Aston Villa's woes continue to go from bad to worse as Remi Garde's side succumbed to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Watford in Saturday's Premier League clash at Villa Park.
Odion Ighalo opened the scoring for the visitors just after the quarter-hour mark, but Remi Garde's charges went on to dominate proceedings on the pitch before Micah Richards got his side back on level terms by the break.
Quique Sanchez Flores's team suffered another setback when Heurelho Gomes was subbed off with a head injury to be replaced by Premier League debutant Giedrius Arlauskis, but the visitors retook the lead nonetheless through Alan Hutton's unfortunate own goal.
Watford captain Troy Deeney appeared to have capped off his side's win with a header five minutes from time, but Jordan Ayew's sweet curling strike in the 89th minute set up a nervy finale, complete with 10 minutes of injury time following Gomes's injury.
The result puts Villa seven points from safety at the foot of the Premier League table, while Watford edge up to 11th place.
Here is how Sports Mole covered the action at Villa Park.
Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Watford!
It is crunch time for the bottom-placed Villans as they go in search of their first win in 12 league fixtures when they host the Hornets this afternoon.
The last win for the West Midlands side came against promoted Bournemouth on the opening day of the season, and as things stand, they have just five points heading into December.
Things are considerably better for Watford, who sit in 13th place having secured four wins and four draws from their opening 13 games - it would not be a surprise to see them earn something from this game today.
Time for the team news now...
VILLA STARTING XI: Guzan, Hutton, Richards, Clark, Richardson, Gana, Veretout, Sanchez, Gil, Ayew, Sinclair
WATFORD STARTING XI: Gomes, Nyom, Britos, Cathcart, Akem, Capoue, Watson, Paredes, Deeney, Abdi, Ighalo
VILLA SUBS: Bunn, Okore, Bacuna, Westwood, Lescott, Traore, Gestede
WATFORD SUBS: Arlauskis, Anya, Guedioura, Ibarbo, Berghuis, Jurado, Diamanti
Two changes made by Remi Garde from Villa's abject 4-0 defeat at Everton. Ashley Westwood drops to the bench in favour of Carlos Sanchez, while Scott Sinclair comes in for Jack Grealish, dropped from the squad altogether due to his disciplinary issues.
Likewise, two come in and two come out for Quique Sanchez Flores's charges, with Ikechi Anya and Jose Manuel Jurado dropping to the bench as Juan Carlos Paredes and Nathan Ake come in.
All is not well at Villa as a series of mishaps have plagued them both on and off the pitch. Winless in the league since the opening day of the season, bottom of the table, struggling for inspiration, and despite turning a minor corner by holding Manchester City to a draw at the start of November, a devastating 4-0 defeat at Everton completely undid the feelgood factor from their point against the Citizens.
In addition Jordan Amavi, the summer signing from Nice who looked like he was going to be a major influence in Villa's ascent back up the table, will miss the rest of the season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on international duty.
And then you have Jack Grealish. A wonderful talent whose stock rose astronomically following his bright loan at Notts County in 2013, he broke into the Villa team and helped them reach the FA Cup final least season, in addition to helping them survive another year in the top division.
Only thing is, he delights and frustrates fans in equal measure because off-the-field issues never seem to be too far behind. Videos and images of him in or around compromising situations have appeared a tad too often for the Villa hierarchy's liking, from laying flat on the ground in Tenerife to partying with friends - one of whom is inhaling a balloon - just a few hours after Villa's 4-0 defeat at Goodison Park.
Granted, the media seems to love building a talent up just to knock them down, with hatchet jobs and analysis from certain pundits and journalists following each and every incident, but nevertheless Garde has decided to suspend the 20-year-old from the first-team squad for the foreseeable future.
With two of Villa's brightest young talents thus ruled out, Garde will need to pull out all the stops to see his side claim a result today against a bright Watford side that have been doing very well since promotion last season.
The Hornets have been plugging away rather quietly in the opening stages of their return to the top flight, and when looking at the table they now represent the best-placed team from the promoted sides.
Much of the club's good work has been built on consistency at both Vicarage Road and on their travels, where Watford have lost just twice in their last seven away games.
Flores will be delighted at the crucial combination of Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo up top, but a slight cause for concern will be the way in which his side seems to drop off from games in the second half. As it stands, Watford have proven fantastic in the opening halves of games having conceded just two goals all season during the first 45 minutes. However, when looking at the second halves of fixtures in the league, the Hornets have conceded a league-high 86 percent of their goals in the final 45.
