Aston Villa resume action at Ewood Park this evening following the international break, sitting pretty in 12th place, one spot above our hosts, Blackburn Rovers, due to an impressive goal differential of 0 compared with -1. To say it’s been an underwhelming start would be an understatement.
After wobbling through the opening five fixtures to the tune of two wins and three draws, the wheels finally came off for Villa: first in the cup exit to Burton Albion, and then more decisively at Bramall Lane, where Sheffield United notched a comprehensive 4-1 victory.
Well, here we are with another cup tie, and I’m intuiting a general sense of underwhelm among the faithful following the silly result Saturday against Reading. Nonetheless, it’s another opportunity to get a competitive match in, and it seems like we could use it. Maybe a good result will provide a bit of a lift for the side over the break.
Reading, for their part, have had a rough start to the campaign under Paul Clement, losing three before also drawing 2-2 in their last outing. I’d prefer today not be the one where they start putting it together. Villa aren’t too far off the pace, and could well have either won or lost the game midweek. Maybe today, Villa can build on the good moments against Brentford and start putting together a full 90 minutes that sees them comfortable and assured.
