The Bedlington Terrier
28-12-2023, 10:08 AM
Clarets Mad - Clarets v Villains, English Premier League Match Preview.
Venue: Villa Park, Trinity Road, Birmingham B6 6HE.
Kick-off – 15.00 - 30th December 2023.
Burnley travel to Villa Park on Saturday to take on an Aston Villa team that is on course for a top four finish in the English Premier League. Villa manager Unai Emery has sprung the shock team of the season who are seriously challenging to earn a place in Champions League football next season.
Burnley having won away at Craven Cottage and lost at home to Liverpool in their last two games are steadily improving but a backlash seems inevitable from a Villa side who blew a two-goal lead at Old Trafford to lose 3-2 against Manchester United last time out.
VAR once again sparked enormous controversy over the Christmas EPL fixture schedule and Burnley boss Vincent Kompany asks for a ‘bigger-picture discussion’ by the PGMOL, who really do need to get their house in order and quickly implant a significant improvement in the performance of their referees.
It is worth a mention that Rebecca Welch the first female referee to officiate an EPL game in Burnley’s win at Craven Cottage, needed no VAR appraisals nor drew any criticism over her match officiating. The obvious conclusion to me is that the PGMOL need to widen the talent pool from where they draw their match officials.
One’s to watch: Zeki Amdouni, Lyle Foster and Wilson Odobert are the obvious threats to the Villa defence. Scoring goals at this level is a problem for Vincent Kompany and unless urgent recruitment is forthwith the conundrum will undoubtedly continue.
For the Villains, Ollie Watkins, Matty Cash and John McGinn undid Burnley at Turf Moor in the reverse fixture. The Villains have netted 40 times this season and have amassed 39 points already, Burnley have in comparison scored 19 times and have got 11 points on the board.
Verdict: It’s hard to see the Clarets getting anything out of this game but I predicted the same gloomy scenario when we recently visited Brighton and Fulham. One thing is for sure the Clarets have now acquired a never-say-die attitude but a repeat of the 3-1 score-line played out at Turf Moor in August seems the likeliest outcome to me.
Footnote: Vincent Kompany has acquired a bevy of wingers since he took over from Sean Dyche at Burnley, none of them yet look to me to be in the same class as Tony Morley who the Clarets sold to Saturday’s opponents.
Capped 6 times for England, Morley went on to become a ***** part of the Villa side that won the League Championship in 1980–81 and the European Cup the following season.
I can clearly recall his brilliant dribble and subsequent cross to set up Peter Withe to score the winning goal against Bayern Munich in the final. Can the likes of Mike Tresor and Wilson Odobert go on to become the “New Tony Morley?” I hope so. (TEC).
25488
Venue: Villa Park, Trinity Road, Birmingham B6 6HE.
Kick-off – 15.00 - 30th December 2023.
Burnley travel to Villa Park on Saturday to take on an Aston Villa team that is on course for a top four finish in the English Premier League. Villa manager Unai Emery has sprung the shock team of the season who are seriously challenging to earn a place in Champions League football next season.
Burnley having won away at Craven Cottage and lost at home to Liverpool in their last two games are steadily improving but a backlash seems inevitable from a Villa side who blew a two-goal lead at Old Trafford to lose 3-2 against Manchester United last time out.
VAR once again sparked enormous controversy over the Christmas EPL fixture schedule and Burnley boss Vincent Kompany asks for a ‘bigger-picture discussion’ by the PGMOL, who really do need to get their house in order and quickly implant a significant improvement in the performance of their referees.
It is worth a mention that Rebecca Welch the first female referee to officiate an EPL game in Burnley’s win at Craven Cottage, needed no VAR appraisals nor drew any criticism over her match officiating. The obvious conclusion to me is that the PGMOL need to widen the talent pool from where they draw their match officials.
One’s to watch: Zeki Amdouni, Lyle Foster and Wilson Odobert are the obvious threats to the Villa defence. Scoring goals at this level is a problem for Vincent Kompany and unless urgent recruitment is forthwith the conundrum will undoubtedly continue.
For the Villains, Ollie Watkins, Matty Cash and John McGinn undid Burnley at Turf Moor in the reverse fixture. The Villains have netted 40 times this season and have amassed 39 points already, Burnley have in comparison scored 19 times and have got 11 points on the board.
Verdict: It’s hard to see the Clarets getting anything out of this game but I predicted the same gloomy scenario when we recently visited Brighton and Fulham. One thing is for sure the Clarets have now acquired a never-say-die attitude but a repeat of the 3-1 score-line played out at Turf Moor in August seems the likeliest outcome to me.
Footnote: Vincent Kompany has acquired a bevy of wingers since he took over from Sean Dyche at Burnley, none of them yet look to me to be in the same class as Tony Morley who the Clarets sold to Saturday’s opponents.
Capped 6 times for England, Morley went on to become a ***** part of the Villa side that won the League Championship in 1980–81 and the European Cup the following season.
I can clearly recall his brilliant dribble and subsequent cross to set up Peter Withe to score the winning goal against Bayern Munich in the final. Can the likes of Mike Tresor and Wilson Odobert go on to become the “New Tony Morley?” I hope so. (TEC).
25488