| Aston Villa 1 v 1 Ipswich Town FA Premier League Saturday, 15th February 2025 Kick-off 15:00 |  |
McKenna: A Big, Big Challenge But One to Look Forward To Thursday, 13th Feb 2025 19:08 Boss Kieran McKenna says Saturday’s visit to Aston Villa is a “big, big challenge” as the Blues look to end their four-game Premier League losing streak. Town, 19th in the table following their dispiriting 2-1 home defeat to bottom side Southampton a fortnight ago, three points plus goal difference away from safety, last picked up a point at Fulham on January 5th when they drew 2-2 at Craven Cottage. The Blues, who most recently lost five in a row in the league between October and December 2011, are the only Premier League team still to win in 2025. Town last lost five in a row in the top flight in a run of eight defeats between February and April 1995. McKenna knows securing what would be a vital victory will be no easy task against Unai Emery’s Villa side, who are eighth in the Premier League, 20 points and 11 places ahead of Town. “A team who are through to the knockout stages of the Champions League, worked now for coming up for three seasons in the Premier League with a top, top, top manager, have a fantastic squad, have added to that squad again,” McKenna said. “They have some tactical similarities to us and how we’ve been over the last few years, so they’re a team that we’ve looked at over the last few years as an example in certain phases of the game. “We’re pretty familiar with the things that they do and it’s going to be a big, big challenge, no doubt about it, but it’s one to look forward to.” Villa are currently without a win in three in the Premier League, two draws - 2-2 at Arsenal and 1-1 at home to West Ham - before the surprise 2-0 defeat at Wolves a fortnight ago. However, either side of the loss at Molineux, they beat Celtic 4-2 at home in the Champions League and Tottenham 2-1 in the FA Cup last Saturday, also on their own turf. At Villa Park in the Premier League this season they are unbeaten in their last 11, winning seven of their last nine. Overall on home turf they have won six, drawn five and lost only once, 2-0 to Arsenal in their opening home fixture back in August. McKenna is a big fan of his opposite number Emery, who took charge at Villa Park in October 2022. “There’s no doubt, he’s a top manager,” he said. “There’s lots to admire in his work, you can see how thorough that the work is but how thorough his team is in all phases of the game. He’s done it for a long period of time now. “We faced him a couple of times with Villarreal as well [while at Manchester United], which was a really, really impressive side that he built there and you can see a lot of the same hallmarks in this Aston Villa team as well. Undoubtedly a top, top coach and sets his team up really well.” Recalling the first game between the sides, the 2-2 draw at Portman Road in September in which Liam Delap netted twice, McKenna said: “I thought it was a really good team performance, no doubt about it. I thought we played well, it was pretty early in the season but in a run where we were finding our feet. “A good team performance against a really good team in front of a raucous Portman Road. “It’s one of the days that we enjoyed and we need to remember playing against Aston Villa at Portman Road and performing how we did and getting a point from the game was a really good day for the club and we want to have some more, and hopefully we’ll have one on Saturday. “It was a good performance. Of course, going away to their stadium is going to be another challenge up again and they’ve improved and added again, but it’s a good test for us. “Liam did well on the day and he knows he’s going to be required to perform well and step up for the team on Saturday.” It’s likely to be another noisy atmosphere at Villa Park and McKenna says his side are increasingly familiar with big top-flight grounds. “I think that’s the same for all away games, certainly in the Premier League you know you can face some really good atmospheres,” he said. “We went to Anfield not long ago, which is one of the best or one of the most hostile. “We’ve had some experiences now this year. I think we’ve been competitive in our away games across the course of the season and you have to try and manage the crowd. “You know there are going to be periods of the game when the crowd are really up and the momentum’s going against you and the other team are showing their quality, and they certainly have that. “And over the course of the season, we’ve had experience of trying to manage that and, of course, we’re not perfect but we’ve learned some lessons on that and we’ll need to use it on Saturday. “On top of that, it’s also important that you go there with the bravery to go and play your game and go and try and impose yourself on the game on the ball, go and try and impose yourself off the ball on them at times and try and make sure that you can take the crowd away from the opponent at times as well. We’ve done that in certain games this year as well. “It’ll be another good challenge, another great stadium to play in and it’s one we’re all looking forward to.” The TeamAlthough McKenna