aston Villa v Fulham in Albufeira

Fri July 17
6.30pm Aston Villa v Sporting Braga in Albufeira

Tue July 21
7.45pm Swindon v Aston Villa
Prices: £15 [adults], £10 [O65], £10 Young Adult (17-19), £1 U17

  Sat July 25
3pm Walsall v Aston Villa
Prices: £12 [adults], £6 [O60 and U18], £15 family ticket (one adult, one U18)

Tue July 28
7.45pm Wolves v Aston Villa
Prices: £10 [adult], £8 [O65], £8 [U17], £5 [U12]

Saturday August 1st
3pm Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa
Prices: £15 [adult], £10 [O65], £5 [U16] 

The FA Cup Final Preview

by Dek Hogan

Who are we playing?
Arsenal on Saturday 30th May at 5.30pm

Where are we playing?
Wembley Stadium

Can I go?
Over 25,000 of us are! Tickets sold out but there's may be the odd spare floating about if you're bold enough to head down there without one. At least then you can soak up the pre-match atmosphere, even if you end up watching the game in a pub.

Easy to get to?

Tony Morley on Top of the Pops

If you are mad enough to drive, best bet is to park away from Wembley and get the tube. Loads of coaches going, National Express do cheap deals for big footie matches and there's extra trains.

Can I watch it on telly?
The BBC are going overboard with an old style build up including FA Cup editions of Pointless and Top of the Pops. The game is also on BT Sport.

Fab

Big game?
Well, it's the FA Cup Final, so it doesn't get much bigger.

The lunatic 5.30pm kick off time is designed to maximise TV audiences rather than cater for us poor saps that are actually attending the game and Greg Dyke is unapologetic about that.


We go into the game as cast iron underdogs. We were always going to be that but a 6-1 drubbing against Southampton followed by a completely impotent effort against lowly Burnley has served to kill the momentum that we've been building under Timbo.

Big Chris

Timbo's team selection defied logic on paper and didn't work out that well on the pitch either.

Arsenal have the players to hurt us all over the shop, so it would seem that hoping to get through the match without conceding would be folly.

We might need a Plan B

Sherwood's "let's go toe-to-toe and see what happens" attitude has to be our best chance of securing victory. We'll definitely need a Plan B if Big Chris  is manacled by the Arsenal defence so we'll be hopeful that Tom Clevertrousers and our Fab aren't shy when it comes to having a shot.

Shay Given has been our keeper throughout the FA Cup campaign and it will be a crying shame if he isn't fit to face the Gunners, whatever you may think of his recent displays.


If we win, we're back at Wembley on Sunday 2nd August to face Chelsea in the Community Shield and there will also be that pesky Europa League to contend with.

Do Arsenal have any famous fans?

Dido

Well there's maker of background music for twee dinner parties Dido, Piers Fucking Morgan and professional Gru lookalike Dara off of Mock the Week. There's also Lofty from EastEnders (ask yer Gran kids).

We've got heir to the throne the Duke of Cambridge, the newsagent from the first series of Broadchurch, the geezer that writes the Jack Reacher books AND fiddle playing scruffbox Nigel Kennedy.

So we win.

Doubtful

Who's playing for us?
We are assuming that Timbo will play his strongest available line up which may well mean he spends most of the week trying to find someone who can do a passable impression of a left back.

If the Burnley game was an audition for Gabby to stake his claim then he probably didn't do himself any favours.

We'd expect a similar line up to that which has brought us a modicum of success up until recently which may well mean Scott Sinclair has to start on the bench, but we wouldn't rule a late cameo from him being hugely significant.

Mezut Ozil

Who's playing for them?
Talent in abundance all over the park means we'll have to be on our toes throughout.

“You could see that some players are in good shape for the FA Cup final,” Wenger said. “There are no new injuries.

“Oxlade-Chamberlain is not completely ready to start a game but he can play. One more week will help him.”

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go (you might want to skip this bit):

• We drew 1-1 in our first ever FA Cup encounter with Arsenal in a fifth round tie in 1926 at Villa Park. Billy Kirton got our goal. We lost the replay at Highbury 2-0.

