After a strong start to his reign at Aston Villa, Dean Smith has finally hit some adversity. His team have suffered consecutive 0-3 setbacks, and looked as poor as the scorelines on both occasions. Normally, people might start asking questions. But.
It’s off to the DW Stadium today as Aston Villa visit Wigan and look to start turning draws into wins. As everyone’s been talking about, it’s one of those weekends where Villa could make up some ground and finish the day seventh if everything turns out right. That, of course, includes getting all three points.
It’s been another difficult week, and Villa “have limped over the line” into the new year, as Dean Smith put it. But his demeanor in the Swansea pre-game presser seemed good. As one might expect, he’s looking to freshen up the side, and has done. O’Hare has been called up, Kalinic makes his debut, Taylor comes back, and Hogan will get a go.
Aston Villa squandered a slender 1-0 lead to draw 1-1 with hosts Preston North End Saturday. Which was a shame, as there was ground to be gained on the day given other results. Bottom line, the side haven’t looked the same without Jack Grealish.
Today, Villa square off at Deepdale against a Preston North End side facing their own injury crisis. And now that an easier run of fixtures awaits, we’ll want to build on the midweek victory and get another three points in the bag to stay firmly in the mix.
