I inadvertently covered much of what would be worth mentioning ahead of the curtain opener the other day, but it’s worth adding that Curtis Davies and Gabby Agbonlahor join Carlos Cuellar and James Collins on the injury list.

Surprisingly though, a name that’s caught most people by surprise in the match day squad is James Milner. With the frequently promised “done deal” still not actually done, James Milner is still a Villa player and his mid-week England run out seemed to have shaken off those back spasms. (I can’t possibly convey how much sarcasm that is laced with).

Before we get too carried away though, there’s a difference between the squad asked to come to Villa Park and make themselves available to play and the 18 who are named to start on the pitch or sit on the bench. We’ll find out tomorrow, about an hour before kick off, whether Milner is included in that 18.

I’m pretty certain Hitzlsperger will travel to Villa Park with his new team mates, but is definitely a doubt for their 18 man squad. I can’t imagine what sort of mood the home crowd will be in, but I’m sure he’ll get a warm reception if anyone spots him.

Someone who is certain to get a warm reception will be caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald, stepping into the breach to take control of his first senior game. Hopefully the players will respond and put in a performance for him.

It’s worth taking a quick look at the Statshack for this fixture last season, which took place back in January. This was the game where it hit me that we were generating so many corners through our wide play, but were completely unable to capitalise despite having three centre halves in the box looking to get on the end of the set plays. It’s encouraging that we largely controlled that game, but frustrating that we couldn’t find that goal and it finished 0-0.

AVC Preferred Team

Not a prediction, I don’t do predictions, but this is what I would go with based on what I know. With only 2 fit centre backs available, it’s got to be Dunne & Clark at the back and while Clark has looked rock solid when we’ve called on him before, I’d still like to to see the extra protection Reo-Coker could provide in front of the back line.

The rest of the team picks itself, but worth noting that Albrighton’s been a star of pre-season once more and has to be given the start as far as I’m concerned. He won’t let us down.

Whatever happens tomorrow, I think this is probably one of the weirdest build-ups I can remember for match in a long time. As I mentioned, I have no clue what the pervasive mood among the Villa Park crowd might be. There’s a lot of mixed feelings out there and this week’s events are bound to still be raw.

A convincing win will go a long way, possibly too far, to calming concerns about the future. A loss, well, let’s not go there, we’re not going to lose!

UTV