{"id":21299,"date":"2011-12-23T15:42:20","date_gmt":"2011-12-23T15:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/12\/stoke-v-aston-villa-1945\/"},"modified":"2011-12-23T15:42:20","modified_gmt":"2011-12-23T15:42:20","slug":"stoke-v-aston-villa-1945","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/12\/23\/stoke-v-aston-villa-1945\/","title":{"rendered":"Stoke v Aston Villa (1945)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JohnBy John Roder<\/span>
Match of the Day commentator<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n

Barclays Premier League<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Venue:<\/em> Britannia Stadium<\/li>\n
  • Date:<\/em> Monday, 26 December<\/li>\n
  • Kick-off:<\/em> 1945 GMT<\/li>\n
  • Coverage:<\/em> Watch live on Sky Sports 1 and highlights on Match of the Day; listen on BBC Radio 5 live and local radio; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    Live text and stats<\/h2>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    Monday, 26 December 2011<\/p>\n

    Premier League<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Home Team<\/span><\/th>\nScore<\/span><\/th>\nAway Team<\/span><\/th>\nTime<\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    Stoke<\/td>\nv<\/td>\nAston Villa<\/td>\n19:45<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    <\/td>\n<\/td>\n\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
    \n
    \n

    STOKE<\/p>\n

    ASTON VILLA<\/p>\n

    \n

    Possession<\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Stoke<\/span> 50%<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Aston Villa<\/span> 50%<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      \"Peter Stoke striker Peter Crouch has scored 99 career league goals<\/span><\/p>\n

      TEAM NEWS<\/h2>\n

      Stoke are optimistic that Peter Crouch will return after he missed the defeat at Manchester City through illness.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Glenn Whelan (calf) is again doubtful but Ryan Shawcross is back from suspension.<\/p>\n

      Aston Villa striker Darren Bent is expected to return after a two-match absence with a thigh injury, while Emile Heskey (Achilles) and James Collins (knee) are also in contention.<\/p>\n

      Stephen Ireland should overcome a thigh strain but Alan Hutton serves a ban.<\/p>\n

      MATCH PREVIEW<\/h2>\n

      Going to football on Boxing Day is, for me, one of the best days of the season. There seems to be a smile on everyone’s face and a general air of optimism with the New Year approaching. This year the Match of the Day rota for 26 December has dealt me an even better hand – an evening kick-off at the Britannia – and not only because the late start means that I may get to enjoy a lie-in!<\/p>\n

      \n
      \n

      We all know how effective Stoke can be from set-pieces and Alex McLeish has spoken of Villa’s poor defending from them<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

      Stoke fans are great – the noise they make has in past seasons been rated as the loudest in the Premier League, with a measurement of 101.80 decibels -which apparently is the same as an aircraft taking off. Add in the fact that night matches always seem that bit more special and you have the recipe for a memorable evening.<\/p>\n

      It could be a special match for Peter Crouch. The striker will reach a landmark of 100 career league goals if he scores against one of his previous clubs, providing he is fit enough to play. Villa have failed to score in four of their last six games so will be desperate for Darren Bent to return to action.<\/p>\n

      We all know how effective Stoke can be from set-pieces and Alex McLeish has spoken of Villa’s poor defending from them. You only have to look at both goals conceded against Liverpool last weekend and Arsenal’s winner on Wednesday to see why he might be a little concerned.<\/p>\n

      Stoke start this match five points ahead of Villa. I’m a bit wary of making any prediction after confidently stating that goals might be at a premium for QPR v Sunderland last Wednesday (it finished 2-3!) – having said that, I wouldn’t be too surprised if the gap was still five points at full-time.<\/p>\n

      MATCH FACTS<\/h2>\n

      Head-to-head<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Aston Villa are yet to win in three previous Premier League matches at the Britannia Stadium (D1, L2). Blackburn, Sunderland, Liverpool and Manchester City are the four other clubs to have failed to win at Stoke since the Potters’ promotion.<\/li>\n
      • Villa’s last away victory in this fixture came in a 3-1 win at City’s old Victoria Ground during the 1984\/85 season, when Stoke were last relegated from the top flight.<\/li>\n
      • Stoke have lost both previous Boxing Day encounters between the clubs. Aston Villa won 6-0 in 1894 and 1-0 in 1980, both at Villa Park.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Stoke City<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Stoke occupy their best position at Christmas in 37 years since being seventh in the old Division One during the 1974-75 season.<\/li>\n
        • The Potters have maximum points against fellow Midlands clubs this term – beating both West Brom and Wolves away.<\/li>\n
        • Tony Pulis’s men have conceded more goals (16) against sides in the bottom half of the table than they have against teams in the top half (12).<\/li>\n
        • Peter Crouch has scored 99 career league goals. He notched six goals in 37 Premier League appearances for Villa between 2002-04, and has scored three league goals against them since leaving.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Aston Villa<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          • Alex McLeish’s side have taken just eight points from the last 30 available.<\/li>\n
          • Villa are without a Boxing Day win since 2005, when they beat Everton 4-0 at Villa Park. It’s 12 years since their last away win on this date, a 2-0 victory at Derby in 1999.<\/li>\n
          • Villa have won just once (v Norwich) in eight games against top-half clubs so far this season.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            By John Roder Match of the Day commentator Barclays Premier League Venue: Britannia Stadium Date: Monday, 26 December Kick-off: 1945 GMT Coverage: Watch live on Sky Sports 1 and highlights on Match of the Day; listen on BBC Radio 5 live and local radio; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles Live text and stats \u00a0 Monday, 26 December 2011 Premier League Home Team Score Away Team Time Stoke v Aston Villa 19:45 STOKE ASTON VILLA Possession Stoke 50% Aston Villa 50% Stoke striker Peter Crouch has scored 99 career league goals TEAM NEWS Stoke are optimistic that Peter Crouch will return after he missed the defeat at Manchester City through illness. Glenn Whelan (calf) is again doubtful but Ryan Shawcross is back from suspension<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nStoke v Aston Villa (1945) - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/12\/23\/stoke-v-aston-villa-1945\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Stoke v Aston Villa (1945) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"By John Roder Match of the Day commentator Barclays Premier League Venue: Britannia Stadium Date: Monday, 26 December Kick-off: 1945 GMT Coverage: Watch live on Sky Sports 1 and highlights on Match of the Day; listen on BBC Radio 5 live and local radio; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles Live text and stats \u00a0 Monday, 26 December 2011 Premier League Home Team Score Away Team Time Stoke v Aston Villa 19:45 STOKE ASTON VILLA Possession Stoke 50% Aston Villa 50% Stoke striker Peter Crouch has scored 99 career league goals TEAM NEWS Stoke are optimistic that Peter Crouch will return after he missed the defeat at Manchester City through illness. 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