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      MATCH PREVIEW

WEST BROMWICH ALBION v ASTON VILLA
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 19th January 2013, 5:30pm
The Hawthorns

MATCH NOTES

This is the 160th league and cup meeting between Albion and Villa.

Six of the last nine matches have ended up with a team winning 2-1.

Albion are unbeaten in the last four league games between the two clubs.

Villa's tally of 19 points is the lowest they have ever collected from their opening 22 Premier League matches.

Albion are unbeaten in the last seven games they have played on January 19. The last game they played on the date was a 3-3 draw at home to Cardiff City in 2008. Albion and Villa have previously met twice on the date, the Baggies winning a Milk Cup tie at Villa Park 1-0 in 1982 whilst Villa won a league match 2-0 at Perry Barr in 1889.

Albion's last six games: QPR (H FAC) 0-1; Reading (A) 2-3; QPR (A FAC) 1-1; Fulham (H) 1-2; Manchester United (A) 0-2; QPR (A) 2-1

Villa's last six games: Southampton (H) 0-1; Bradford City (A LC) 1-3; Ipswich Town (H FAC) 2-1; Swansea City (A) 2-2; Wigan Athletic (H) 0-3; Tottenham Hotspur (H) 0-4

TEAM NEWS

Albion

Midfielder Claudio Yacob (hamstring) and strikers Shane Long (dead leg) and Marc-Antoine Fortune (hamstring) all face late fitness tests ahead of the Hawthorns clash.

Steven Reid will miss the game as a precaution after suffering a knock against QPR on Tuesday night. Also missing are Youssouf Mulumbu who is away at the African Cup of Nations and Zoltan Gera who is out until next season following his cruciate ligament injury.

Squad from:  Foster, Myhill, Daniels, Jones, Olsson, McAuley, Tamas, Dawson, Popov, Ridgewell, Dorrans, Yacob, Thorne, Brunt, Morrison, Thomas, Odemwingie, Long, Lukaku, Fortune, Rosenberg, El Ghanassy, Nabi.

Aston Villa

Influential defender Ron Vlaar could return for Villa after missing the last two months with a calf problem. The Dutch international was an unused substitute against Southampton last weekend and has since put in a full week's training. Darren Bent could also figure after he returned to training following his knee injury but Richard Dunne will miss out due to a lack of match fitness.

Left-back Joe Bennett is also available after a bout of flu but winger Marc Albrighton and defender Chris Herd are still ruled out with foot injuries.

Squad from: Guzan, Marshall, Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Lichaj, Stevens, Bennett, Ireland, N'Zogbia, Bannan, Delph, Holman, Westwood, Benteke, Agbonlahor, Bent, Bowery, Weimann, Burke, Johnson, Williams, Carruthers.

QUOTES

Baggies' boss Steve Clarke:

We’re looking forward to the game. I’ve got a squad of players that are hungry and raring to go again at the weekend just to put right a few wrongs from the recent results.

"The motivation is that’s it’s a local derby, you’re playing for your supporters, and the bragging rights. We want to finish as top dogs in the West Midlands. We have all those things, plus the fact the performances recently have been okay but we haven’t got the results. So we need to put everything right this weekend.

“It wouldn’t matter who the game was this weekend, it is a game we’d be looking to inject some impetus to get our season going again after not a great run of results. It wouldn’t matter who we were playing, the fact it’s Villa probably gives it a bit more spice. Our fans at home always play a big part and I’m sure they won’t need too much motivation on Saturday.

“I enjoyed the first derby; it was a good atmosphere. The shoes on the other foot now. We’re the home team and we’re the team that will have our supporters behind us giving us everything. It should be a tasty game.

“They’ve had good moments in the season and are one game away from a Wembley cup final, so they must have had some good moments. It’s not all doom and gloom for them. I’ve seen them play on a number of occasions and they always play with energy and enthusiasm, and it’s going to be a really good game on Saturday evening.

“They can’t afford to allow their League Cup semi-final to be a distraction for them - no chance.”

www.wba.co.uk

MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 8/11, Aston Villa Win: 7/2, Draw: 11/4.

First Goalscorer

Long 4/1, Lukaku 4/1, Odemwingie 11/2, Bent 6/1, Benteke 6/1, Fortune 7/1, Rosenberg 7/1, Nabi 8/1, Weimann 8/1, Morrison 9/1, Agbonlahor 9/1, Bowery 10/1, Burke 10/1, Brunt 12/1, Dorrans 12/1, El Ghanassy 12/1, Thomas 12/1, Holman 12/1, N'Zogbia 12/1, Thorne 16/1, Ireland 16/1, Carruthers 20/1, Dawson 25/1, Yacob 25/1, Bannan 25/1.

REFEREE

Lee Probert (Wiltshire) - Refereed four Albion games last season - The 3-1 defeat at home to Spurs in November, the 4-2 win at home to Cardiff City in the FA Cup in January, the 2-0 defeat at Manchester United in March, and finally the 3-0 win at home against Blackburn Rovers in April.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets are currently on sale to home supporters that are on the club's ticketing database.

