EFL chief ‘accidentally spies on Aston Villa’
Aston Villa will have one eye over their shoulder ahead of their trip to face Preston.
The Villans were drawn to face the Championship side in the FA Cup quarter-final after reaching the last eight for the first time in 10 years.
A 2-0 win against Cardiff City courtesy of a Marco Asensio brace was enough to progress to the next round where a clash against another second tier outfit awaits.
Looking ahead to the clash at Deepdale on 30 March, Unai Emery and Co. will now be keeping their cards close to their chest.
Preston director watched Aston Villa defeat v Crystal Palace
As it stands, the B6 club are on a positive run of form after picking up three wins on the bounce, in three different competitions.
Most recently, an away win against Brentford handed the travelling faithful some confidence of what is to come in the remaining Premier League games of the campaign.
The match before this winning spree came at Selhurst Park where Crystal Palace were able to secure an easy 4-1 win.
This gave a less than favourable account of Villa, especially without Emi Martinez, but will have been positive viewing for any upcoming opponents.
Preston director Peter Ridsdale was in attendance in Croydon, and Alan Nixon has reported (9 March) that the chief has “spied” on the Villans “by accident”.
The Lilywhites’ chief was in London on EFL business and was in attendance as Villa fell to a heavy defeat against the Eagles.
This was before the two sides were drawn against each other in the FA Cup but there is every chance he can hand his manager, Paul Heckingbottom, some hints ahead of the clash.
Emery won’t care about Preston spying
There is no real reason for the Spaniard to have a negative feeling towards PNE even if they are “spying” on the Villans.
The former Villarreal manager has never been one for altering his tactics too far against anybody and still manages to secure positive results.
This has been shown by recent results where Axel Disasi has come in to sure up the defence in a typically defensive right back in an Emery system.
| FA Cup | ||
| Round 3 | Aston Villa – 2 | West Ham – 1 |
| Round 4 | Aston Villa – 2 | Tottenham – 1 |
| Round 5 | Aston Villa – 2 | Cardiff – 0 |
Regardless of approach or setup against Preston, Villa should be taking the win at Deepdale and a place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
There will be nowhere to hide against the Lilywhites regardless of any insider information from Ridsdale and his trips to watch the West Midlanders.