With an injury list that's past the point of farcical, the first question to ask before every Villa match is: who will take the field?
The good news, which we've already mentioned: Emile Heskey is back!
The bad news...Gabriel Agbonlahor won't be playing up front with him. Gabby's got an infection, which I think makes the third time he's out sick this season. Insert syphilis related joke here.
The good news: Barry Bannan is back! (I'll assume that's good news for people beyond just me)
The bad news: Ciaran Clark is out on accumulation of yellow cards. And I'll take this moment to point out that Ashley Young returns, as his suspension last week was also due to accumulation, which is just a one match ban.
(yeah, there's more)
The take it or leave it news: Luke Young is out with, you guessed it, a groin problem. I don't even want to speculate on how Villa players are getting these groin injuries. Especially when Luke Young is involved.
The slightly scary news: Habib Beye is waiting to take his place. Hello, use Eric Lichaj. Can it really get that much worse?
The how stupid can you get news?: James Collins may be missing due to violating curfew last week while he was out and about in Liverpool. Still, don't expect to see Carlos Cuellar. We're still unsure how Houllier feels about King Carlos.
I'd guess: Beye, Dunne, Collins, Warnock--Albrighton, Bannan, Hogg, Downing--A Young--Heskey
But Houllier doesn't like my lineups so expect to see something totally different.
There will be a more complete preview later from Aaron, but just wanted to get that out there. Back to the books!