There are a couple pieces of information that you've likely already learned about the Aston Villa - Liverpool match on Sunday: First, Gerard Houllier will not be in attendance. He may have visited Bodymoor Heath this week, but his health isn't quite up to watching Gary McAllister guide the Villans against his former club, so he'll stay away from Villa Park. Second, Jean Makoun's wife and one of his children were involved in a car crash. They weren't hurt, but he's back in Cameroon, understandably so.
Everyone else is healthy and ready for the match. But while the players might be concentrating on keeping Liverpool out of Europe, the fans at Villa Park will have their focus elsewhere. Specifically, at White Hart Lane, where Tottenham Hotspur host Birmingham City. Villans will have radios to their ears and twitter feeds on their iPhones, checking desperately on the score from London -- and the other pertinent news on Survival Sunday. So how will we be able to throw a Birmingham City relegation party?
As M3K pointed out, there are 81 different scenarios that could occur tomorrow. Check out that post for the posts of people much brighter than me, who set out all these scenarios quite succinctly.In a nutshell, we're hoping for a Birmingham loss, of course. It's possible that a loss keeps Birmingham up, but that's only if both Wigan and Blackpool lose. So do us a favor, Stoke City and Manchester United. This is my personal, ultimate scenario:
If Blackburn lose, Wolves win, Birmingham lose, Blackpool win, Wigan win, Blackburn and Birmingham are relegated.
Of those clubs that have the possibility of going down, it's Blackburn and SHA that I would least like to see play next season. I hate their styles, I hate their approach, I find nothing interesting or engaging about either club (and that's not just because I hate the Bluenoses). Wigan and Blackpool both have fun, fluid attacks and the tendency of going into self-destruct mode, which I enjoy immensely. As for Wolves, well, they have a superhero logo, so they can stay.
Who do you want to go down?