Should Flores and his men be able to get beyond Villa at the weekend, they also have winnable fixtures to come against Norwich City and Sunderland, meaning that they could feasibly be well on their way to attaining the sacred 40-point mark heading into December. However, should they lose against Villa, they could see their seven-point cushion above the drop zone cut.
With just over 20 minutes to go until kickoff, now is a good time to have a look at Sports Mole's dedicated video preview of this game, featuring our sofa pundits.
Or if you would prefer an audio version to listen on the go, we can do that too.
Let's get Garde's take on the fixture: "I was not a dreamer [before taking the job]. Now I am within the club - and it is my responsibility to find some solutions quickly because we need them. We are very well prepared for this huge game. But I am not expecting to have an easy game because if you look at the Watford results until now, they have done very well. It shows you how good they are. The first minutes will be important for everyone but the result at the end will be more important."
Flores, meanwhile, had this to say about team captain - and Birmingham City fan - Troy Deeney: "He is very competitive, he never wants to lose and not against Aston Villa, it is not in his mind. He manages this kind of situation very well, (it) is an extra motivation for the players so I talked with him about this matter for maybe two minutes. I don't feel scared or worried or anything. He is part of the soul of the team, he represents well what we want."
HEAD TO HEAD: Some good news for Villa fans - their club has never lost at home to Watford in the top division, their seven games yielding five wins and two draws. Villa's sole home defeat in this fixture came in the old Second Division in December 1969.
In addition the Hornets failed to score in any of the previous four Premier League meetings between the clubs, losing three games and drawing the other.
Now for the bad news - Villa could equal the club record of 13 consecutive winless matches, set from March to September 2012. They could also equal the club record of eight consecutive home matches without a league win.
No Premier League team has ever avoided relegation having accumulated five points or fewer after 13 games of a season. If Villa lose to Watford, they will equal the Premier League record for lowest points tally after 14 matches of a season.
The Villans have only earned 72 points from 76 league games at Villa Park since December 2011 - they have lost half of those matches.
In addition Remi Garde's side are the division's lowest scorers this season, with 10 goals, have only scored twice in the last six matches, and have only registered 37 goal attempts on target, the lowest tally in the division.
Now onto Watford - where they stand now, they have lost successive league games for the first time in a year. They suffered four defeats in a row last November, so maybe it's a good time for Villa to potentially claim something today.
Villa will need to be especially switched on and incisive in the second half - twelve of the 14 league goals that Watford have conceded this season have come after the break, amounting to a league-high tally of 86 percent.
PREDICTION: Despite all of Villa's frailties this season, I fancy them to turn a corner this afternoon against a Watford side who have gone ever so slightly off the boil following a bright start to the season - I predict a 2-0 win for Garde's side.
Both teams come out at a wet and gloomy Villa Park - kick off is imminent.
Build-up video: The two teams enter the field. #AVFC #AVLWAT https://t.co/E7iZloGq7t
— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) November 28, 2015
KICKOFF! Watford, in their all-black away kit, get proceedings underway at Villa Park.
Already Villa look tense and find themselves penned up near their own corner flag. Watford looking to press the hosts high up the pitch.
CHANCE! First effort of the game falls to Watford as captain Deeney fires a first-time effort over the bar after reaching Ighalo's lay-off.
Watford are playing the ball forward high at every opportunity to test Richards, but the ex-Manchester City man is proving steady early on.
Gil, looking lively on the right, wins a free-kick after being fouled by Ake - the Spaniard takes but his inswinger is punched away by Gomes before Hutton is flagged offside.
A well-worked move from Watford results in Paredes delivering a low cross that just evades Ighalo. Deeney recovers possession and sends the ball to Nyom, but it eventually gets picked up by Guzan.
CHANCE! Good stop by Gomes, who gets down low to parry away Ayew's low strike after incisive neat work from Richards. Cathcart then clears the danger.
Villa coming into the game now, playing the ball into more ambitious angles. Hutton wins a corner, Gil whips the ball in, Sinclair gets there and Cathcart has to clear from the six-yard box.
Gil again crosses, but Gomes punches clear under the nose of Clark. Promising forays forward from Garde's guard.
GOAL! VILLA 0-1 WATFORD (ODION IGHALO)
You have to feel for Villa - all the good work they've put in so far has come to nothing as they find themselves behind against Watford! That came about with Ighalo forcing Guzan into a point-blank save, and when the ball came back out to Watson, his effort was deflected into the path of Ighalo again, who duly prodded home.
