Aston Villa will head to Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon full of confidence despite a 1-0 defeat last time out against Manchester United.
Tim Sherwood has bought heavily this summer bringing in no fewer than 10 new faces to freshen up a side that has been riddled by relegation battles for too many years. The departures of Fabian Delph and Christian Benteke left massive voids, but Sherwood has pulled some real bargains out the sack including Rudy Gestede from Blackburn and Idrissa Gueye from Lille.
Villa have started poorly in both games so far this season against Bournemouth and Manchester United respectively. In the second halfs so far, Tim Sherwood seems to of used the old ‘Fergie hairdryer’ treatment on his team with the team coming out fighting.
Defensively Villa have looked a solid unit in the opening two games this season. Jordan Amavi is proving why Sherwood splashed £9-million on him. Amavi is dangerous going forward and could give the likes of Bolasie plenty of tracking back to do. In the centre of defence a solid partnership is starting to form between Micah Richards and Ciaran Clark who has came on tenfold since the start of the year. At right-back Leandro Bacuna will offer a threat going forward, but will definitely struggle against Zaha.
The holding midfield role Ashley Westwood plays is pivotal to Villa’s style of play and will be one to watch with the former-Crewe man allowed to dicate play in the past two encounters. Idrissa Gueye is a brick wall in midfield while also being a real threat when bringing the ball forward. Another new signing Jordan Veretout has had good patches so will need to be watched closely.
The main threat from the Villans will come in the form of their attacking three who carry pure pace. Scott Sinclair has looked a real threat in both games so far this season – harshly being subbed against United last time out. Jordan Ayew has failed to settle down to life in the Premier League since joining from Lorient – he will be desperate to impress and certainly has the pedigree to do that. Meanwhile, Gabriel Agbonlahor has become a scapegoat already this season for his lacklustre performances so could be the weak link that makes Palace feel like they are playing against ten men not eleven.
The arrival of Barcelona forward/winger Adama Traore is one to watch – the raw power and skill he posseses could surprise a few. The most obvious threat comes in the form of Benin international Rudy Gestede. Gestede is yet to start since joining from Blackburn, but with his fitness now at a much higher level, a start against Palace is inevitable. Gestede will cause a nuisance up top but also track back and help defend which is a rarity in any striker in modern football.
Three points against Palace will not come easy, but if the gameplan is stuck to and the players continue to gel. Villa could quite easily come away with the points. Palace will prove a real test of how far Villa have came over the summer.
Previous encounters have hardly been top encounters, but this one certainly could be.
