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Villans to stay unchanged
David O'Leary is set to name an unchanged line-up as Aston Villa look for back-to-back wins for the first time in 12 months against Alan Curbishley's Charlton side.
O'Leary is set to keep faith with the players who triumphed 3-1 at Sunderland last weekend to move Villa away from the bottom three.
Record signing Juan Pablo Angel will again have to be content with a place on the bench as Kevin Phillips and fit-again Milan Baros scored at the Stadium Of Light.
Full-back Mark Delaney (groin) and midfielder Patrik Berger (knee) are O'Leary's only two injury absentees.
Aston Villa (from): Sorensen, Hughes, Mellberg, Ridgewell, Bouma, Milner, Davis, McCann, Barry, Phillips, Baros, Angel, Taylor, Moore, Samuel, Hendrie, De la Cruz, Djemba-Djemba, Bakke.
Duo back in the frame
George Boateng has declared himself fit for tomorrow's game at Manchester City and Steve Staunton is also in contention for a recall. Boateng fit for City clash
Boateng has missed the last three games with an ankle injury but has been able to make a successful return to training this week following some intensive treatment in Holland.
Staunton is also bidding for a return to the first team after missing the last game against Arsenal, as well as the Republic of Ireland's two World Cup qualifiers against Cyprus and Andorra, with a knee injury.
However, neither Boateng or Staunton can be assured of a place in the starting line-up with John Gregory set to retain his new-look 4-4-2 formation for the third successive game.
Boateng has to break up the midfield pairing of Ian Taylor and Lee Hendrie if he is to have any chance of starting the game, while Staunton faces a battle with Alan Wright to fill the left-back berth.
Gregory may well opt to retain the side that started against Arsenal.
Juan Pablo Angel, who is still seeking his first goal as a Villa player, should retain his place in attack after being boosted by the two goals he scored for Colombia against Bolivia in their World Cup qualifier.
The £9.5million record signing feels revived after scoring for his country and said: "It was the longest I had gone without scoring, but I feel much better now."
Villa have played City twice already this season, drawing in the Premiership and exiting the Worthington Cup at their hands.
Aston Villa (probable): James, Stone, Alpay, Southgate, Wright, Merson, Hendrie, Taylor, Ginola, Angel, Joachim.
Picture: Boateng fit for City clash
Merson's position pledge
Villa star Paul Merson has admitted that he is struggling to adapt to his new right-wing birth but is confident that he will be succesful. Merson - vowed to adapt to new position
Merson is well-accustomed to playing in a 3-5-2 but has not been at his best since boss John Gregory switched to a 4-4-2 formation.
Skipper Gareth Southgate has admitted that Villa are struggling to get the best out of Merson when they play in the new style but Merson is ready to sacrifice his own performance in favour of the team and he said: "I don't really like playing out there if I am honest. But that is the way it is and it is a team game. I have just got to make sure that I work hard and hopefully we will have a bit more attacking emphasis as we go on.
"It is a bit of a Catch 22 situation because if I go inside to try and get more of the ball I will leave Steve Stone open for a two on one at the back. When you are a team that is not scoring a lot of goals you cannot afford to concede too many."
With Villa struggling to find their best form, Merson accepts that at the present time the team have to concentrate on stopping the opposition playing before they can really express themselves.
The former Arsenal, Middlesbrough and England star added: "It is about stopping the other team and we have to work on that. I am happy doing it as it is what we did at Arsenal and we won a lot of things. It is not entertaining but it will win more matches than not."
Picture: Merson - vowed to adapt to new position
Wright's fighting vow
Wing-back Alan Wright has vowed to fight for his place in the Villa team despite the fierce competition for places. Wright has vowed to fight for his Villa place
John Gregory's decision to switch to playing with a 4-4-2 formation means that there is one less position to fill in the Villa back line.
Steve Stone has made the right-back berth his own and Gregory seems to be favouring the international duo of Alpay and skipper Gareth Southgate for the two central defensive roles.
That leaves Wright, Republic of Ireland international Steve Staunton and 20-year-old Gareth Barry seeking to play in the left-back position.
After being virtually guaranteed a starting place since moving to Villa Park, fighting for his place is going to be something of a new experience for Wright.
But the diminutive former Blackpool and Blackburn Rover defender is relishing the chance to meet the selection challenge head on.
He said: "The manager has his own ideas and we will abide by them. I was pleased to get back into the side against Arsenal, but we will have to see how long it lasts.
