Match Day Thread Villa v Toon

Win.

 

Summary please.

 

Villa slight favourites at 13/10, were 9/5.

We're the 2 form teams right now but they have hole advance. Want win, would be happy with draw.

 

If we fill the hole in will it then be a level playing field?

 

Palace was a potential banana skin that we punted into the bin, Villa is going to be a hard match. They've got a decent team, would love Asencio here, and after being dumped out the champions league, they could be motivated or demoralised. I'm going for a draw.

 

Very tough game to call. But even a draw favours us more than them now.

 

I was thinking of 1968-70.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrie_Hole

Things just haven't been the same since he left, they no longer have Hole advantage.

 

Spot on - Keeping teams around us (like Villa and Chelsea) at arms length is what we need in the last few games - so draws against them and potentially Brighton would be enough if we beat Ipswich and Everton... 9 points would leave us on 68 points and leave them both (with draws against both) needing to win all remaining fixtures with harder fixtures to catch us.

Love this point in the season where your brain goes into overdrive thinking about all the different permutations!

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The best bit really is if we win our home matches, we're surely in the CL. By the time we play Arsenal, they will have played at PSG, then away at Liverpool. Even if they don't make the CL final, that's a draining schedule. Chelsea and Brighton have hit poor form at exactly the wrong time.

Villa is a tough one, but they have to think about City on Tuesday and an FA Cup semi final next weekend. We've seen how we played before the LC final.....

 

Look at Palace last night, probably subconsciously but they weren't putting 110% in where as we have nothing to lose going into the final few games of the season.

 

I was thinking the run in was nasty, but looking at it now, apart from Arsenal and Villa, and can see us winning the rest of the games the way we're playing.

Also can see Spurs losing all their remaining games and finishing 17th. Fortunate for them the bottom 3 are all terrible.

 

Brighton away and Chelsea will be tough games.

 

Neither of them are playing well right now, I fancy our chances in both.

 

Is everyone thinking another 9 points to CL certs?

 

Yeah, win our home games and we've surely got enough. Any points away from home probably just help us secure it faster and allow us to aim for 2nd 3rd 4th (which is grand and all that but I think most fans would snatch your arm off for 5th now)

 

I'll tell you what chance Villa have here...

 

Yep, I figure that should do it. Especially because there are a number of games between teams in the CL mix.

Beat Ipswich and Everton and Chelsea at home and we are there. Any points from away games will be a bonus. Drawing or beating Villa would be a big result but not fatal if we lose.

 

Edit.

Or what H said….

 

Hard to call this one, but we don't have to chase the game.