Match Preview: WBA v Aston Villa

by Dek Hogan

Who are we playing?
WBA on Saturday 23rd January at 3.00pm

Where are we playing?
The Hawthorns

Can I go? Sold out.

Easy to get to?
Dead easy on the choo choo or the tram. Apparently, it'll tough to get a drink around the ground, so tank up in town first.

Can I watch it on telly
You'll need a stream or a pub with a dodgy dish.

Rémi Garde

Big game?
Huge.

Let's ignore the horrible but ultimately fruitful game against Wycombe and look back on the previous two home games where the Villa team actually managed to give the opposition a game and grab four points in the process.

Those of you still clutching at straws will be desperately hoping for all three points. I'd settle for a committed performance for the entire 90 minutes which may well see us get a win as a consequence.

Tom Fox

The improvement in play has coincided with the team captain being benched and Libor Kozak finally being given a chance.

It seemed against Palace and Leicester that something was starting to click and it's a shame in a way that we chose to rotate in the cup game, providing a stutter in our growing momentum.

The key thing about the Leicester game was that our heads didn't drop when the Foxes took the lead. True fighting spirit has been sadly lacking this season, so it was nice to see that they can battle when they can be arsed.

Typical West Brom fan

What the team really needs right now is some fresh blood and experienced fresh blood at that. Sadly, the messages coming out of Tom Fox's mouth at the Supporters Trust seemed to drown any chance of us bringing in anyone halfway decent.

Do West Brom boast any famous fans?
Well, bizarrely, there's beloved tennis playing behemoth Goran Ivanisevic. There's also Cat Deeley, probably best known for the way her Brummie accent has started to fade away as she's slithered up the greasy pole of show business success.

While you're still imagining Cat slithering on a greasy pole, we'll point out that we've got bass guitarist Russell Leetch from popular group Editors.

So we win.

Hero

Who's playing for us?
We are hoping against hope that he goes back to the Palace & Leicester line up or at the very least something remarkably similar. Certainly want Bunn back between the sticks.

Young Jack was SO bad against Wycombe that it would be a surprise if he even made the bench. Young Lyden however, we'd like to see more of

Injury crisis

Who's playing for them?
Tony Pulis is really struggling with injuries with likes of Brunt, Morrison and Fletcher on the wounded list. Berahino may get a rare start if they haven't flogged him.




Any useless stats?

Bigger than me and you

Of course, here you go:

• Villa's rivalry with West Brom is one of the oldest in football, dating to an FA Cup tie in 1885. We drew 0-0 at our Wellington Road home before going down 3-0 in the replay at Four Acres.

• We gained sweet revenge two seasons later, beating the Baggies two-nil in the FA Cup Final at Kennington Oval.

• Our last win at their place was in 2008, Gabby and Big John Carew getting our goals in a 2-1 win.

Prediction
A 2-2 draw.