Aston Villa (pre-season)

ROB NS
2021/22 DIGITAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME
HOW
WE’VE
MISSED
YOU
WELCOME BACK TO BS3
FOR PRE-SEASON FINALE
v ASTON VILLA
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY
ASHTON GATE | SAT JUL 31 | 1PM
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ROBINS IN
FOCUS
17
NATHAN
BAKER
AGE: 30
POSITION: Centre-back
JOINED: July 2017
DID YOU
KNOW?
Born in Worcester, Baker
worked his way through the
Aston Villa Academy and
initially joined the Robins
on loan during the 2015/16
campaign, City’s first time
back in the Championship
after the double-winning
2014/15 season. He would
rejoin the club permanently
in July 2017. To date he has
scored three goals for the
club, including the loan spell.
Baker went on to sign a new
contract with the Robins this
summer.
LOOK OUT FOR THE RED BUTTON
Click on the red button when it appears in this programme for additional video content from the Robins' YouTube channel

THE
GAFFER
NIGEL
PEARSON
4 | THE ROB NS Aston Villa

A
warm
welcome to each
of you joining us in the
stands as we round off
what has been a very good
pre-season schedule.
First of all, it’s great to have fans back here at
Ashton Gate and in just a week’s time it will be a
momentous occasion for the first league game
against Blackpool.
A few of you joined us for
the trip to Plymouth Argyle
on Tuesday and to see
some of you at Home Park
was a good experience in
itself. You’ve all had to be
very patient over the last
17 months, but you are the
people who really matter,
you are the life and soul of
the game, so it is fantastic
that you are able to re-join
us.
Our pre-season has
been hard work but
that’s exactly how it
should be. The staff
have put the group through a lot on the
pitches, but there have been some excellent
results and I am pleased with how the players
have responded and embraced the challenge.
Indeed, the most important aspect of the shift in
atmosphere is driven by the players’ attitude to
work.
It’s been a huge effort from everyone but from
what I’ve seen, we’ve really improved the players’
robustness. They’ve also approached each of the
pre-season training games positively and I think
we’ll be in a good position this season, but of
course time will tell.
I was delighted to re-sign Danny Simpson, Andreas
Weimann and Nathan Baker on new contracts
this summer. Alongside Andy King and Matty
James – both I know from my time at Leicester
City – as well as Rob Atkinson who I am sure can
prove himself at this new level, they can provide
us with a strong
foundation heading
into the new
campaign.
"
YOU’VE ALL HAD TO
BE VERY PATIENT
OVER THE LAST 17
MONTHS, BUT YOU
ARE THE PEOPLE
Rebuilding those
foundations and
bringing in the
right people as
well as the right
footballers has
been a key aim
over the summer,
and I am happy
with the squad
before us today.
We have one final
friendly fixture
against Aston Villa
and it’s another opportunity to put into practice
what we have worked on and get more minutes
into the players. The collective spirit is good, and
I think we can all look forward to seeing what we
can produce against a Premier League side.
Sing loud, enjoy the match and thank you for your
continued support.
Cheers,
Nige
"
WHO REALLY
MATTER, YOU ARE
THE LIFE AND SOUL
OF THE GAME.
THE ROB NS Aston Villa | 5

ASTON VILLA
FORMED
1874
GROUND
VILLA PARK
NICKNAME
VILLA
CLUB FACTS
We celebrate the return of fans to Ashton
Gate against Aston Villa this afternoon.
They become the first visitors to play to
a crowd in BS3 since March 2020, with
Dean Smith’s side gearing up for another
campaign in the Premier League. Let’s
take a closer look at today’s opponents…
MANAGER
DEAN
SMITH
HONOURS
1 7 7 5
European Cup winners: 1982
UEFA Super Cup winners: 1982
Football League Champions:
1893/94, 1895/96, 1896/97,
1898/99, 1899/1900, 1909/10,
1980/81
Second Division title winners:
1937/38, 1959/60
Third Division title winners: 1971/72
FA Cup winners: 1887, 1895, 1897,
1905, 1913, 1920, 1957
League Cup winners: 1961, 1975,
1977, 1994, 1996
FA Charity Shield: 1981
Intertoto Cup 2001
Villa's Bath-born England
defender Tyrone Mings
8 | THE ROB NS Aston Villa

