Given – Needed to be on his toes from the off when a Agbonlahor flick nearly sneaked in. Otherwise the Irishman had surprisingly little to do. 6
Zabaleta – Did an excellent job in keeping Ashley Young quiet. The recalled Argentine international was decent in possession without really threatening the Villa defence. 7
We feared Villa’s strength at set-pieces, just as we knew the law of ex-players scoring, and so it proved with Richard Dunne bagging the first goal. Yet the character and quality of this City side saw Craig Bellamy crash in an equaliser in a game that bore all the hallmarks of full-blooded English football.
The pace of the game, and energy expended by both sides was typical of how Mark Hughes and Martin O’Neill like to see their sides play. This was never a cagey affair, even if clear cut chances were few and far between.
According to today’s Yorkshire Evening Post, City have agreed compensation with Leeds United over the transfer of 14-year-olds, George Swan and Louis Hutton.
Their move hit the headlines a few weeks ago, when outrage stories on the movement of young players proliferated in the aftermath of Chelsea’s ban for the illicit signing of Gael Kakuta. Ken Bates had chipped in demanding points deductions for clubs taking young players, but not for the first time this has proved to be bluster from the ex-Chelsea chairman.
The chance to claim third place in the league and assert our ‘top four’ credentials over a strong rival is the aim in tonight’s clash at Villa Park. Mark Hughes has his biggest selection dilemma of the season with a host of attacking players to choose from, and it will be fascinating to see if he picks the right combination to unlock a Villa team that has only conceded five goals in six Premier League matches.
Both teams are in good …
Following his long awaited debut on Monday night, Roque Santa Cruz has been quick to point out that there’s no reason why both himself and Emmanuel Adebayor cannot feature in the same team.
Adebayor appears to have made himself the first choice striker to lead the attack following his explosive start for the Blues. A brilliant debut goal after three minutes against Blackburn has been followed by a strike in every league game he’s played.
Emmanuel Adabyor has escaped a ban for his goal celebration against Arsenal, at least for the time being. He does get a £25,000 fine and a two match suspended ban till December 2010. The official City site claims Mark Hughes was delighted.
Mark Hughes:
“We are just glad to put it all behind us now and I am relieved he will be able to play at Aston Villa on Monday night.”
“Manu was in great form before his suspension and having him available again is a huge boost to us.”
In the initial aftermath of the match and back page furore that followed, it looked as though the FA would come down hard on Adebayor. Allowing time to pass before the hearing today may well have worked in City’s favour.
