How can I describe last weekend? One of joy and relief, as Villa demolished relegation rivals Sunderland with ease and even had time to give a 16 year old his debut. Benteke looked back to his ferocious best, Agbonlahor showed he is the player we all know he can be and for the first time in a long while, we looked like a cohesive unit away from home. We showed what a good team we can be when we play to our own strengths and utilise our explosive forward line to the best of it’s ability.
Anyway, this weekend sees the return of football to Villa Park, as Villa take on an impressive Swansea City. The Swans previous 3 visits to Villa Park in the Premier League have seen 1 win a piece for either side with a draw in the corresponding fixture just after Christmas last year. Villa will be looking to win 3 on the bounce in the Premier League since April 2010, whilst Swansea will be looking to bounce back from back to back defeats. They have not suffered three defeats in a row for well over a year.
Previous Results:
2013/2014- Aston Villa 1-1 Swansea City
2012/2013- Aston Villa 2-0 Swansea City
2011/2012- Aston Villa 0-2 Swansea City
Saturday’s visitors to Villa Park, Swansea City have improved this season under the guidance of former club captain Gary Monk, as they have managed to achieve the almost mythical goal of 40 points the quickest in what is now their 4th season in the Premier League. However, they have recently been lacking in goals, as their biggest goal threat Wilfred Bony left for Manchester City in January, leaving Gary Monk short of options in attack. The only real experience he has in the forwards department is that of Bafetmbi Gomis who has yet to start banging in the goals at the same rate as Bony did. However, with the likes of Gylfi Siggurdsson in the squad, it is not likely there will ever be a shortage of chances created. Following their home defeat to top four chasing Liverpool on Monday night, Garry Monk is likely to make a few changes. According to the BBC, central defender Federico Fernandez is likely to replace the Spaniard Jordi Amat in the heart of the defence alongside Ashley Williams.
Whatever has happened to the Aston Villa of 2014-2015 these past few weeks? Whatever it is, we are all loving it! Tim Sherwood has completely changed this team around and he deserves full credit for doing so. He will be keen for this current run of form to continue against the mid-table Swans on Saturday afternoon. The team news for Villa is that the suspended duo of Hutton and Grealish are back having served their suspensions against Sunderland, but on current form they might find it difficult to get back into the starting XI, and will most likely have to settle for a place on the bench. However, the injury problems do not appear to be getting better anytime soon, with Richardson, Vlaar, Cissokho, Baker and Senderos all out. This means he back four is likely to be unchanged with the impressive Bacuna set to continue at right back and Matthew Lowton to deputise out of position at left back, a role in which he has done considerably well. Sherwood is likely to stick with the same XI that started against Sunderland in order to exploit the vulnerabilities Swansea have at the back with pace.
With the nightmare run of the April fixtures coming up, it is important Villa pick something up and with confidence flowing through the side from the manager to the players and two in form forwards you would be a fool to bet against them extending their winning run.