WEATHER FORECAST

Cold and partly cloudy with a 40% chance of snow showers, -1°C

FIXTURE HISTORY

The first ever meeting of the two clubs came on December 9, 1882, in a Staffordshire Cup 2nd round tie at Villa. In front of a reported crowd of almost 14,000, the game ended in a 3-3 draw with George Bell (2) and perhaps somewhat ironically Harry Aston scoring the visitors' goals. The replay two weeks later at the Four Acres saw Albion win with a solitary goal from George Timmins.

The first league meetings took place during the inaugural Football League season of 1888/89. The first game, played at Perry Barr on January 19, ended in a 2-0 defeat for the Baggies, Dennis Hodgetts and Albert Allen the Villa goalscorers. The return match at Stoney Lane a week later saw the two teams share six goals in a 3-3 draw, Tom Pearson and the aforementioned Allen scoring two goals each.

Albion’s biggest win against Villa is 7-0 which came in a First Division match at Villa Park on October 19, 1935. W.G. Richardson scored four of the visitors' goals with Stan Wood, Jack Mahon and Jack Sankey the others on the scoresheet.

Other big wins for the Baggies include 6-2 at The Hawthorns in 1926/27 and 6-1 in a League Cup tie, again at The Hawthorns, in September 1966. Midfielder Bobby Hope scored three of the Albion goals in the latter match.

Villa’s biggest win against Albion is 7-1, achieved in a First Division game during the 1898/99 season. Bill Garraty, who would later join the Baggies, scored a hat-trick.

Villa have also recorded a 6-3 win at Stoney Lane in October 1893, and a 6-1 victory at Villa Park in a First Division game in April 1954.

Albion are unbeaten in their last four games against Villa, winning two and drawing two. Prior to the first of those victories in April 2011, the Baggies had gone 17 league and cup games without a win against their old rivals, a sequence spanning 26 years.

In total there have been 159 league and cup games between Albion and Villa with the men from Aston having the better record with 74 wins to Albion's 52.

LAST MEETING AT THE HAWTHORNS

Albion 0-0 Aston Villa
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 28th April 2012, 3:00pm

Albion: Foster, Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell, Brunt, Mulumbu (Andrews 79), Dorrans, Thomas, Odemwingie, Long (Fortune 69). Subs not used: Fulop, Shorey, Dawson, Cox, Scharner.

Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Cuellar, Dunne, Lichaj, N'Zogbia (Gardner 74), Clark (Carruthers 90), Herd, Warnock, Agbonlahor, Heskey. Subs not used: Guzan, Collins, Ireland, Bannan, Weimann.

Booked: Warnock 36 (foul), Hutton 42 (foul), Clark 59 (foul), Heskey 62 (foul)

Attendance: 25,984

Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)

Aston Villa edged closer to Barclays Premier League survival after collecting a hard-earned point against West Brom at the Hawthorns. But it needed a controversial refereeing decision by Mark Clattenburg to deny Albion victory after Villa defender Alan Hutton clearly used his arm to block a goal-bound header from Liam Ridgewell. But Clattenburg and his assistant failed to spot the incident and the visitors survived to earn their 16th draw of the campaign.

Alex McLeish's side deserved their share of the spoils on the balance of play and were again left to rue failing to be more clinical in front of goal Gabriel Agbonlahor, Chris Herd and Charles N'Zogbia all failed to make the most of gilt edged chances and Albion's Ben Foster was the busier of the two keepers. The return of experienced defender Richard Dunne after a two and a half month lay-off with a broken collarbone also brought a steadying presence to the Villa back four.

Villa looked full of attacking intent in the early stages and Charles N'Zogbia found Stephen Warnock in space and his shot was blocked by Billy Jones. But Albion nearly caught out Villa during their first serious counter-attack. Carlos Cuellar failed to make clean contact on his attempted clearance from Shane Long's cross-shot after a determined run by the Republic of Ireland striker. The loose ball broke to 11-goal leading scorer Peter Odemwingie whose close-range back heel was blocked. The first clearcut chance fell to Villa midfielder Chris Herd after 26 minutes. Dunne showed good control to the right of Ben Foster's goal before sending over a low cross which landed in Herd's path. He struck his shot firmly enough but it flew straight at Foster who was able to make the save. Agbonlahor, without a goal in 20 league games, then used his pace to get clear of the Baggies back four. But his touch was heavy inside the area and Foster was able to block his eventual shot. Foster then blocked another shot from Agbonlahor, whose pace was causing problems for Jones, with his feet. Warnock became the first player to be yellow carded after 36 minutes for bringing down Long who needed treatment before being able to resume. Hutton followed Warnock into referee Mark Clattenburg's notebook after pulling back Jerome Thomas. Brunt looked to handle a ball into the box from Hutton but Villa's penalty appeals were waved aside.