Completely against the run of play, and Villa players are even claiming it was offside, but to no avail - Flores's charges are in the lead.
More offensive play from Watford as they get to the byline and look for a second, but Paredes's cross is cleared by Richards.
CHANCE! Oh dear oh dear oh dear, that was as gilt-edged as they come! A Villa corner comes out to Veretout, who fires it back into the danger area and into the path of Ayew, six yards out with the whole goal to aim at, and he shanks the ball wide. A whole stadium cringes in unison.
Villa win two corners in quick succession. Watson heads behind from the first, then Ighalo's tackle comes off Gil last for a goal kick.
CHANCE! Watford should have a second there as Sanchez loses the ball 20 yards from goal and Watson plays in Capoue, but Guzan comes out quickly to save from point-blank range.
Sanchez gives the ball away again, and boos are ringing round Villa Park now following his second error in quick succession. The hosts manage to clear, however, as Ighalo and Deeney weren't able to take advantage.
CHANCE! Gueye decides to have a go from around 25 yards out, and it must have been inches away from nestling into the bottom corner. Lucky escape for Villa.
CHANCE! Ayew cuts inside from the left and hits a stinging drive which Gomes parries into the path of Sinclair, whose rebounded header goes straight into Gomes's hands again.
CHANCE! Yet more action from what is turning out to be a frantic, lively game, and Villa aren't doing too badly at all. Sinclair cuts inside and unleashes a powerful effort towards the top corner, but Gomes does well to tip the ball wide.
CHANCE! Villa should be on the scoresheet by now. Hutton wins a corner on the right which Veretout takes, Ayew cheekily flicks it across goal, but it's just a bit too heavy for Clark, who fails to turn it in at the back post.
GOAL! VILLA 1-1 WATFORD (MICAH RICHARDS)
Villa get their just reward for all the pressure they've been piling onto their opponents. Hutton piles forward with the ball and is brought down by Watson, 30 yards from goal, and from the ensuing free kick, the unmarked Richards nods the ball past Gomes and into the net. Villa Park erupts.
Richardson plays Sinclair in on the left, who then crosses for Ayew at the far post, but the ball just drifts away from him and goes out for a goal kick.
BOOKING: In the midst of all the action, Watson was shown a yellow card for his foul on Hutton. Meanwhile, one minute of added time is to take place here at Villa Park.
HALF TIME: ASTON VILLA 1-1 WATFORD
It's all square at the break as Odion Ighalo's eighth goal of the season is cancelled out by Micah Richards's header for a half-time score of 1-1 between Villa and Watford.
It's been a very entertaining game, as both sides weighed in with plenty of chances. Villa, it has to be said, were the better side, and they have done well to rally round after they fell behind against the run of play, plugging away until getting their just rewards shortly before the break.
Villa have had 68 percent possession, struck 10 shots, five of which on target, and won seven corners, in contrast to Watford's 32 percent possession, six shots, three of which on target, and two corners.
The Hornets will be disputing Richards's equaliser, however, as he appeared to be marginally offside. However, the visitors' opener was also supposedly offside, according to the Villa players.
Garde will no doubt be telling his charges to keep up the good work, stay focused and be more incisive in the final third, because Watford have got a track record of conceding goals in the second half.
Villa will need to tighten up at the back though if they are to get a result - Watford are dangerous on the counter, while Sanchez has already made a few mistakes, and Ighalo does not need to be asked twice to make his opponents pay.
KICKOFF: We're back underway here at Villa Park. No changes for either side.
The Hornets are straight on the attack in a bid to reestablish their lead as Capoue's effort loops over the bar for a corner, but Sanchez heads clear from the set piece. A lot of eyes will be on the Colombian during the second half.
Watford have mustered a number corners already in this half but haven't been able to fashion a clear chance from those. Villa somewhat subdued but calm.
Veretout attempts to play a ball into the path of Hutton, but Ake intercepts. It is cleared only so far as Richards, who launches forward and gets the ball over to Richardson, but the full-back cannot evade the challenge of Nyom.
CLOSE! Richardson chips a somewhat routine ball into the box and Capoue ducks for Gomes to collect, but the goalkeeper spills it in the area. It almost falls to Gil, but Britos reacts sharply to hoof it clear.
An hour played and Hutton gets in behind to cross into a dangerous position. Gomes deals with it but takes a blow to the head in the process and is forced to get treatment.
It does not look good for Gomes, he is in a neck brace and receiving oxygen inside the six-yard box. Substitute goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis is getting ready to come on for his first Premier League appearance.
