Walsall, Hong Kong, Colombia, and Gardner withdrawn from the U-20 World Cup

The somewhat light pre-season fixture list gets underway for us tomorrow with a familiar trip to the Bescot. It’s a game that Shay Given expects to play in and should provide the first clues about Alex McLeish’s thinking in terms of tactics and style of play.

It’s highly unlikely that we’ll have recruited a new left winger by then, so perhaps we’ll see how innovative McLeish is too. Will he ask someone like Gabby or Bannan to fill in on the

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Teamsheets: Aston Villa vs Liverpool

This is it then; the last game of the season. It might something of a dead rubber for us, although I’d like to think the players would be keen to finish the season on a high note. Liverpool fans will be hoping for a win at Villa Park and a loss for Tottenham at White Hart Lane. So, the exact opposite of us then.

Here are the confirmed starting line-ups:

Aston Villa
Liverpool

1
Brad Friedel
25
Pepe Reina

36
Kyle Walker
38
John Flanagan

29
James Collins
23
Jamie Carragher

5
Richard Dunne
37
Martin Skrtel

2
Luke Young
6
Fabio Aurelio

16
Fabian

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Teamsheets: Arsenal vs Aston Villa

It’s the last away game of the season. Here’s the team Gary McAllister is sending out at the Emirates to grab a point or three against an Arsenal side eager to ensure they finish in the top three at least to guarantee themselves a place in the Champions League next season.

Should be interesting tactical battle, it looks like a 4-2-3-1 vs a 4-3-3.

Arsenal
Aston Villa

53
Wojciech Szczęsny
1
Brad Friedel

3
Bacary Sagna
36
Kyle Walker

5
Thomas Vermaelen
29
James Collins

18
Sebastien Squillaci
5
Richard Dunne

28
Kieran Gibbs
2
Luke Young

17
Alex Song
16
Fabian Delph

19
Jack Wilshere
19
Stiliyan Petrov

14
Theo Walcott
20
Nigel Reo-Coker

16
Aaron

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Hong Kong Soccer 7s: Day two fixtures and results; No trophy this year

The young lions cruised through the group stage of the Hong Kong Soccer 7’s with the best record of all 16 teams; winning all three games, scoring nine and conceding none in the process. Andreas Weimann and Harry Forrester bagged four each and Jonathan Hogg grabbed the ninth.

You can see the full results from the group stage here.

The top two teams from each group have progressed to the Cup competition quarter finals tomorrow, Aston Villa will face Celtic. The losers

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Hong Kong Soccer 7s: Day one fixtures, results and overview

It’s late, I know, but the Hong Kong Soccer 7’s tournament is kicking off in a little over an hour and I’ve just enough time to bring you up to speed with the fixtures.

The 16 competing teams have been drawn into four groups of four. Each group should contain two local sides and two visiting teams, but Fourway Rangers were included in Group D as a replacement for Etoile FC from Singapore.

Besides Villa, the other visiting teams needing no introduction

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Teamsheets: Aston Villa vs Wigan

It’s the penultimate home game of the season and the opportunity to make our future in the Premier League a mathematical certainty against a Wigan side that are fighting for their life.

Ciaran Clark is out with hamstring injury picked up in training yesterday, Jean II Makoun is still out with a dead leg and Gabby is unavailable after falling ill overnight.

Charles N’Zogbia passed his late fitness test, but Victor Moses will replace Mohamed Diame in the Wigan side.

Here are the

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Teamsheets: West Brom vs Aston Villa

It’s been an interesting week with Gerard Houllier being discharged from hospital and Barry Bannan returning from his loan at Leeds. Here’s how caretaker Gary McAllister is going to take on West Brom in the penultimate away game of the season.

The only change to the starting XI is Gabby in for Heskey, but there are three changes to the bench with Bannan, Bradley and Delph coming in. Unsure on the status of Heskey or Albrighton at this stage.

EDIT: Marc Albrighton

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Teamsheets: Aston Villa vs Stoke City

When Gary McAllister was asked whether he would be picking the team or Gerard Houllier, he said that if they lost it would be Gerard’s team and if they won it was his. He was joking of course, but as it’s an unchanged side, it doesn’t really matter:

Aston Villa
Stoke

1
Brad Friedel
1
Asmir Begovic

36
Kyle Walker
28
Andy Wilkinson

29
James Collins
17
Ryan Shawcross

5
Richard Dunne
4
Robert Huth

2
Luke Young
12
Marc Wilson

6
Stewart Downing
24
Rory Delap

19
Stiliyan Petrov
6
Glenn Whelan

20
Nigel Reo-Coker
16
Jermaine Pennant

7
Ashley Young
26
Matthew Etherington

18
Emile Heskey
9
Kenwyne Jones

39
Darren Bent
19
Jonathan Walters

Subs
Subs

33
Andy Marshall
29
Thomas Sorensen

24
Carlos Cuellar
5
Danny Collins

21
Ciaran Clark
14
Danny Pugh

8
Robert Pires
15
Salif Diao

17
Jean II

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Five to go: Stoke next, three points for Gerard

It’s good news from the coronary ward of the Queen Elizabeth hospital: Gerard Houllier will not require any surgery, just rest and medication. It’s unlikely that we’ll see him in the dugout again this season though, so Gary McAllister will fill in as expected.

So, whether you wanted it or not, we will have a fourth person calling the shots from the sidelines this season. Fortunately, we’re more or less out of the woods and McAllister will just be supervising Houllier’s

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