wouldn’t confirm it at his press conference, it seems certain Alex Palmer will be handed his Premier League debut against the Villans having put in a tidy performance in the 4-1 FA Cup win at Coventry City last week. The former West Brom man may be the only survivor from the XI which started that match with McKenna likely to revert back to the backline of, from the right, Axel Tuanzebe, Dara O’Shea, Jacob Greaves and Leif Davis. In central midfield, McKenna could opt to return to the central pairing of skipper Sam Morsy and Jens Cajuste but with Kalvin Phillips perhaps in his thoughts to continue, most likely alongside the Swedish international. Ahead of them, the Town boss could start the trio which began the Southampton game with Omari Hutchinson on the right, Julio Enciso, who was unavailable at the CBS Arena as he was cup-tied, in the middle and Nathan Broadhead on the left. Delap will be the central striker. The likes of Jack Clarke, man of the match at Coventry, Jaden Philogene, Sammie Szmodics, if he passes his fitness test on his ankle injury, and George Hirst will all be looking to make an impact from the bench in the second half. Recent HistoryHistorically, Town have won 19 games between the sides (15 in the league), 16 (14) have ended in draws and Villa have won 26 (22). The Blues are without a win in five against the Villans since Emyr Huws’s last-gasp goal, the Welshman’s first for the club, saw Mick McCarthy’s team to a 1-0 victory at Villa Park eight years ago this week. Town have won just one of last 15 meetings with their only Premier League victory over the Midlanders a 1-0 success courtesy of a Gavin Johnson goal in March 1994. In September at Portman Road, Delap scored twice as Town drew 2-2 with Villa, the Blues’ fourth Premier League draw on the bounce. Delap gave Town the lead in the eighth minute before the visitors hit back via Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins to lead 2-1 at half-time. However, Delap’s excellent second levelled the scores on 72 and it was Town who were pushing for a winner at the whistle. The teams last met at Villa Park in January 2019 in the Championship when Freddie Sears netted his sixth goal of the season as Paul Lambert’s relegation-bound Blues were beaten 2-1 at Aston Villa. However, Town could count themselves unlucky not to have claimed a point after a late fightback in which Trevoh Chalobah struck the post and they were denied a penalty. Tammy Abraham put the Villans, who would be promoted via the play-offs, in front in the sixth minute, then doubled the lead via a hugely controversial penalty on 61, Alan Judge having been harshly adjudged to have fouled John McGinn. Tommy Elphick appeared to handle a goal-bound Collin Quaner effort inside the box before Sears pulled one back on 76 and then Chalobah and Town were denied by the woodwork. Familiar FacesBlues defender Tuanzebe had three spells on loan with Villa between January and June 2018, August 2018 and June 2019, and August 2021 to January 2022 making a total of 41 starts and five sub appearances. Villa central defender Tyrone Mings was with the Blues between December 2012 when he was signed from non-league Chippenham Town. Mings went on to make 49 starts and 15 sub appearances, scoring two goals, before joining AFC Bournemouth for £8 million in June 2015. Blues winger Philogene was from Villa in January for an initial £20 million having had two spells at the Midlands club separated by his year at Hull City. The England U21 international made five starts and 16 sub appearances without scoring across his two spells. The OfficialsSaturday’s referee is Rob Jones, his assistants Stuart Burt and Neil Davies and the fourth official Darren Bond. The VAR official is Michael Oliver and his assistant Eddie Smart. Jones has shown 110 yellow cards and five red in his 23 games in domestic and European competitions so far this season. The Merseyside-based official’s most recent Town match was the 3-0 defeat at Millwall in October 2018 just prior to Paul Lambert taking charge in which he booked only Matthew Pennington. Jones was also in charge of the East Anglian derby against Norwich City in September the same year in which he cautioned Luke Chambers, Jordan Graham and one Canary. He refereed three Town matches prior to that, the 1-0 defeat at Brentford in April 2018 when he yellow-carded Jonas Knudsen, Callum Connolly, Cameron Carter-Vickers and two Bees. Before that he was the man in the middle for the 1-0 victory over Leeds in January 2018 in which he dismissed Eunan O’Kane for head-butting Knudsen in the 37th minute. He also booked Dominic Iorfa, Connolly and two Whites players. Jones was also the man in the middle for December 2017’s 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough when he showed two yellow cards to home players before being replaced by fourth official Geoff Eltringham at half-time. Squad FromPalmer, Muric, Slicker, Davis, Townsend, Tuanzebe, Johnson, Godfrey, O’Shea, Woolfenden, Burgess, Greaves, Morsy, Cajuste, Phillips, Luongo, Taylor, Hutchinson, Enciso, Philogene, J Clarke, Szmodics, Broadhead, Delap, Hirst.
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