Many Blues fans, myself included, will be thinking to themselves, Villa haven’t had the best start to the season and we could go there and pinch a win.
For me, pinching the win just wouldn’t cut it. I think there are many more ways that we can exploit the Villa and walk away with a more comfortable win.
However, this is the Blues we are talking about and we never quite do things the easy way now do we!
As we close in on the game at Villa Park, Gary Rowett must be thinking, how do we beat Tim Sherwood’s side?
Gary, I have several answers for you my friend! To begin with, we need to stop the ball getting to midfield maestro Gana, or Idrissa Gueye as he is usually known.
The midfielder has been key when he has played this season and I think if we can bypass him in the centre of the park and deprive him of the ball then we could see more glory than we anticipate.
Not only would we have to stop the ball getting to him, I think we would also have to be mindful of when he is on the ball and the passes that he can pick out.
Looking at it, Stephen Gleeson and Maikel Kieftenbeld, should they both start, will have to immediately enforce themselves on the game. Go and get stuck into tackles, give the crowd something to shout about!
As soon as the 2,800 travelling fans see that the players are up for it, the noise level inside Villa Park will reach a deafening level.
Moving on, I think we need to go at Villa as early as possible. Although Rowett has built up the fitness levels of his team, I don’t think we would be able to kill the game off if we went to extra time.
So, in my opinion, I think if we are to win the game we need to win it in 90 minutes.
A tall order some people might say but if the likes of Clayton Donaldson, Demarai Gray, David Cotterill and Jon Toral all show up on the night and produce performances like they did against Bristol City then there could be some very interesting developments in the game.
Something else that I think could have a massive effect on the game is Blues’ willingness to shoot on site.
This fixture has a habit of having goalkeeping errors and I think we could see another one in this game. Tomasz Kuszczak hasn’t looked the most comfortable in goal for us and I am hoping that we aren’t on the end of the mistake this time.
If you look at it from a Blues perspective however, if we shoot when we can and forget about playing pretty football then we could see a great game.
Giving chances to the likes of Gleeson and Cotterill, who we all know can score from a fair way out, then what’s to say we won’t see another mistake from a Villa keeper.
Finally, the last way I think Blues can beat their local rivals Villa is in a way I have already mentioned, via the fans.
Although there may not be many of us at Villa Park on Tuesday night, I still think that we can be the so called 12th man.
Yes there may be nearly 40,000 Claret and Blue fans, but I can guarantee that they won’t be as passionate and powerful as the 2,800 travelling fans who are sat in the Doug Ellis stand.
If you ask me, 2,800 tickets doesn’t do us justice but we will do the allocation proud by showing them what it is like to have some great supporters inside the stadium.
No doubt that on their day Villa fans can make a noise but they won’t have heard anything like this in years! For me, the more passionate the Blues fans are on the night, the more chance we have of winning the game.
Join me again tomorrow as I bring you the penultimate article in the big build up week.
Blues fans, let us know how you think we can beat Villa! Do you agree with what I have said? Let us know in the comment section down below!
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