• Two years later we were drawn against the Gunners again in the fifth round and they thumped us 4-1 at their place.

• In 1929 we gained our revenge with a 1-0 win in the Quarter Final clash at Villa Park. The legendary Pongo Waring got the winner.

• We faced Arsenal yet again in 3rd Round clash in 1931. Goals from Billy Walker and George Brown earned us a Villa Park replay which we duly lost 3-1 despite a Pongo goal.

• In 1934, we took on Arsenal in the Quarter Finals once more at Highbury. Goals from Dai Astley and Eric Houghton secured a 2-1 victory.

• It was twenty years before we faced Arsenal in the cup again, losing 5-1 at Highbury in a 3rd Round tie.

• A Johnny Dixon goal wasn't nearly enough in 1956 as we fell 4-1 to the Gunners in the 4th Round.

Sammy Morgan celebrates

• Sammy Morgan was the hero of our 4th Round clash with Arsenal in 1974, scoring in the 1-1 draw at Highbury and in the replay at Villa Park. Alun Evans also scored.

• Tony Woodcock was on the scoresheet as we lost 2-0 at Highbury in a 1983 Quarter Final.

• Our last FA Cup clash came at the Emirates in 2012. We took a two-nil lead thanks to goals from Richard Dunne and Darren Bent. Two Van Persie penalties and a Theo Walcott goal saw us crash to defeat.

Prediction
Penalties

Message from Aston Villa Supporters Trust for the Burnley game

Message from Aston Villa Supporters Trust for the Burnley game:

"We request that all Villa fans and websites get the message out to fellow Villans coming to Villa Park for the Burnley game stay in the stands to give our appreciation to the players and the manager at the end of the game. It is of utmost importance that we understand that our Club have been punished and we must avoid any repeats, even if they are of good nature, as the microscope will be on us now for sometime.

"This may sound harsh and the punishment is certainly unfair and inconsistent with previous ones handed out to others, However, it’s nothing to what another fine would be, if a pitch invasion is repeated, which is why it’s imperative it doesn’t happen again.

Let’s support the team 110% during the game and show our appreciation at the end from the stands."

Match Preview: Aston Villa v Burnley

by Dek Hogan 

We played like a bunch of girls last game

Who are we playing?
Burnley on Sunday 24th May 2015. Ordinarily, Sunday games are a ballache but if you are lucky enough to be off work on Bank Holiday Monday, you can treat it like a Saturday!

Where are we playing?
Villa Park

Trains are crap on Bank Holidays

Can I go?
SOLD OUT (but we reckon there will be a few returns, so it'll probably be worth a try later in the week if you are desperate).

Easy to get to?
Doddle. Bank Holiday weekend though, so the trains are usually buggered.

Can I watch it on telly?
Sure you can watch on dodgy web streams and in some pubs but you really should get down the ground if you possibly can.

Abject

Big game?
Not really.

With Villa now safe and Burnley doomed already, this is a typical end of season dead rubber.

However, the humiliation we suffered at the hands of Southampton means that we desperately need a decent performance before we take on the might of Arsenal at Wembley.

We wouldn't have blamed Tim Sherwood if he'd rested several key players for this one but after their utterly abject performance at St Mary's, they should be playing for their places now.

Hard to find praise for anyone in what was a totally unacceptable performance. Our captain went missing, Westside was lightweight, Zog and Clever Trousers anonymous. As for our back four, words fail me (Actually words don't fail me, most of the ones I could use contain four letters).

Burnley will no pushovers but if we play the way we did against Everton, we can go off to Wembley on a high.

Do Burnley have any famous fans?
Well there's Alistair Campbell, famous for the Iraq War and shit. There's also Chesney off of Corrie and of course John Kettley.

John Kettley is a weatherman.

We've got fiddle playing scruffbox Nigel Kennedy.

So we win.


Who's playing for us?
Gawd knows.

We're not entirely sure the Shay Given experiment has been a resounding success but dropping him a week before the Cup Final (in which he is surely entitled to start having played in every round) may not be the best of ideas.

