A lot has been made about how big the week is for Aston Villa. A trip to newly promoted Ipswich Town, followed by the first Champions League match at Villa Park since 1983, finished with a visit from Manchester United.
Sounds congested right" Well no. This is what we all wanted. Villa wanted to join the big boy’s party again, meaning we needed to learn to juggle various games in a short period. We managed it in a lesser competition last year, now we have a completely new challenge.
Anyway, enough of that. Back to focus. Yesterday’s opponents were Ipswich Town and Portman Road. With so many in the Prediction League predicting big wins, I wasn’t so sure. My mind has been on Bayern Munich on Wednesday since the draw was made so I am sure the players have been the same. It’s a new challenge for Unai Emery. He will learn so much about this ground of players. The Basque manager may say we only focus on the next game in front of us but that’s easier said than done. And based on yesterday’s performance, you can’t help but think we failed on that front.
Report: Ipswich Town 2-2 Aston Villa
Villa were without John McGinn who picked up a hamstring injury in the 3-1 win over Wolves last weekend. Leon Bailey replaced the captain in the only change to the starting line-up. Ipswich handed starts to Kalvin Phillips, Jack Clarke and Chiedozie Ogbene.
Villa dominated early on without causing the home side any scares and it was the Tractor men wh...