AFC Bournemouth meet promoted Aston Villa in their first away game of the 2019/20 Premier League season on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Both teams will be looking for their first win of the new campaign, the Cherries having drawn 1-1 with Sheffield United and the Villans having lost 3-1 at Tottenham.
Villa shocked Spurs by taking the lead through John McGinn before Mauricio Pochettino’s men staged a late show and triumphed thanks to Tanguy Ndombele’s stunning strike and two goals from Harry Kane.
The clash at Villa Park will evoke memories for some Cherries supporters of Ted MacDougall’s spectacular diving header in front of the Match of the Day cameras when the teams met in Division Three in 1972.
Villa were promoted as champions in 1971/72, while the Cherries were pipped by Brighton for runners-up spot.
The Midlanders also went up when the teams met in Division Two in 1987/88 but were relegated – having been the Cherries’ first Premier League opponents – in 2015/16.
Ahead of the game, afcb.co.uk caught up with Gregg Evans, who covers the fortunes of Aston Villa for The Athletic.
afcb.co.uk: How did Villa fare in their first game against Spurs?
GE: It was a difficult result to take in the end, conceding two goals so late after doing so well to hold Tottenham.
On reflection, the fact they lost to two late goals to the Champions League finalists isn’t too much of a disappointment.
It started well for Villa and I don’t think they had expected to go ahead so early. In my opinion, they didn’t really know how to hold on to the lead.
For 45 minutes, they were quite good, they used the counter-attack well and caused Tottenham some problems.
But when the pressure started to build on them in the second half, they became very sloppy on the ball, they gave away possession far too easily, they panicked a bit and just didn’t really know how to handle the game when they were in the lead.
There were some positive signs there as well. The defence showed some very promising signs, Tyrone Mings and Bjorn Engels, the two centre-halves, were outstanding, as was Tom Heaton in goal.
I think they should be able to hold their own against the Premier League’s lesser lights.
afcb.co.uk: What are your thoughts on how Tyrone Mings (pictured above) has settled in?
GE: He’s been brilliant and, out of all the players, there is nobody I like watching and writing about more than Tyrone.
He’s got a fascinating story and is a lovely guy. He’s had some difficult times in recent years what with his injuries at Bournemouth and some setbacks early in his life.
I’ve been so impressed with the way he’s gone about his business and, clearly, he is a very good footballer as well.
He got the loan move he wanted last season and thrived from the word go. He was fantastic. I think Villa only lost once at home with him in the team.
He played very well against Tottenham and was unfortunate to be on the losing team. I think he will be able to step up and comfortably show he’s a Premier League player.
afcb.co.uk: Apart from Tyrone Mings, who do you think is the pick of Villa’s summer signings?
GE: I think Tom Heaton (pictured below) will be great for the club because he’s an experienced head in a relatively young group.
Villa have tried to lower the average age of their main squad this season and a lot of the players they have bought are early to mid-20s.
Heaton is 33 and has the experience and knowhow of multiple seasons in the Premier League so I think that will help them and he’ll be a big part of pulling together the group in their times of need.
afcb.co.uk: What sparked last season’s remarkable run to the play-offs?
GE: It was a combination of things. Tyrone Mings came in and steadied the ship at the heart of the defence.
Jack Grealish had been missing for a couple of months and Villa had won one game in 11 without him. He came back and they went on a brilliant run. His leadership made a big difference.
Everyone pulled together and when they won one game, it was almost a case of they knew they were going to win the next one. When it got to five or six, it was like it was never going to end.
They went on an incredible 10-game winning run which was a club record.
I remember walking into a pre-match press conference in late February and thinking there was no way they were going to get promoted or even make the play-offs because they would have to go on a club-record winning run – and they proved me wrong!
It was down to a combination of things – mainly Mings coming in and tightening things up, Jack Grealish’s return and a shout-out to Jed Steer in goal who was brilliant as well after being recalled from a loan spell at Charlton. He was an inspiration in the play-offs.
afcb.co.uk: Villa Park will be rocking – what’s it like when it’s full?
GE: I think it will be a good awayday for travelling fans. But I think it will also be quite intimidating for players and visiting supporters.
When Villa Park is rocking, there aren’t many stadiums like it in the country.
I saw it towards the end of last season when there were a couple of sell-outs and in the play-off semi-final.
Villa have sold 30,000 season tickets this year and had to put a cap on it. They’ve got 7,000 on a waiting list for next season which is just incredible.
They probably could have sold anywhere between 40,000 and 50,000 had they been available.
It’s a great place to be when the team are playing well. When it goes wrong, I’ve seen it turn and become a little uncomfortable and hostile for the home players.
That atmosphere has largely disappeared in the past six to 12 months and I hope it stays away because it’s not nice.
afcb.co.uk: What are their ambitions for the season?
GE: They don’t just want to make up the numbers and say finishing 17th would be a good season.
They are quite ambitious, they have spent £125 million on 12 new players and want to compete with teams in the top half of the table.
Their real ambition is to finish somewhere close to the top teams outside of the top six.
afcb.co.uk: Who is their player to watch?
GE: Trezeguet, the new Egyptian winger (pictured above, right).
He played on the right wing against Tottenham and caused so many problems for 60 minutes.
I was baffled as to why Dean Smith took him off because he was Villa’s most potent threat. Whether it was a fitness issue remains to be seen.
If he’s okay and everything is fine with him on Saturday, I’d say he’s the guy to look out for.
afcb.co.uk: What's your score prediction?
GE: I’ll go 1-1.
You can follow Gregg on Twitter – @greggevans40
Match officials: Martin Atkinson (referee), Lee Betts (assistant), Nick Hopton (assistant), James Linington (fourth official), Jon Moss (VAR), Eddie Smart (assistant VAR).