Ron Vlaar can bugger off after that woeful showing against the Saints and Alan Hutton IS NOT A LEFT BACK.

Ginger Mourinho

Westwood would be lucky to keep his place and we'd certainly be looking to give Scottie Sinclair a run out in case we need him at Wembley.

Who's playing for them?
No doubt there will be a few who are hoping to get moves now that they've been relegated. Can't think of one I'd want to pinch, other than possibly Danny Ings


Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• Burnley have beaten us 40 times while we have 49 wins. There have been 26 draws

• Our first ever match against Burnley was in the inaugural season of the Football League in 1888. We won 4-2 thanks to goals from Albert Allen, Archie Goodall, Tommy Green and Archie Hunter

• Our last Villa Park encounter with the Clarets was way back 2010. We won 5-2, Stewart Downing bagging himself a brace

• On 29th August 1925, we thumped Burnley 10-0. Len Capewell scored five goals and Billy Walker weighed in with a hat-trick.

Prediction
Going for a 3-0 Villa win.

Southampton 6-1 Villa - key moments as they were tweeted...

Villa fined after Quarter Final pitch invasions

Dyke

Aston Villa have been fined £200,000 after admitting spectator misconduct in relation to their FA Cup Sixth Round tie against West Bromwich Albion on 7 March 2015.

The club was charged for failing to ensure that no spectators or unauthorised persons were permitted to encroach onto the pitch area whilst attending the game at Villa Park.

Following the Independent Regulatory Commission hearing, Aston Villa were also severely warned as to the club’s future conduct.

The FA have failed to fine themselves despite their insistence that an explosive local derby be played at 5.30 pm on Saturday evening for television purposes. The kick-off time was, in our view, a major contributory factor to the disorder.

Villa fans are still smarting at the inflammatory commentary on the BBC during the disorder from Mark Lawrenson and Jonathan Pearce. The BBC's jug-earred ex-goalhanger Gary Lineker described a pitch invasion at Reading as "lovely scenes".

Brad Friedel hangs up gloves

Brad Friedel will hang up his gloves and retire from professional football at the end of the season.

Brad is returning home to America to become an analyst, pundit and co-commentator for US channel Fox Sports.

Friedel, 43, moved from America to Liverpool in 1997 and has enjoyed spells with Blackburn and Aston Villa ans Spurs, representing the USA 82 times.

He played for Villa between 2008-2011, making well over a 100 appearances

Match Preview: Southampton v Villa

Who are we playing?
Southampton on Saturday 16th May at 12:45pm

Where are we playing?
St Mary's Stadium Britannia Road Southampton Hants SO14 5FP


Can I go?
You can if you've already managed to get yer sticky mitts on a ticket. Away end sold out.

Easy to get to?
From the M3 take the A33 into Southampton. Continue on the A33 until you hit the A3024 Northam Road and turn left onto this towards Northam. Then turn right onto the B3038, Britannia Road for the stadium. Parking is a bitch though.

Train station is about a mile and half from the ground, a half hour stroll or no time at all if you nab a cab.

Can I watch it on telly?
BT Sports so try and buy some Michael Owen cancelling headphones...

Kozak on target at St. Mary's

Big game?
Meh.

We're all but safe from relegation and Southampton have faded in the second half of the season, their chances of Europe diminish by the week.

Win this (or beat Burnley) or we are 100% safe but only a miracle will save Hull City now anyway. It would be nice to finish above the Albion though and we need to win both our remaining games to do this.

The key thing now is to keep everyone fit and ready for Wembley, so we'll be begging that we get no more injuries and avoid any rash behaviour that could result in a sending off.

Typical Southampton fan

Do Southampton boast any famous fans?
Well, theres Craig David and Lucy Pinder but we're not even sure they qualify as famous anymore...

We've got David Bradley off of films and the telly.

So we win.



Who's playing for us?
Gabby's little cameo probably did him no favours, missing a sitter in front of the Holte End. We'd fully expect Tim to go with the same starting line-up again, as long as everyone is fit. Still unconvinced by Richardson at left back though. Nathan Baker is back in train ing but the luckless Kozak has a back problem.


