Villa are still in the battle!
Last updated: January 19, 2016 by Leon Marshal
Game details
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| Kick-off: | Saturday, 3pm |
| Venue: | The Hawthorns |
| Coverage: | Sky Sports 1, BBC 5 Live |
| Home form: | LDDWW |
| Away form: | DWDLL |
| Last season: | 1-0 |
| Competition: | The Premier League |
Aston Villa have improved their recent performance and they haven’t lost now for 3 consecutive games (all competitions). The Villains conceded only 2 goals in these games. They took a point from their last match against leaders Leicester. Now The Lions have collected 12 points and are 9 down from the 17th place in the table. So, there is still hope for avoiding relegation, but Aston Villa must keep winning points!
West Brom lost 3-0 to Southampton at The St. Mary’s Stadium in the last Premier League round. The Baggies played awful in defence and let the counter-attacking style of The Saints beat them. But the stats are completely different when West Brom play at The Hawthorns. The Baggies have recorded 3 victories from their last five home league matches (2-1 vs. Arsenal; 1-0 vs. Newcastle; 2-1 vs. Stoke City). They only lost to Bournemouth (1-2).
Both teams met for the last time on 19th September 2015 at Villa Park. West Bromwich Albion won 1-0 in a tight match. Saido Berahino scored the only goal of the game in the 39th minute. Now, The Baggies will try to record another victory over The Villains.
Team News
Micah Richards has recovered from his injury and can be selected by Remi Garde, but the Englishman is expected to sit on the bench because of the recent good performance of the defenders.
Alan Hutton of Aston Villa has a hamstring problem. Jordan Amavi and Adama Traore are also injured for The Villains.
Tony Pulis has no injury problems in his squad. He is famous for his constant starting XI and surely won’t be making any changes.
Mark Bunn of Aston Villa has recently made a great impression, saving a penalty against Leicester and he will replace Guzan again.
Quotes of the week
Tony Pulis (West Bromwich) :
“We need to get those 40 points as quick as we possibly can.”
Remi Garde (Aston Villa) :
“It’s not too late. There are 16 games to go and it will, of course, be very difficult.”
Expected line-ups:
| . | |
| WBA (4-4-2): | Myhill, Dawson, McAuley, Olsson, Evans, McClean, Gardner, Fletcher, Morrison, Yacob, Rondon. |
| Subs | Anichebe, McManaman, Lambert, Chester, Anichebe, Berahino, Lindegaard |
| Injured: | Foster |
| Doubtful: | — |
| Not available: | — |
| . | |
| Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): | Bunn, Bacuna, Okore, Cissokho, Lescott, Gueye, Veretout, Charles Gil, Westwood, Ayew, Kozak. |
| Subs | Grealish, N’Zogbia, Gestede, Clark, Sinclair, Guzan, Richards. |
| Injured: | Amavi, Hutton, Traore. |
| Doubtful: | — |
| Not available: | — |
So far this season
| . | . | . |
|---|---|---|
| West Bromwich this season | Aston Villa this season | |
| 13 | League Position | 20 |
| 4 (3) | (at home) Wins (away) | 1 (1) |
| 2-1 vs. Arsenal and Stoke | Biggest win | 1-0 vs. Crystal Palace and Bournemouth |
| 2 (4) | (at home) Draws (away) | 4 (2) |
| 5 (4) | (at home) Losses (away) | 6 (8) |
| 0-3 to Man City and Southampton | Biggest Defeat | 0-4 to Everton |
| Morrison, Berahino, Rondon (3) | Top scorer | Ayew (5) |
| Brunt, Morrison (3) | Assist Leader | Veretout (4) |
| Y43, R3 | Discipline | Y48, R0 |
| 7 | Failures to score | 8 |
| 7 | Clean Sheets | 3 |
| 10 | Both Teams to Score Games | 12 |
| 10 | Over 2.5 Games | 9 |
| 12 | Under 2.5 Games | 13 |
- The Lions have lost 8 of their last 10 away Premiership matches. Aston Villa have also been losing at both half time and full time in 6 of their last 8 away matches in The Premier League.
- Aston Villa have conceded at least 2 goals in 8 of their last 10 matches away from Villa Park in The Premiership. There has been the option ‘Under 2.5 goals’ in 7 of Aston Villa’s last 8 games in The Premier League.
- The Villains won for the last time at The Hawthorns on 21st September 2008. The final score was 1-2. Carew and Agbonlahor scored for Villa.
- West Brom have won 24 of 55 home games against Aston Villa. The Baggies have scored 85 and have conceded 68 goals in their net.
Head to Head
| Last 5 meetings between the two sides | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Competition | Game Result | First Goal-scorer |
| 19/09/15 | The Premier League | Aston Villa 0-1 West Bromwich | Berahino 39′ |
| 07/03/15 | The FA Cup | Aston Villa 2-0 West Bromwich | F. Delph 51′ |
| 03/03/15 | The Premier League | Aston Villa 2-1 West Bromwich | G. Agbonlahor 22′ |
| 13/12/14 | The Premier League | West Bromwich 1-0 Aston Villa | C. Gardner 72′ |
| 29/01/14 | The Premier League | Aston Villa 4-3 West Bromwich | C. Brunt 4′ |