Wrexham v Villa Preview

Well the road to Wembley starts here! It is definitely a potential banana skin, but this is our best chance for a trophy and we need to get through this.

Vital Quotes

The managers have been very complimentary of each other, mostly as they used to work together.

Brian Carey said about his old boss: 'I bumped into him when I'd just taken the job and he told me to give it a go and give it my best shot. He was very encouraging. He was a great guy to play for and he's a great bloke. The fact that he's been that successful doesn't surprise me because he always got the best out of his players. He's a very clever man and it doesn't surprise me that he's gone from strength to strength.'

Carrying on the love-in, O'Neill said, 'I know their manager Brian Carey very well from my days at Leicester.

'He's done splendidly according to the report I had from the young man who came down from Wales on Friday to tell us they're very pleased with him indeed. They nearly went out of the League last season and I think that's why they're so pleased with the way Brian's doing now.'

Wrexham Team News:

Silvio Spann is unavailable as he is awaiting international clearance before he can play. However, Steve Evans and Mark Jones - both recently called up for the Wales squad to face Germany and Slovakia - are likely to start, after both coming on as subs on Saturday.

Wrexham Player To Watch:

With all due respect to the opposition my knowledge of Wrexham players is limited. However, front-man Eifion Williams has been passed fit after a calf injury and could well pose a goal threat if given the right service.

Aston Villa Team News:

MO'N has not announced the team and, although we are not expecting wholesale changes, it is likely that a couple of the fringe players will be given a start. The most likely is Gary Cahill, as Martin Laursen is likely to be given the night off. I'd also expect Shaun Maloney, Marlon Harewood and Luke Moore to be involved. Isaiah Osborne and Stephen O'Halloran may well also get a game. In fact, the latter is likely to start if Freddie Bouma has not recovered from the injury that forced him off against Fulham.

Villa Player To Watch:

Depends on the team, but Luke Moore is the most likely to break into the team for Chelsea, and will have a point to prove.

Match Stats & Facts

Wrexham have only won one of the previous nine meetings between the two clubs, Villa having won six of the other eight.

Interestingly, in two of the three years we have played against Wrexham in the League Cup (1961 and in 1977), we went on to win it. Let's hope that happens again!

Prediction

Well, this won't be easy but we all the importance of it, so I'm going to go for a 2-1 Villa win.

Upcoming Fixture

(H) Chelsea Sept 2 (Sunday 4pm)

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