Aston Villa vs Cardiff City: Lineups, stats and preview

by


Aston Villa vs Cardiff match preview

Aston Villa will attempt to avoid becoming the third team to suffer a surprise home defeat to Cardiff City in the FA Cup when the teams meeting in the fifth round on Friday (8pm GMT).

The second-lowest placed team left in this season’s competition beat fellow Championship strugglers Stoke City in the fourth round, and their win at a Sheffield United side chasing automatic promotion from the second tier was even more impressive to reach that stage.

“It looks like [Villa are] going to have a full team of internationals on the pitch, because that’s the depth that they’ve got,” says Bluebirds boss Omer Riza, a former Arsenal and West Ham forward who took over in September.

“We have to manage the game accordingly and correctly. We have to approach it in a way where we’re not easy to break down. Then when we have the opportunity, we can’t lose the ball and give it back to them. We have to use the ball diligently.”

Villa last won the competition in 1957 but reached the final in 2015 and are unbeaten in four home games in all competitions, including a 4-1 victory over Spurs in the last round.

“We are not a contender to win the FA Cup,” says manager Unai Emery, adding that he wants “to try to compete in the competition and have a way to a trophy”.

“All clubs, players and coaches like… prestige. It could be the best way to qualify for Europe. We have three ways: the Premier League, the Champions League and the FA Cup.”

Emery’s side are four points off fifth spot in the Premier League, in the Champions League round of 16 and in the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first season since that run to the final.

Aston Villa vs Cardiff City team news

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, defenders Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres and midfielder Amadou Onana are injury doubts for Villa, as is winger Donyell Malen through sickness.

Centre-back Pau Torres and playmaker Ross Barkley remain out, and right-back Matty Cash will be assessed, with Emery suggesting he will not risk players in this game.

City top scorer Callum Robinson, attacker Anwar El Ghazi and defender Calum Chambers could feature against their former team. Chambers moved between the clubs in July, having played 36 times for Emery.

Cardiff goalkeeper Jak Alnwick, centre-back Jesper Daland, winger Ollie Tanner, captain Joe Ralls and midfielder Will Alves are out injured.

Aston Villa vs Cardiff predicted lineups

Aston Villa: Olsen, Garcia, Konsa, Bogarde, Maatsen, McGinn, Tielemans, Bailey, Asensio, Rogers, Rashford

Cardiff City: Horvath, Fish, O’Dowda, Chambers, Mannsverk, Willock, Salech, Rinomhota, Ng, Ashford, Robinson

How to watch Villa vs Cardiff: TV channel and stream

The match will be shown live on ITV1 and is available to stream in the UK on the ITVX app. Coverage starts at 7.30pm.

Aston Villa vs Cardiff City prediction

Villa are certain to be short of full strength for this game, which comes four days before their Champions League last-16 first leg at Club Brugge.

Emery’s remarks – calling their European campaign “very important and prestigious” – would give more cause to expect an upset if Cardiff did not have distractions of their own.

A 1-0 home win over Hull City on Tuesday sent them six points above the Championship relegation zone, but Riza says it is “not possible” for Cardiff to go full throttle.

“We have just got too many far more important games coming up, which is about surviving and staying in the Championship,” he explained.

With those comments in mind, Villa should have enough to beat opponents without a win over 90 minutes in their last five away games.

Only two teams have a worse defensive record than City in their division, so take Villa to recover from their 4-1 defeat at Crystal Palace on Tuesday with a 3-1 win here.




Leave a Comment