West Brom take part in their second Midlands derby within the space of a week as they make the short trip to an Aston Villa side who were thumped 4-0 at Manchester City seven days ago.
The Villan’s were unbeaten prior to their trip to the Etihad Stadium and will need to set themselves up a lot better than they did last Saturday with boss Alex McLeish unhappy with his sides ‘comedy cuts’ defending. You could be forgiven for thinking Villa were up against a City side in superb form but the truth is they made it too easy for the hosts and will need to up their concentration levels against Albion. Lets not forget it was their first defeat of the campaign and an unbeaten run of seven games has silence a few of the Holte End regulars who were unhappy after McLeish’s appointment following his stint in the Birmingham dugout. The Scot has certainly made them harder to beat and is finally getting some end product from Gabby Agbonlahor who has four goals to his name already this season. Derbies are Villa’s specialty too having lost only of their last 11 at home – a 1-0 defeat to Wolves in April. They haven’t suffered back-to-back league defeats in 16 games so the omens are good for the home faithful. Their cause will be helped by the return of defender James Collins who looks set to return and partner Richard Dunne who will be making his 500th club career start.
Roy Hodgson’s Baggies have started their season in reverse to their Midland’s rivals having lost four of their eight games winning only two. Their latest conquest came last week against Wolves at the Hawthorns and relieved some of the pressure on Hodgson’s shoulders. The former Fulham boss has been unable to replicate the success he endured at the club towards the end of last season but that 1-0 win seven days ago went a long way to getting the club back on track. Peter Odemwingie was the match winner last week scoring his second goal of whats been a disappointing start to his second year as a Baggie. Injuries have hampered his progress so far but he looked back to his best forming a potent link up with Shane Long. The Republic Ireland striker has hit three goals from seven shots on target this season but will have a hard job penetrating Villa’s watertight defence. In fact this will be West Brom’s 100th away Premier League fixture but they’ve only tasted victory 11 times away from home. The return of Zoltan Gera and Steven Reid will put a smile on Hodgson’s face and the pair could play vital roles in their chances of coming away from Villa park with maximum points.
Key Players
Gabriel Agbonlahor – Whatever McLeish has done to Agbonlahor it certainly is a miracle. He is fast becoming Villa’s key player with his exciting displays and lung bursting sprints being combined with a final product. The Villa striker has been in clinical form scoring half of the sides goals already and his pace will be key to overcoming West Brom this week.
Peter Odemwingie – After a stuttering start to the campaign Odemwingie looks to be getting back to his best and his goal against Wolves last week was expertly taken. His runs off the shoulder of defences and penchant to be in the right place at the right time will be an important factor if the Baggies are to unlock a stern Villa defence.
Prediction: 2-1
Aston Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor is the only player in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index’s top ten NOT from Man Utd, Man City, or Chelsea. He is the 8th ranked player and 3rd ranked striker (behind Rooney and Aguero) Agbonlahor also has a 67% shots on target rate (more than Rooney, who has 59% on target) West Brom’s Peter Odemwingie scored his second goal of the season last weekend and rose 16 places to 102nd in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index Odemwingie’s two goals have come from 12 attempts at goal with 67% of shots on target
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