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ASTON VILLA v WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 19th September 2015,
3.00pm
Villa Park
MATCH
NOTES
The game will be the 166th league and cup meeting between the two clubs. Villa
currently lead the way in terms of victories with 77 compared to Albion's 53. It
will be the 19th meeting at Premier League level with Albion winning three games
and Villa seven.
Albion's last game on this date came in 2009 when
goals from Chris Brunt (2), Youssouf Mulumbu, Roman Bednar and Jerome Thomas
gave a Roberto Di Matteo-led team a memorable 5-0 League Championship win at
Middlesbrough.
Villa's last game on September 19 also came in 2009
- the Villans beating Portsmouth 2-0 in a Premier League clash at Villa Park,
James Milner and Gabby Agbonlahor the goalscorers.
The two clubs have met twice previously in league
games on this date - in 1914 when Villa beat the Baggies 2-1 in a First Division
clash at Villa Park and in 1892 when Albion beat Villa 3-2 at Stoney Lane, again
in a First Division meeting.
Every one of the previous 18 Premier
League meetings of the sides has ended as either a draw or with a one-goal
margin of victory.
Albion are looking to keep three
consecutive top-flight away clean sheets for the first time since 1983 when they
set a club record run of five in a row.
Villa are winless in four league
games for the first time under Tim Sherwood.
The Baggies have kept four clean
sheets in their last six away games.
Albion's last six games: Southampton (H) 0-0;
Stoke City (A) 1-0; Port Vale
(H, LC) 0-0 aet, WBA
won 5-3 on pens; Chelsea (H) 2-3;
Watford (A) 0-0;
Manchester City (H) 0-3.
Villa's last six games: Leicester City (A) 2-3;
Sunderland (H) 2-2; Notts County (H, LC) 5-3 aet; Crystal Palace (A) 1-2;
Manchester United (H) 0-1; Bournemouth (A) 1-0.
TEAM
NEWS
Albion
Recent signing Jonny Evans should be fit for the
trip to Villa Park despite limping off in the closing stages of last week's draw
with Southampton.
With the exception of the long-term injured Ben
Foster, Baggies' boss Tony Pulis has a fully-fit squad to choose from.
Aston Villa
Idrissa Gana (hamstring), Carles
Gil and Adama Traore (both calf), and Jose Angel Crespo (knee) are all doubts
for the hosts.
Jores Okore
has returned to training after a knee injury but is still lacking match fitness.
MATCH
ODDS
Result
Albion Win: 11/5, Aston Villa Win: 13/10,
Draw: 11/5.
First Goalscorer
Albion: Berahino 7/1, Rondon 7/1, Lambert 15/2,
Anichebe 8/1, Gnabry 9/1, McManaman 10/1, Sessegnon 10/1, McClean 11/1, Gardner
12/1, Morrison 12/1, Brunt 20/1, Dawson 20/1, McAuley 20/1, Fletcher 25/1,
Chester 25/1.
Aston Villa: Gestede 9/2, Agbonlahor 11/2, Traore
6/1, Sinclair 6/1, Ayew 13/2, Kozak 13/2, Grealish 15/2, Gil 10/1, Cole 10/1,
Gueye 14/1, Veretout 14/1, Bacuna 14/1, Westwood 20/1, Lescott 20/1, Richardson
20/1, Richards 25/1, Sanchez 33/1, Clark 33/1, Amavi 33/1, Ilori 33/1.
No goalscorer: 7/1.
www.williamhill.com
REFEREE
Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire)
Atkinson took charge of two Albion games last season -
the 3-2 home defeat against Leicester City on 'Astle Day' in April and the 4-0 FA Cup win over West Ham at The Hawthorns in February.
The West Yorkshire official took charge of one
Villa game last season - their 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland in December.
Atkinson has handed out 29 yellow cards but no red
in the six games he has refereed so far this season.
A full run down of
Atkinson's record when taking
charge of Albion games can be found
here
TICKET INFORMATION
Albion's allocation of 2,840 tickets are fully sold out.
WEATHER FORECAST
Sunny intervals, 16°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 have lost just two of
their last nine league games against Villa, winning three and drawing four. 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 165 league and cup games between Albion and Villa with
the men from Aston having by far the better record with 77 wins to Albion's 53.