Albion were incensed when denied what appeared to be a clearcut penalty four minutes into the second half. Ridgewell climbed above the Villa defence to power in a header from Graham Dorrans' corner. Hutton, who had already been booked, appeared to scoop the ball over the bar with his arm. But Clattenburg turned aside Albion's appeals. Albion were looking sharper and Gareth McAuley headed just wide from a Brunt free-kick. But Foster again came to Albion's rescue when he blocked a fierce close range attempt from N'Zogbia after he was completely unmarked from Agbonlahor's accurate cross. Tempers were becoming frayed and Clark and Heskey were booked in quick succession for challenge on McAuley. Cuellar came to Villa's rescue when he headed Odemwingie's shot off the line. Albion were now looking more dangerous and Jonas Olsson was only inches too high with a header from a Thomas cross. Villa probed for a winner in the closing stages and a mix-up between Olsson and Foster saw the ball break to Agbonlahor. His cross was turned back by Heskey to Herd whose shot was blocked by Olsson. Given produced a superb save with seconds remaining to keep out an Odemwingie volley from Thomas' cross.

Sporting Life

CURRENT CONNECTIONS

Albion's back-up keeper Boaz Myhill started his career at Villa Park progressing through the club's youth system. The American-born Welsh international failed to make a first team appearance for Villa and in December 2003, after a number of loan spells at different clubs, he moved to Hull City in a £50,000 deal. Myhill spent a successful seven years at Hull before joining the Baggies in July 2010 for a rumoured £1.5 million fee.

Baggies' defender Liam Ridgewell joined Aston Villa as a 16 year old after leaving West Ham United's youth system. The Bexleyheath-born player spent six years at Villa Park before making the short move to arch-rivals Birmingham City. Ridgewell spent five and a half years at St Andrews before moving to The Hawthorns during last season's January transfer window.

PAST CONNECTIONS

Amongst the players to have turned out at various levels for both clubs are: Albert Aldridge, Darren Bradley, Franz Carr, Scott Carson, Andy Comyn, Paul Crichton, Jim Cumbes, Neil Cutler, Curtis Davies, John Deehan, Jack Devey, Derek Dudley, Jimmy Dugdale, Lloyd Dyer, Ugo Ehiogu, Albert Evans, Graham Fenton, George Garratt, Bill Garraty, Andy Gray, Tommy Green, Willie Groves, Harry Hadley, George Harris, Tom Haywood, Robert Hopkins, Steve Hunt, George Johnson, Phil King, Zat Knight, Arthur Loach, Ken McNaught, Luke Moore, Tony Morley, Dennis Mortimer, Tom Perry, Kevin Phillips, Tony Rees, Cyrille Regis, John Reynolds, Bob Roberts, Riccardo Scimeca, Nicky Shorey, Jimmy Spencer, Nigel Spink, Kenny Swain, Garry Thompson, Andy Townsend, Gavin Ward, Dave Walsh, Steve Watson, Freddie Wheldon, Jimmy Williams and Charlie Wilson.

Ron Atkinson, Ron Saunders and Brian Little all managed both clubs, Atkinson and Little also played for Villa; Former Baggies' boss Ron Wylie played for and was later a coach at Villa; Another former Albion manager Alan Ashman later scouted for Villa; Brian Whitehouse, an Albion player during the 1950s and coach during the 1970s, coached at both clubs; Ex-Villa defender Allan Evans was a coach at The Hawthorns under Brian Little; Former Albion full-back Stuart Williams spent a short time as trainer at Villa Park; Paul Barron, who kept goal for Albion during the early 1980s, coached at Villa during the 1990s; Gary Shelton played for Villa and was later a coach at The Hawthorns.

ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS ASTON VILLA

 VENUE P W D  L F A
 Home 78 32 19 27 121 107
 Away 76 19 13 44 89 137
 Neutral 5 1 1 3 5 6
 Total 159 52 33 74 215 250

LAST TEN MATCHES AGAINST ASTON VILLA

DATE COMPETITION H/A F-A GOALSCORERS  GATE
Sun 30 Sep 2012 Premier League A 1-1 Long - Bent  34,489
Sat 28 Apr 2012 Premier League H 0-0    25,984
Sat 22 Oct 2011 Premier League A 2-1 Olsson, Scharner - Bent (pen)  34,152
Sat 30 Apr 2011 Premier League H 2-1 Odemwingie, Mulumbu - Meite (og)  25,889
Sat 11 Dec 2010 Premier League A 1-2 Scharner - Downing, Heskey  37,015
Sat 10 Jan 2009 Premier League A 1-2 Morrison - Davies, Agbonlahor  41,757
Sun 21 Sep 2008 Premier League H 1-2 Morrison - Carew, Agbonlahor  26,011
Sun 09 Apr 2006 Premier League A 0-0    33,303
Mon 02 Jan 2006 Premier League H 1-2 Watson - Davis, Baros (pen)  27,073
Sun 10 Apr 2005 Premier League A 1-1 Robinson - Vassell  39,402

 

 
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