V
We have played each other 45
times since 1900. That first fixture
was a 5-1 win for City in the FA
Cup though it would take 18
attempts before the Robins would
beat Villa again, a 4-2 away win in
May 1968. The last match between
the two sides was last season's
home 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat.
HEAD TO HEAD
45
MATCHES PLAYED
Best victory: 5-1, December 1900
Worst defeat: 0-5,
November 1959 & January 2018
2020/21 IN NUMBERS
W
10
D
12
CITY v VILLA
22 %
WIN RATE
L
23
57
GOALS
SCORED
73
GOALS
CONCEDED
LEAGUE
POSITION
R5
19 TH
R3
62
GOALS
SCORED
52
GOALS
CONCEDED
POSITION
R3
11 TH
R4
YELLOW
54 3
CARDS
RED
CARDS
YELLOW
53 5
CARDS
RED
CARDS
11
TOP SCORER
NAKHI WELLS
6
MOST ASSISTS
ANTOINE
SEMENYO
16
TOP SCORER
OLLIE WATKINS
6
MOST ASSISTS
JACK
GREALISH
POSSESSION
47.3 %
PASSING PERCENTAGE
6.95
BEST AVERAGE
RATING (OPTA)
TOMAS KALAS
7.56
BEST AVERAGE
RATING (OPTA)
JACK GREALISH
POSSESSION
49.1 %
PASSING PERCENTAGE
70.5 %
78.6 %
TACKLE SUCCESS
TACKLE SUCCESS
LEAGUE ONE CHAMPIONSHIP
61.2 %
AVERAGE AERIAL
DUELS WON
24.4
62.2 %
AVERAGE AERIAL
DUELS WON
19.4
THE ROB NS Aston Villa | 9

ASTON VILLA
KEY PLAYER
EMILIANO
BUENDIA
The summer signing arrived at Villa Park
on a five-year contract for a reported
£33 million from Norwich City. The
24-year-old midfielder became a hit with
the Canaries fanbase with 24 goals from
121 appearances – last season alone he
registered 15 goals and 16 assists as he
helped Norwich regain promotion to the
Premier League. The Argentinian was
named Sky Bet Championship Player of
the Season.
10 | THE ROB NS Aston Villa

DID YOU
KNOW?
City legend and kitman Scott Murray left his home country
of Scotland when he signed for Aston Villa in 1994. He
made a handful of appearances for the club before joining
City in 1997. The rest, as they say, is history...
IT WOULD BE A
MID-TABLE FINISH
FOR ASTON
VILLA, AFTER AN
ELECTRIC START
TO THE 2020/21
SEASON.
They started with a four-game winning run after
beating Sheffield United 1-0 on the opening
day, which included a stunning 7-2 victory over
then-champions Liverpool. Ollie Watkins went on
to end the season as the club’s top goalscorer in
all competitions, with a hat-trick against Jürgen
Klopp’s side that day contributing to his tally of
16.
There was disappointment in the cups though,
with a Carabao Cup round three exit at the hands
of Stoke City, before they were knocked out of
the FA Cup at the first hurdle. As it would be,
Liverpool got their revenge that day returning to
Villa Park with a 4-1 win.
adds experience as he returns to the club 10
years after leaving for Manchester United.
And any write-up on Aston Villa wouldn’t be
complete without focusing on Jack Grealish.
The attacking midfielder played a starring role
for England at this summer’s Euros and he has
continued to be linked with a move away from
the club he has represented since the age of
six. Reports have linked him with a move to
Manchester City. Despite the transfer rumours
he is not expected to feature at Ashton Gate this
afternoon, allowing for further recovery time
following his international commitments.
Villa do have an extra week on City, with the
Premier League season starting on August 14th
when Smith’s men head to Vicarage Road for their
curtain raiser against Watford. Before that they
will complete their pre-season schedule against
Sevilla next Saturday.
Dean Smith struggled to see his team find form
in the second half of the season. After a losing
ratio of 46% in the new year, his side slipped from
three points off the top six to an 11th-placed
finish, despite wins against Tottenham and
Chelsea in their final two games.
This summer has seen 13 players depart
Villa Park including Ahmed Elmohamady,
Tom Heaton and Neil Taylor. However,
the highly rated midfielder Emiliano
Buendia completed his move from
Norwich City, while Ashley Young
4 Stick or twist? Villa's homegrown
England star Jack Grealish
THE ROB NS Aston Villa | 11

FROM THE
ARCHIVES
3
Abraham 59, Bryan 61, Tomlin 81
1
Grealish 5
Ashton Gate | August 27th 2016
Sky Bet Championship | Attendance: 21,099
A spectacular second-half turnaround saw Bristol City defeat
Aston Villa for the first time in 37 years at Ashton Gate.
The hosts trailed as early as the fifth minute to Jack Grealish’s
far-post volley, but struck twice in quick succession either side
of the hour mark through Tammy Abraham and Joe Bryan to turn
the game on its head. Lee Tomlin’s late free kick put the result
beyond doubt.
THE ROB NS Aston Villa | 13