A full fixture history between the two teams can be found here
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
(Click on game to view)
Saturday 7 March 2015 - Aston Villa 2-0 Albion - FA Cup Quarter Final - Villa Park
Saturday 19 January 2013 - Albion 2-2 Aston Villa - Premier League - The Hawthorns
Sunday 10 April 2005 - Aston Villa 1-1 Albion - Premier League - Villa Park
Saturday 24 January 1998 - Aston Villa 4-0 Albion - FA Cup 4th Round - Villa Park
Saturday 17 February 1990 - Albion 0-2 Aston Villa - FA Cup 5th Round - The Hawthorns
Saturday 27 August 1983 - Aston Villa 4-3 Albion - First Division - Villa Park
Saturday 2 October 1982 - Albion 1-0 Aston Villa - First Division - The Hawthorns
Saturday 25 November 1978 - Albion 1-1 Aston Villa - First Division - The Hawthorns
LAST LEAGUE MEETING AT VILLA PARK
 Aston Villa
2-1 Albion
Barclays Premier
League
Tuesday 3rd March 2015,
7:45pm
Aston Villa: Guzan,
Hutton, Okore, Clark, Lowton, Westwood, Delph, Cleverley (Bacuna 77’),
Agbonlahor (Weimann 82’), N’Zogbia (Grealish 59’), Benteke. Subs not used:
Given, Sinclair, Sanchez, Gil.
Goalscorers:
Agbonlahor 22,, Benteke
90+4 (pen)
Booked:
Clark 81 (foul), Hutton 88 (foul)
Albion:
Foster, Dawson,
McAuley, Lescott, Brunt, Morrison (Baird 90+1’), Yacob, Fletcher, Gardner, Ideye,
Berahino. Subs not used: Myhill, Wisdom, Pocognoli, Olsson, Mulumbu,
Sessegnon.
Goalscorer:
Berahino 66
Booked:
Yacob 42 (foul), Lescott 52 (foul), Gardner 86 (foul), Berahino 88 (retaliation)
Attendance: 31,272
Referee: Jon Moss (West Yorkshire)
Christian Benteke's last-gasp
penalty clinched a crucial 2-1 win for Aston Villa over West Brom as they
escaped the relegation zone. The striker scored in the fourth minute of injury
time after Ben Foster brought down Matt Lowton to cap a dramatic derby. It was
Villa's first league win since December - and Tim Sherwood's first as boss - and
ended a seven-game losing streak. Saido Berahino looked to have earned a point
for below par West Brom after he cancelled out Gabby Agbonlahor's opener. But
Villa deserved the win and could have been clear by half time after Fabian Delph
hit the post and Agbonlahor had two efforts cleared off the line. It moved them
three points clear of the Barclays Premier League drop zone as
West Brom remained 13th.
Charles N'Zogbia replaced Scott
Sinclair for the hosts while Albion were unchanged following their 1-0 win over
Southampton as strikers Berahino and Brown Ideye shrugged off injuries. Sherwood
was looking for N'Zogbia to provide some inspiration but the hosts were nervous
from kick off with the Baggies more composed in the early stages. That
evaporated though and Albion survived a huge let off after 16 minutes when Agbonlahor
collected a cross, spun and fired at Foster. It looked a straightforward one for
the England
keeper but he let it slip through his fingers and the ball trickled goalwards.
Foster recovered to claw the ball back off the line as goal-line technology
ruled it had not gone over. It inspired Villa, though, and Tom Cleverley shot
over before N'Zogbia fired straight at Foster who, this time, took it
comfortably. But Villa had their tails up and grabbed a crucial lead on 22
minutes when Agbonlahor took first blood in his personal duel with Foster.
Sherwood had urged his new side to find Benteke early and Brad Guzan's long
clearance went straight to the striker, who flicked the ball on for Agbonlahor.
The forward then outpaced Joleon Lescott and slipped the ball under the
advancing Foster for just his fourth goal of the season and first since
November. It was the first goal Albion had conceded in 440 minutes and they
almost shipped another eight minutes later. Armed with the lead Villa relaxed
and Agbonlahor's pace continued to give the Baggies problems with the striker
agonisingly close to a second on the half hour. He, once again, beat the Albion
defence to a long ball and toe-poked underneath Foster, only for Lescott to hack
the ball off the line. The Baggies failed to test Brad Guzan in the Villa goal
as the hosts contained Berahino and Ideye with the visitors second best in the
first half. And Villa nearly doubled their lead in stoppage time when Delph
found space with a clever turn and curled onto the base of the post from
25-yards.
The hosts were on top and
continued to press after the break and Ashley Westwood curled a free kick over.
