The Eagles embark on a third trip to Birmingham in as many weeks as the Premier League returns after the international break.
Ahead of the fixture, we had a chat with journalist and Villa fan Ellis Burnett to find out about the season so far for the Villains, thoughts on the game, and much more.
TEB – Are you happy with the summer transfer business by Villa? Were there any areas not strengthened that should have been?
EB – Our summer window was always about strengthening the squad that we have and we’ve absolutely done that. Ian Maatsen, despite not featuring all that much has pushed Lucas Digne on to career best form as well as stepping up himself when called upon. The same can be said about Ross Barkley who has proved to be a crucial substitute when closing games down.
Our best signing without a doubt has been Amadou Onana who has continued an impressive partnership with his fellow international Youri Tielemans. However, the best bit of business we made was not allowing Jhon Duran to move away and tying him down to a long term contract. This means if he is sold, it’ll be for a lot more than the rumoured £40million that was being offered in the summer.
TEB – From a neutral’s perspective it was a strong start to the season for Villa until the start of November. What are you thoughts on results so far?
EB – In truth, I wasn’t expecting the start of the season to be as strong as it was. Coming off the back of securing Champions League there was always the fear of us dropping off similarly to how Newcastle did but we started the season very strongly. You’re right, since November our form did take a dip and I think fixture congestion played a part in that with a few injuries starting to appear. Ultimately though, I think the international break came at the perfect time and this weekends fixture is the perfect opportunity to right that form.
TEB – Are you happy with Unai Emery in charge and is he the man to take your club forward?
EB – There aren’t enough words in the dictionary to explain how happy myself and other fans are with Unai Emery. To say in the two and bit years he’s had at the club, this is the only time the club has felt in a bit of a rut is truly impressive considering he took us over from a tacticless fraud in Steven Gerrard who had a great team fighting a relegation battle. Unai hasn’t done much wrong and has had almost complete reign over the whole club and long may that continue.
TEB – As a fan of a team involved, what are your opinions on the new format of the Champions League? Do you think it’s a positive change?
EB – I’m really enjoying the new format which has surprised me because I was initially sceptical. I think it adds to the drama of the competition because, as you’ve seen, anyone can beat anyone and I think it’ll lead to some interesting league standings.
TEB – Expectations for the season?
EB – Like I said, at the start of the season I wasn’t too sure how we was going to do that and the fear of us dropping off like Newcastle was definitely there. Having said that, now we’ve made a good start I’m more assured that we can achieve some form of Europe again, albeit potentially not Champions League. I think we’ll finish somewhere in the reigon of 4th to 6th, whilst making it to the quarter finals of the Champions League.
TEB – Our two sides recently met in the League Cup at Villa Park where Palace just edged it. What were your thoughts on the tie?
EB – The cup fixture was definitely a disappointing one to take. We obviously fielded a weaker team but I still felt like we had enough quality on the pitch to be beating you. It feels slightly that these domestic cup competitions aren’t Unai Emery’s priority which is a real shame because a lot of fans want to see us win a trophy. On the reverse of that though, we’ve already seen what fixture congestion can do to our form so maybe we’re not quite ready to go far in the cup yet.
TEB – If you could sign one current player from Palace, who would it be?
EB – I think a lot of fans would probably say Ebere Eze just because he is that good and he really is quality but for me he isn’t as good as Morgan Rogers who plays in a similar position. I would instead go for Adam Wharton who has had a slight drop in form this season but I would back Unai Emery to bring back the best out of him.
TEB – Favourite away day in the Premier League?
EB – In terms of away days, I’ve not done too many but my favourite had to be Old Trafford. Being a bit of a geek it was interesting to see the different bits scattered around the stadium and the fact we won made it even better.
TEB – Predictions for the game including final score?
EB – I think I’m basing this prediction off the assumption that we’re going to come back refreshed after the international break and hopefully that’ll bring about a change in fortunes. We need a win and I think we’ll get it, I’m going 2-0 Ollie Watkins to score and Morgan Rogers to continue his fantastic week of England debut, new contract and a goal.
Our thanks to Ellis for taking the time to chat to us this week.