Who's playing for them?
Ronald Koeman handed Paulo Gazzaniga a chance in goal last time out, one of many changes but they still got their arses handed to them by Leicester. Harrison Reed, Eljero Elia and Steven Davis were the three outfield players to come in but he may return to Shane Long in an attempt to get on the scoresheet. Southampton welcome James Ward-Prowse back from suspension but Morgan Schneiderlin (knee) is still out along with Dusan Tadic and Jay Rodriguez.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• Southampton have beaten us 22 times while we have 29 wins. There have been 23 draws.

JPA scores at St Mary's

• We won on our last visit to their place. Goals from Gabby, Libor Kozak and Fabian Delph gave us an unlikely 3-2 victory

• Our first ever meeting at St Mary's came in 2001. We triumphed 3-1 that day thanks to goals from George Boateng, Juan Pablo Angel and Mustapha Hadji.  Dion Dublin was sent off but this was later rescinded by the FA.

• Our first ever encounter was a League Division Two clash in 1936. We ran out 4-0 victors thanks to goals from Dai Astley, Ronnie Dix, Gordon Hodgson and Frank Broome

Prediction
2-1 to us

Villa 1 West Ham 0 Key moments as they were tweeted..

Match Preview: Villa v West Ham

by Dek Hogan 

Who are we playing?
West Ham United on Saturday 9th May 2015

Where are we playing?
Villa Park

Can I go?
Cup fever means tickets are going quick so get in quick to bag your favourite spot.

Easy to get to?
Doddle.

Can I watch it on telly?
Sure you can watch on dodgy web streams and in some pubs but you really should get down the ground if you possibly can.

Big game?
Huge.

A glance at the league table will tell you just how vital the win over Everton was. Everyone is scrapping for their lives down there. Teams like Sunderland and Hull looked doomed if you looked at their fixture list, but they have managed to get points on the board in games we'd have expected them to crumble in.

There's often one team that drops like a stone towards the end of the season and this time around it's Newcastle. They are on a disastrous run but it's only now that we've inched ahead of them in the league table.

If we lose to West Ham, the whole thing starts to feel very uncomfortable again so it's vital that by hook or by crook, we bag all the points again.

Taking an early lead undoubtedly settled the nerves in the Everton match and there's no doubt this played a part in the crowd remaining postitive throughout the match.

Villa wouldn't be Villa unless our nerves were jangled though and Everton's late consolation goal ensured those edging towards the exits were stopped in their tracks.

West Ham briefly looked like a decent outfit when Andy Carroll came back from injury and far less of a threat since he got crocked again.

Typical West Ham fan

Tellingly, the Hammers haven't won an away match since early December.

Do West Ham have any famous fans?
Well there's the scruffy urchin that hijacked the election campaign Russel Brand, Ray Winstone who knows all about the pleasures of the in-play and Keira Knightley who does films.

We've got fiddle playing scruffbox Nigel Kennedy.

So we win.


Who's playing for us?
Tim has to ponder whether to persist with Shay Given, whose return to Premier League action wasn't what you'd call error-free, or recall Brad Guzan after his horror show at the Etihad.  Alan Hutton will be pushing for a place but it would tough on Bacuna to lose his berth in the team after his lovely pass made Cleverley's goal. The temptation must be to not change a winning team but we'll have to wait and see.

Who's playing for them?
All about the Reeces with youngsters Reece Burke and Reece Oxford looking to impress


Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

Halse

• West Ham have beaten us 39 times while we have 37 wins. There have been 31 draws.

• We haven't beaten West Ham at Villa Park  since August 2013. a Benteke penalty and a goal from Charlie N'Zogbia secured the points in a 2-1 win that day.

• In 1987, we thumped the Hammers 4-0 at Villa Park as we battled (ultimately unsuccessfully) relegation. Warren Aspinall got a brace and Simon Stainrod and Steve Hunt also got on the scoresheet.

• Our first ever meeting was in the FA Cup Second Round in 1913. We thumped them 5-0 that day, Harold Halse netting twice.

Prediction
Going for a 3-0 Villa win.