While it remained 1-0, though,
Albion remained in the hunt and they wasted a glorious chance on 56
minutes when Craig Dawson header over from seven yards after losing his marker.
But 10 minutes later they did level as Villa let their rivals off the hook.
Chris Brunt's deep corner was headed back by Lescott and Berahino was left alone
in the six yard box to nod in his 18th, and simplest, goal of the season. Villa
were rattled and Jores Okore had to produce a fine challenge to deny Ideye
before Foster claimed substitute Jack Grealish's volley. The Baggies' equaliser
had rocked Villa and they lost their first-half drive as the Baggies looked more
threatening. And a tense
Villa Park almost boiled over when Berahino and Alan Hutton squared up with the
latter landing a nasty challenge on the frontman. The Scot was lucky to escape
from with just a booking. There was a further twist in injury time though when
Foster rashly took down Lowton in the box and Benteke sent him the wrong way
from the spot.
Sporting Life
CURRENT CONNECTIONS
Villa defender Joleon Lescott joined Albion
from Manchester City in June 2014 and spent just over a year at The Hawthorns
before moving to Villa Park.
Albion 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,
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' midfielder Craig Gardner started
his career at Villa, making his first team debut in 2005. The Solihull-born
player joined Birmingham City in January 2010 but following the club's
relegation from the Premier League 18 months later he left for Sunderland in a
reported £6 million deal. He moved to The Hawthorns on a 'Bosman' free in May
2014.
Villa midfielder Kieran Richardson was a key figure during Albion's
'Great Escape' at the end of the 2004/05 season after joining the Baggies on
loan from Manchester United. He left Old Trafford in 2007 to join Sunderland
where he spent five years before moving onto Fulham. He joined Villa in July
2014 on a free transfer.
Scott Sinclair spent an unsuccessful 2013/14 season on loan at The
Hawthorns from Manchester City. The winger joined Villa permanently in the
summer following a successful loan spell at Villa Park.
PAST
CONNECTIONS
Amongst the players to have turned out at various levels for
both clubs are: Albert Aldridge, Dean Bennett, Darren Bradley, Chris
Buckley, Franz Carr, Scott Carson,
Chris Charsley, Andy Comyn, Paul Crichton, Jack Crisp, Vic Crowe, Stan
Crowther, 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, Dennis Jackson, George Johnson, Keith Jones,
Tom Jones, Phil King, Mark Kinsella, Zat Knight, Arthur
Loach, Christopher Mann, Ken McNaught, Luke Moore, Tony Morley, Dennis Mortimer,
Horace Parkes, Jesse Pennington, Tom Perry,
Kevin Phillips, Tony Rees, Cyrille Regis, John Reynolds, Liam Ridgewell, Bob Roberts, Riccardo Scimeca, Nicky Shorey, Jimmy Spencer, Nigel Spink, Kenny Swain,
Garry Thompson, Andy Townsend, Bert Trentham, Dave Walsh, Gavin Ward, Steve Watson,
Freddie Wheldon, Jimmy Williams, Charlie Wilson, Joe Wilson and Colin
Withers.
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 |
81 |
33 |
21 |
27 |
126 |
111 |
|
Away |
79 |
19 |
13 |
47 |
93 |
145 |
|
Neutral |
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
6 |
|
Total |
165 |
53 |
35 |
77 |
224 |
262 |
LAST
TEN MATCHES AGAINST ASTON VILLA
|
DATE |
COMPETITION |
H/A |
F-A |
GOALSCORERS |
GATE |
|
Sat 07 Mar 2015 |
FA Cup |
A |
0-2 |
Delph, Sinclair |
39,592 |
|
Tue 03 Mar 2015 |
Premier League |
A |
1-2 |
Berahino - Agbonlahor, Benteke (pen) |
31,272 |
|
Sat 13 Dec 2014 |
Premier League |
H |
1-0 |
Gardner |
24,684 |
|
Wed 29 Jan 2014 |
Premier League |
A |
3-4 |
Brunt, Delph (og), Mulumbu - Weimann, Bacuna, Delph, Benteke (pen) |
36,083 |
|
Mon 25 Nov 2013 |
Premier League |
H |
2-2 |
Long 2 - El Ahmadi, Westwood |
24,902 |
|
Sat 19 Jan 2013 |
Premier League |
H |
2-2 |
Brunt, Odemwingie - Benteke, Agbonlahor |
25,583 |
|
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 |
|