"From there being hardly any competition for the role, there is now myself Steve and Gareth all vying for the same sort of position. With the three of us it is going to be interesting to see how things work out.
"There will have to be room for all of is at some stage otherwise I don't think that the manager would have signed Steve. Competition for places is good for the club and I sure that things will work out."
Picture: Wright has vowed to fight for his Villa place
Former boss announces retirement
Former Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor has announced that he is to retire from football management at the end of the season.
The Watford boss made the announcement yesterday and will definitely quit regardless of whether The Hornets win promotion to the Premiership.
Apart from Villa and Watford, his club management record includes periods at the helm of Lincoln City, England and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The 56-year-old was at Villa Park between the years of 1987 and 1990 and, in his first full season in charge, won promotion to the then First Division.
If you can't make it to the game this weekend why not get your copy of the programme from Programme Master.
Thursday, March 29, 2001
Barry set to seal new Villa deal
Aston Villa's central defender Gareth Barry is expected to put pen to paper on a new five-year deal at Villa Park within the next 24 hours. Barry is close to sealing a new deal at Villa
Barry is planning to have a final round of talks with manager John Gregory before agreeing on a lucrative new deal that will tie him to the club until the summer of 2006. The latest negotiations have had to be delayed due to the international commitments of both 20-year-old Barry as well as Gregory.
Barry has been away with the England under-21 side for the two games with Finland and Albania, while Gregory has been scouting possible new signings.
He is due to return to work at Villa's Bodymoor Heath training camp later today as he was understood to have been somewhere in Europe last night running the rule over a World Cup qualifier.
He is likely to meet Barry, and his advisers from the Professional Footballers' Association, for talks either this evening or tomorrow before Villa depart for the North-West to finalise their preparations for Saturday's clash with Manchester City at Maine Road.
Despite the fact that Barry has recently lost his place in the starting line-up at Villa Park, he has made it clear that he is more than happy to continue his footballing education at the club and said: "I am happy here and have no desire to move anywhere else."
Picture: Barry is close to sealing a new deal at Villa
Villa play down Prodan speculation
Villa have played down growing speculation that Romanian defender Daniel Prodan could be lined-up as a summer replacement for Gareth Southgate. Villa have not yet taken a decision on whether to offer Daniel Prodan a contract
Villa are at pains to point out that they are not willing to lower their asking price for Southgate and a club spokesman said: "The situation remains the same."
Prodan spent three days training with Villa earlier this month and John Gregory has pledged to keep tabs on him before making a final decision on whether to offer the 28-year-old a contract.
Gregory is also keen to ensure that Southgate stays at Villa Park - but the Villa skipper seems certain to be at the centre of some more intense transfer speculation this summer. It was last summer that Southgate stunned Villa by submitting a written transfer request on the eve
of Euro 2000.
His request remains on the desk of chairman Doug Ellis and Southgate did hint recently that nothing had happened this season to prompt him to withdraw the request. Villa have never really confirmed what their asking price might be for the former Crystal Palace player. But it is thought to be around £8 million.
Villa turned down a bid, understood to have been in the region of £6 million, from Chelsea last summer. As Villa banked £8 million from the sale of Ugo Ehiogu to Middlesbrough, a similar kind of fee is what they would expect to receive for Southgate - although changes in the transfer market are likely to have a bearing on any big money deals this summer.
Picture: Villa have not yet taken a decision on whether to offer Daniel Prodan a contract
Hendrie aims for international return
Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie is determined to get back into the full England squad as his international career has recently stalled. Lee Hendrie is aiming for a return to the full England squad
The fact that Hendrie picked up a three month ban last summer for breaking a curfew at the European Under-21 Championships did little to help his cause. He has also been sent-off twice this season but has vowed to knuckle down in a bid to add to his one full England cap that he won when Glenn Hoddle was in charge of the team.
He said: "My career has levelled off to a plateau after everything happened to me so fast. I was doing well in the youth team and the reserves. Then I made my first-team debut young and before I knew it I was playing for England. But when you get to that stage you have to try and maintain it. I had a really bad season with injuries."
The two red cards Hendrie picked up against Arsenal and Manchester City have held him back this season and he added: "What was looking like a good season became a bad one again. I thought to myself 'this can't go on'. Now I think like that every day, especially when you have been part of the England set-up. That is my aim, to get back into the international squad again."
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