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Bloody hell, we're on the telly again. Villa vs Pompey, 12:45, SS1.
Quote:
These clubs sit side by side each other on equal points in the top seven of the Premier League table, with Aston Villa needing a win to leapfrog their south coast opponents.
Villa have won one more game and scored one more goal than Portsmouth, yet lie one place below them.
Pompey have won as many away league games as Villa have managed at home (five), and are looking to add to the scalps of Blackburn, Fulham, Wigan, Newcastle and Birmingham gained in their last five games on the road.
Villa are the joint second highest scorers in the Premier League (26 goals); Portsmouth are the joint second highest scorers away from home, alongside Villa (14 each).
It's two years since Harry Redknapp returned to Fratton Park. Then Portsmouth were a bottom-three club, struggling against relegation; this season they have made their best ever start to a Premier League campaign.
Portsmouth are hunting a first top-flight victory at Villa Park for 52 years.
ASTON VILLA
Highest realistically achievable after Saturday's matches: 5th
Lowest could fall: 8th
1. Won four of the last five Premier League matches, keeping clean sheets in three of them.
2. Sunday's 1-2 home loss to Arsenal followed a spell of 13 points out of 15.
3. The current tally of 27 points is their best return since 30 points were accrued after the first 15 fixtures of the 1998-99 season, when they were top of the table.
4. Won five of the last seven home league matches, but lost two of the last three.
5. Scored in each of the last nine home league games since a goalless draw with Portsmouth on 22 April; their only blank in 12 at Villa Park.
6. Drawn more matches in Premier League history than any other club (178), but one of two clubs still to finish level in a home game this season. The other club is Manchester City.
7. Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal are the only clubs to have left Villa Park this season with maximum points.
8. Undefeated in 11 Premier League matches against south coast clubs since losing at Fratton Park on the opening day of the 2003-04 season.
9. A visit to Sunderland follows this and the pre-Christmas home clash with Manchester City.
PORTSMOUTH
Highest mathematically achievable after Saturday's games: 4th
Lowest could fall: 8th
1. Unbeaten in 10 Premier League matches; won six and drawn four since the 3-1 loss, away to Arsenal, on 2 September.
2. Not conceded in three Premier League matches, or in 344 minutes (five hours 44 minutes) since Sol Campbell's own goal away to Newcastle on 3 November.
3. Kept clean sheets in six of the last seven league games; conceding one goal in 10 and a half hours of Premier League football.
4. Lost one of 12 (all competitions).
5. Registered more goalless draws in the Premier League than any other club; four.
6. The only club to have won every Premier League game in which they've scored first this season; six of six.
7. Need to score three times to total 200 goals all-time in the Premier League.
8. One draw short of 900 in their league history.
9. Boasting the longest winning run of the season away from home in the Premier League and the second strongest away form in the division behind Liverpool, having gained five more points on the road (16) than at Fratton Park (11).
10. Two pre-Christmas fixtures follow this; home to Tottenham and away to Liverpool.
KEY PLAYER NOTES
ASTON VILLA
Gabriel AGBONLAHOR is Aston Villa's leading scorer, with six Premier League goals.
AGBONLAHOR is one of 11 different scorers of Premier League goals. Only Everton have more; 12.
Gareth BARRY and Olof MELLBERG have all been on the field for every minute of every one of Villa's league and cup games this season.
AGBONLAHOR, BARRY, MELLBERG, Gareth BARRY, Martin LAURSEN and Ashley YOUNG have appeared in every Premier League game; no other club has as many as six players to have figured in at least a part of each of their league outings.
If selected:-
Stilian PETROV will be making his 50th appearance in Villa colours.
Patrik BERGER will be facing a former club. The 34 year old Czech Republic international made 60 appearances (52 in the league) and scored eight league goals for Portsmouth between June 2003 and his free transfer to Villa Park in July 2005.
PORTSMOUTH
BENJANI MWARUWARI is Portsmouth's top scorer with eight goals, but has not netted in over a month (away to Newcastle on 3 November) and been overtaken by Arsenal's Emmanuel ADEBAYOR in the race for the Barclays Golden Boot.
Sylvain DISTIN is the only outfield player to have been on the field for every minute of every one of Portsmouth's Premier League games this season.
David JAMES has kept goal for every minute of every one of Pompey's league matches this term.
If selected:-
JAMES will be making his 147th consecutive Premier League appearance (Manchester City and Portsmouth).
JAMES will also be playing against a former club. The 37 year old England international goalkeeper made 85 appearances (67 in the league) for Villa between June 1999 and his £3.5m move to West Ham in July 2001.
Nwankwo KANU will be making his 50th appearance in Portsmouth colours.
Matthew TAYLOR will be making his 200th appearance in a Portsmouth shirt.
If on the field from the outset:-
Miguel PEDRO MENDES will be making his 50th start for Pompey.
HEAD TO HEAD
Last season's Premier League meetings between Aston Villa and Portsmouth were both drawn.
Villa are defending an unbeaten home Premier League record over Portsmouth, having picked up 10 points out of a possible 12.
Pompey have only beaten Villa once in eight Premier League meetings, and have not taken maximum points away from Villa Park since their 3-5 victory in the old Second Division on 17 January 1970. They last achieved a top-flight maximum at the Midlands' club on Boxing Day 1955, winning 1-3.
Home and away
League (inc PL): Villa 31 wins, Portsmouth 20, Draws 17 Prem: Villa 4 wins, Portsmouth 1, Draws 3
at Villa only
League (inc PL): Villa 22 wins, Portsmouth 4, Draws 8 Prem: Villa 3 wins, Portsmouth 0, Draws 1
Petrov is out for us, though Reo-Coker's back from suspension. That should be our only change;
Carson
Mellberg
Bouma
Knight
Laursen
Gardner
Young
Reo-Coker
Barry
Carew
Gabby
no idea on Pompey's team/available players, so I'll let dafuge or Sheer Class fill in in the event that anyone else cares.
1-1.
12-08-2007, 12:56 AM
Bloody hell, we're on the telly again. Villa vs Pompey, 12:45, SS1. Post #2
Bloody hell, we're on the telly again. Villa vs Pompey, 12:45, SS1. 
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