West Bromwich Albion are at Villa Park today for a minor derby...except that it's not so minor for our Villans, who are desperate for a win. West Brom's form has been reminiscent of a roller coaster, with Roberto Di Matteo's side drawing to West Ham, losing to Wigan, and losing to Stoke before turning around and beating Everton 4-1 and then causing Chris Hughton to get the sack with their win over Newcastle.
The Villa, as we all know, had a meltdown against Liverpool last week, looking as though they'd never seen the other people on the pitch with them before they stepped out at Anfield. Not the most encouraging of signs, I'm sure you'll agree. Prior to the hell that was that match, at least the players had looked solid, even if the results were less than spectacular. I know we're at Villa Park, I know we should be expecting a win, but at this point, I'm just crossing fingers that we don't look foolish.
Aston Villa Starting XI:Friedel, Lichaj, Cuellar, Collins, Warnock, Bannan, Hogg, Downing, Albrighton, A Young, Heskey
Welcome captain Ashley! Also, Aaron's going to regret he's not able to see this.
Bench: Dunne, Carew, Guzan, Pires, Herd, Delfouneso, Reo-Coker.
West Brom Starting XI:Carson, Jara, Cech, Tamas, Scharner, Tchoyi, Thomas, Dorrans, Brunt, Morrison, Fortune.
Bench: Myhill, Shorey, Ibanez, Cox, Miller, Reid, Mulumbu