PRE-SEASON
ROUND-UP
The players reported to the
Robins High Performance
Centre for the start of
pre-season which would be
all about fitness, technique
and tactics in preparation
for the upcoming campaign.
It’s been an intense,
gruelling and demanding
period but one which will
stand the squad in good
stead over the challenging
months to come.
BACK TO
WORK...
14 | THE ROB NS Aston Villa

Chris Martin leads the team out. Below: Callum O'Dowda goes close; Max
O'Leary in action. Right: Steve Lansdown and Marina Dolman cut the ribbon.
0
0
Wednesday July 14th
Robins High
Performance Centre
The Scottish giants proved to
be Nigel Pearson’s first chance
to test his men against different
opposition. The Hoops had plenty
of the ball but City were defensively
resilient and pushed their visitors
all the way with fresh legs later in
the game. City would hit the post
twice on a night where owner Steve
Lansdown and President Marina
Dolman officially opened the
state-of-the-art training complex.
THE ROB NS Aston Villa | 15

PRE-SEASON
ROUND-UP
TURNING
UP THE
HEAT
The group spent five days
at Loughborough University,
where they were put through
a series of gruelling training
sessions, pool recovery and
gym work.
The focus was on fitness,
tactics and team bonding as
the temperatures hit 30 o C
making it an unexpected
warm-weather training camp,
which will help the players
prepare for the challenges of
the season ahead.
16 | THE ROB NS Aston Villa

THE ROB NS Aston Villa | 17

PRE-SEASON
ROUND-UP
3
Weimann, Palmer, Martin
3
Chris Martin scores from the spot. Below: Ayman Benarous shields the ball;
Marlee Francois in the blue of Portsmouth; new signing Matty James.
Ahadme (2), Francois
Tuesday July 20th
Robins High
Performance Centre
Andreas Weimann, Kasey Palmer
and Chris Martin all hit the target
in an extended six-goal encounter.
They came from two goals behind
at the end of 45 minutes, before
Weimann’s low drive and Palmer’s
pick of the bunch drew the hosts
level. Martin was awarded a penalty,
of which he dispatched himself,
to put City ahead by the end of 90
minutes but an extra half an hour
was to be played as planned. City’s
young forward Marlee Francois was
allowed to play for Pompey in the
extra 30 minutes with the visitors
lacking in numbers, and in a turn of
events he ended up being the player
to poach the equaliser.
20 | THE ROB NS Aston Villa

3
Janneh, Conway, Wells
1
Bird
Saturday July 24th
Robins High
Performance Centre
From top: Goalscorer Tommy Conway battles for possession; Saikou Janneh
is congratulated on his goal by Nahki Wells; Wells adds City's second goal.
City fired their way to a 3-1 preseason
victory over MK Dons at
a wet Robins High Performance
Centre. Saikou Janneh did just
enough to put City ahead at the
break, while second-half goals from
Tommy Conway and Nahki Wells
added daylight to the score. Jay
Bird would grab a consolation for
the visitors in the last minute of the
match, but this was an encouraging
display from the home team as they
grabbed a first pre-season victory.
THE ROB NS Aston Villa | 21

PRE-SEASON
ROUND-UP
0
4
Wells (2), Bakinson, Nagy
Above: Joe Williams in action, Max O’Leary kept a clean sheet in Devon;
Taylor Moore in an aerial duel; Tyreeq Bakinson scores from the spot.
Tuesday July 27th
Cliff Hill Training Ground
A superb strike from Ádám Nagy
helped City to a 4-0 win over
Exeter City. Nahki Wells and Tyreeq
Bakinson showed calmness
from 12 yards as their first-half
penalties put City in control. City’s
dominance came to the fore as the
game progressed in the second
half and Nagy fired home from the
edge of the area. The Grecians
would struggle to cope with the
Robins’ energy levels who grabbed
a deserved fourth through Wells,
with Nigel Pearson’s players edging
closer to full match fitness.
22 | THE ROB NS Aston Villa

0
1
Weimann
Tuesday July 27th
Home Park
City fans returned to the stands to
watch their team in action, enjoying
a victory in the process thanks to
Andreas Weimann’s second-half
goal. He scored the only goal of
the game in a match where all of
the Robins' starting XI completed
the 90 minutes. Chris Martin saw
an earlier penalty saved, while Dan
Bentley produced a number of
saves to thwart the Pilgrims.
From top: Jay Dasilva gets in a tussle;
Andi Weimann slots home the only goal;
away fans celebrate the winner; Rob
Atkinson on the ball; young fans wave to
the camera.
THE ROB NS Aston Villa | 23