It appears that, as Gomes spilled Hutton's delivery, his head collided with the shin of his teammate Cathcart. Looks like two substitutions will be taking place as Adama Traore is primed to come on for Villa in addition to Arlauskis.
There will be plenty of injury time here at Villa Park, that's for sure. It has been six minutes and counting since Gomes went to ground. He is being lifted onto a stretcher and will be coming off any minute.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Three changes in one fell swoop as Arlauskis comes on for Gomes and Paredes is swapped for Ikechi Anya, while Traore replaces Gil for the hosts.
GOAL! ASTON VILLA 1-2 WATFORD (ALAN HUTTON OWN GOAL)
If one moment could sum up Villa's season so far, it would be this unfortunate and meek own goal. Ighalo looks to get on the end of Capoue's through ball from 12 yards out, and Hutton sticks out a leg to clear, but only manages to prod the ball into the bottom corner of his own net. Watford back into the lead.
CHANCE! Villa nearly get back on level terms again as Gueye rises to meet Veretout's corner, but Watson challenges and just manages to divert the header wide of the target.
BOOKING: Watford's Capoue is booked for bringing down Traore just inside the Watford half. The ensuing free kick is directed towards Richards, but Nyom beats him to it.
A bit of a lull now as the pace of the game drops. Watford are keeping possession nicely in a bid to get as many minutes ticking by as they can, while Aston Villa remain patient and on the lookout for an opening.
Ayew makes a darting run into the box and tumbles down. The Villa fans shout for a penalty but not the players - play carries on.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Adlene Guedioura replaces Amen Abdi for Watford, while Rudy Gestede replaces Idrissa Gana for Villa.
Traore crosses from the right and Arlauskis drops it, but sub Gestede cannot turn and shoot with the goalkeeper stranded.
GOAL! ASTON VILLA 1-3 WATFORD (TROY DEENEY)
And at the other end, the Hornets captain puts his side two goals to the good and seemingly en route to three points. Ighalo's deflected effort loops up to Deeney, who gets the better of Clark and nods the ball into the bottom corner for his fourth goal in five league games.
GOAL! ASTON VILLA 2-3 WATFORD (JORDAN AYEW)
Game on! Ayew controls, turns and curls a ferocious shot from the edge of the box and into the bottom corner to give Villa some hope!
TEN minutes of injury time here at Villa Park.
CHANCES! Ighalo forces a save out of Guzan from the left-hand side as he drifted into the area, before the American stopper denies Guedioura.
BOOKINGS: In the midst of all this action, I need to mention that Deeney and Clark were both booked. The former for his celebration and the latter two minutes later for a clumsy tackle.
BOOKING: A yellow card now for Ayew, who goes into the book after a tussle with Capoue. The Watford man is already on a yellow but the ref lets it go.
A slip by Sanchez - one of at least three errors that he's made this afternoon - allows Deeney to charge through on goal, but his shot is deflected wide for a corner.
BOOKING: Another player goes in the book as Ake sees yellow for clashing with Sanchez.
CLOSE! Deeney breaks forward and has all the time in the world to bear down on Guzan to slot home, but he opts to play in Capoue and the latter's shot goes out for a corner.
FULL TIME: ASTON VILLA 2-3 WATFORD
Well, that was a truly exhilarating game, full of thrills and spills, controversy, drama, chances, late goals and loads and loads of injury time. Watford manage to come off best in this afternoon's game at Villa Park as they scrape a 3-2 win over Aston Villa.
Odion Ighalo opened the scoring for the visitors just after the quarter-hour mark, but Remi Garde's charges went on to dominate proceedings on the pitch before Micah Richards got his side back on level terms by the break.
Quique Sanchez Flores's team suffered another setback when Heurelho Gomes was subbed off with a head injury in place of Premier League debutant Giedrius Arlauskis, but the visitors retook the lead through Alan Hutton's unfortunate own goal.
Watford captain and Birmingham City fan Troy Deeney appeared to have capped off his side's win with a header five minutes from time, but Jordan Ayew's sweet curling strike in the 89th minute set up a nervy finale, complete with 10 minutes of injury time.
Villa are in deep, deep trouble now as the defeat puts them seven points from safety at the foot of the Premier League table, while Watford edge up to 11th, just three points behind sixth place and with a real chance to make an impact in the top half of the table.
That is all we have time for here at Villa Park but stay put with Sports Mole as we bring you match reports, reactions and plenty more action from all the day's big games. Thank you for following me and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Written by
Giuseppe Labellarte
Giuseppe Labellarte
