Uefa cup Wednesday

Aston Villa V CSKA Moscow

Despite their FA Cup exit to Everton on Sunday there is no doubt that behind Manchester United, Aston Villa are the form team in the premiership just now. Villa are currently in third place, seven points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal and they have great chance to qualify for the Champions League.
To know just how serious they are taking the Uefa cup is anyone’s guess but Martin O Neill is not a man to lie down and ignore any potential success. He has promised to name a strong 11 for this clash though he will have to do without Steve Sidwell who’s suspended and Emile Heskey who is out through injury. On the plus side Gareth Barry is back in to the squad and he is a central cog whose absence was missed against Everton. Curtis Davies is also back and he is likely to slot in at centre back.
CSKA come into this in the worst possible circumstances not having played competitively since December 4th. No amount of friendly games can make up for 10 weeks of non-competitive football and it may take a while for them to catch up to the pace of the game. Admittedly they come into the knockout stages with a 100% record and have a good pedigree in this tournament having won in 2005. They have a new man in charge with Brazilian legend Zico taking over the reigns during the winter break. He has a few problems with Anton Grigoriev and Deividas Semberas suspended and new signing Tomas Necid is ineligible. Vagnor Love is the leading scorer in this season’s UEFA Cup with eight goals to his name already. He’s been linked with a move to England several times and will be keen to impress. He is the main threat and if Villa can keep him out them they will be halfway through to victory. A potential quarter-final tie with either Tottenham Hotspur or Shakhtar Donetsk awaits the winners and both sides would be confident of beating these teams.

Verdict
The winter break is not the best preparation for CSKA but that aside, Villa will not want to head to a cold plastic pitch in Russia with a lot to do. If they are serious about progressing to the next round then they will have to carry a lead to Russia. All the best teams in England have struggled against Villa and when they are in the right frame of mind they are capable of beating anyone. They have the match practice which should give them the critical edge.

PICK
Aston Villa (2.05 @ unibet) 5 points