Alan Brazil argues with co-host over Aston Villa v Cardiff – ‘I don’t care’
Alan Brazil and Ray Parlour were at loggerheads about comments made by Cardiff City manager Omer Riza ahead of the FA Cup clash against Aston Villa.
The Championship side are preparing for a trip to Villa Park on Friday (28 February) with both sides keen on securing a quarter-final place.
This comes just three days after falling to a 4-1 defeat away to Crystal Palace as the Villans continue their busy fixture schedule.
With that being said, Brazil has been left fuming by the Bluebirds’ head coach and his squad admission ahead of the clash in B6.
Brazil and Palour clash as Cardiff City set to rest players v Aston Villa
The West Midlands outfit will be hoping for a positive stint in the FA Cup after going five years without a trip to Wembley.
With the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham already out of the competition, it could be the perfect opportunity for Unai Emery to get his hands on some silverware.
The Spaniard’s task could be set to become easier in the fifth round after Cardiff manager Riza suggested he could rest key players for the trip to Villa Park.
This decision comes as the Welsh side sit 19th in the second-tier standings and look set to favour a relegation battle over cup success.
It is safe to say that this hasn’t gone down well with Brazil live on talkSPORT (28 February, 7:26am), who has been left baffled by this decision.
He said: “Can’t you put out a good side and still stay up in the Championship?”
By comparison, Parlour was far more understanding of the Bluebirds’ situation as he replied: “They’ve got a big run of games coming up and it’s getting to that crunch time.”
“Realistically they aren’t going to win it so the most important thing would be staying in the Championship and building on that next season.”
Regardless of this, Brazil wasn’t one for changing his mind as he said: “I don’t care.
“What if Villa make six or seven changes and Cardiff get beaten by a weakened side then still get relegated? They’ll be left wishing they had a go. I’m playing a strong side tonight if I’m Cardiff manager”
Aston Villa must take advantage of Cardiff frailties
There will be plenty of discontent among Cardiff supporters if Riza does opt to make a raft of changes for the trip across the border.
This could prove to be the perfect storm for the Villans to secure a place in the quarter-final and move one step closer to a first cup final since 2020.
With that being said, Emery and his side will have to be better than they were against Palace, even without a whole host of injury concerns.
| Aston Villa injury list |
| Donyell Malen |
| Tyrone Mings |
| Emi Martinez |
| Amadou Onana |
| Boubacar Kamara |
| Pau Torres |
| Matty Cash |
Regardless of this sizable injury list, Villa should have enough quality with the likes of Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Morgan Rogers to get past Championship opposition.
It will certainly be interesting to see how the clash plays out but the B6 faithful will be anticipating a win no matter what side they or their opposition puts out.