Aston Villa’s previous problematic runs of losing games and not scoring goals are well documented, but fans will also remember a brief period before Christmas where we struggled to finish a game with 11 players.
A lot of the reds were due to very dubious ref decisions, whether it be Christian Benteke’s dismissal against Spurs or Gabby Agbonlahor’s against Manchester United. Â We still don’t seem to have shaken off that bad luck if Jack Grealish’s wrongful dismissal in the FA Cup quarter-final is anything to go by.
Villa’s bad luck with red cards, a possible lack of discipline coupled with a more resilient midfield this season sees them 19th in the Fairplay league. Thank god, there isn’t a Fair Play relegation spot for poor discipline like there is for Europa League qualification.
Still, there’s a team with a worse disciplinary record than even Villa in the Premier League and we happen to be playing them today…
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