Aston Villa vs Swansea City 2013 Match Preview
Michael Laudrup on changing Swansea team
“We have to get a positive result in the next game. You can’t play with the same team in just 48 hours. I have to pick two different sides.”
“At the moment there are nine teams with five points between them, then you have West Ham on 14 and Sunderland on 13.
“Of those 11 teams, three will go down and eight will play for ninth to 17th in the table and we have to fight for those places.
“That’s exactly how it was at the start of the season so that is no surprise. The only surprise for me this season is Southampton.”
Swansea’s Leon Britton on the trip to Villa Park
“It’s a team in and around us in that section of the league.
“We’ve got to go there and be confident. We have done it at Villa Park in previous seasons. (Editor’s note: previous seasons? Their win in January 2012 was the first and only time they have beaten us at Villa Park in their history!)
“So we’ll go there, try and play well and try and get some points on the board, because there’s a lot of games in a short space of time and you can climb up the table.”
Lambert on Villa’s recent disappointment
“We have no time to dwell on it because there’s a quick turnaround. We have to go again on Saturday.
“There’s no point wilting. I’m disappointed – in fact, I’m the most disappointed person in the stadium – but you pick yourself up and you lift your head.
“The way you bounce back is by winning – that’s what you have to do.
“You have to give the supporters something to go with. The support is there. You can’t be critical of the supporters here because they’ve backed us all the way.”
Form is Temporary
Memory match:
15th September 2012Aston Villa 2 – 0 Swansea City
With early season optimism at a high, Villa pulled off a good result against an in-form team with an excellent strike from Lowton and a debut goal from Benteke.
Aston Villa: Last five matches at home: W 1 D 1 L 3
Swansea: Last five matches away: W 1 D 1 L 3
One to Watch
Jonjo Shelvey – raised the eyebrows of Swans fans when he was signed but has chipped in with goals and assists over the last few games. Gives the Swansea midfield creativity.
Facts to Sweep Under the Carpet
These are worrying days for Villa Park. Another poor performance on Boxing Day, in what was the easier fixture out of the two games in two days, has caused concern. It’s not just home form that is the problem, we’ve lost four consecutive Premier League games. If we lose against Swansea it will be the first time we’ve lost five in a row since 2001. Swansea are boosted by a few returning players from injury: Chico Flores, Ben Davies, Jonathan de Guzman, Pablo Hernandez and Wilfried Bony are all in the frame to return. Bony (Swansea’s top scorer), could give Villa’s makeshift defence a nightmare.
What We Pray the Football Gods Will Provide
There are a lot of problems with Villa at the moment, and it’s difficult to see the positives, especially with the (justified) discontent of the fans. A decent performance and result, however, will certainly take the edge off a little. We have won games in which we had a small amount of possession and lost against Palace when we had the majority. Swansea will no doubt have the most possession on Saturday though. A performance to stop the rot is probably all we can hope for.
Why Villa have got this game in the bag
Swansea were very impressive last year, but the Capital One Cup holders have been slightly burdened by the Europa League during this campaign. Relegation won’t be a worry for Laudrup’s side, but they’re only a point ahead of us, and haven’t won in their last five games in all competitions. And while Villa’s players have had the comfort of consecutive him ties in terms of travel commitments, Swansea face their second game on the road.
Although Laudrup with shuffle his pack with the aforementioned returning players, key Swansea players such as Michu, Michel Vorm and Nathan Dyer, will all be missing, helping to counter the loss of Benteke and Vlaar for Villa.
Coupled with their historically poor form at Villa Park, fortune could afford Villa a much-needed win to help combat Villa’s recent woes. UTV.
Follow Lewis on Twitter – @rymondfootball