ACADEMY:
UNDER-23S
ROBINS
RETURN
City Under-23s
are preparing
for the
return of the
Professional Development
League South campaign.
The young Robins went on
to win their regional division
last term but lost out when
they were defeated 2-1
by Birmingham City in the
Professional Development
League semi-final.
They are now in the midst of a
five-game pre-season schedule,
which began with a 3-0 win over
Paulton Rovers.
The young Robins were two
goals to the good before halftime,
with captain Joe Low
heading in the opener against
the Southern League Division
One South team at Winterfield
Road.
James Taylor's cross found
Ayman Benarous who buried
the ball low past former City
keeper Aaron Sainsbury on this
occasion. Paulton had their
moments of dominance after
the break but their troubles
proved in vain as the Robins
struck for a third time through
Seb Palmer-Houlden.
Next was a return to familiar
ground when they faced
Weston-super-Mare at the
Optima Stadium. Marlee
Francois and Prince Henry were
on the scoresheet for the young
Robins in a 3-2 defeat.
UNDER-23
PRE-SEASON
SCHEDULE
Saturday, July 17th
Paulton Rovers (A) W 3-0
Saturday, July 24th
Weston-super-Mare (A) L 2-3
Friday, July 30th
Hungerford Town (A, 7.45pm) *
Tuesday, August 3rd
Yate Town (A, 7.45pm)
Tuesday, August 10th
Taunton Town (A, 7.45pm)
*Match played post-matchday
programme deadline
24 | THE ROB NS Aston Villa

T O DAY ’S
SQUADS
Saturday July 31st, 1pm kick-off | Ashton Gate | Pre-Season Friendly
BRISTOL CITY
ASTON VILLA
OPENING
WEEKEND
Friday, July 6th
Bournemouth v West Brom
Saturday, July 7th
Blackburn v Swansea
CITY v BLACKPOOL
Cardiff v Barnsley
Derby v Huddersfield
Luton v Peterboro
Preston v Hull
QPR v Millwall
Stoke v Reading
Sheff Utd v Birmingham
MANAGER
Nigel PEARSON
HOME
KIT
MANAGER
Dean SMITH
AWAY
KIT
TBC
Sunday, July 8th
Fulham v Middlesbrough
Coventry v N Forest
1 Dan BENTLEY
2 Danny SIMPSON
3 Jay DAS I LVA
4 Ádám NAGY
5 Rob ATKINSON
6 Matty JAMES
8 Joe WILLIAMS
9 Chris MARTIN
10 Andy KING
11 Callum O’DOWDA
13 Max O'LEARY
14 Andreas WEIMANN
15 Tyreeq BAKINSON
16 Cameron PRING
17 Nathan BAKER
18 Antoine SEMENYO
21 Nahki WELLS
22 Tomas KALAS
23 Taylor MOORE
26 Zak VYNER
37 Tommy CONWAY
42 Han-Noah MASSENGO
45 Kasey PALMER
2 Matty CASH
4 Ezri KONSA
5 Tyrone MINGS
6 Douglas LUIZ
7 John McGINN
9 Wesley MORAES
10 Jack GREALISH
11 Ollie WATKINS
12 Jed STEER
14 Conor HOURIHANE
15 Bertrand TRAORÉ
17 Mahmoud TRÉZÉGUET
18 Matt TARGET
19 Marvelous NAKAMBA
21 Anwar EL GHAZI
24 Frédéric GUILBERT
25 Morgan SANSON
26 Emiliano MARTINEZ
30 Kortney HAUSE
39 Keinan DAV I S
41 Jacob RAMSEY
Emiliano BUENDIA
Ashley YOUNG
LEAGUE
TABL E
P GD Pts
Barnsley 0 0 0
Birmingham 0 0 0
Blackburn 0 0 0
Blackpool 0 0 0
Bournemouth 0 0 0
CITY 0 0 0
Cardiff 0 0 0
Coventry 0 0 0
Derby 0 0 0
Fulham 0 0 0
Huddersfield 0 0 0
Hull 0 0 0
Luton 0 0 0
Middlesbro 0 0 0
Millwall 0 0 0
Forest 0 0 0
Peterboro 0 0 0
Preston 0 0 0
QPR 0 0 0
Reading 0 0 0
Sheff Utd 0 0 0
Stoke 0 0 0
Swansea 0 0 0
West Brom 0 0 0
MATCH OFFICIALS
NEXT UP
Match
Referee
Kevin FRIEND
Assistant
Referee
Oliver MACKEY
Assistant
Referee
Ruebyn RICARDO
Goalkeeper Defender Midfielder Forward
Fourth
Official
Jacob LAHANE
BLACKPOOL
Ashton Gate
Saturday, August 7th, 3pm
Sky Bet Championship