Mark Hughes Keen for Stoke to Build Momentum Against Aston Villa

“Last yea, r we got a break at the end and we were able to take the game away from them with a penalty, but overall we have enjoyed going to Villa Park”. Roy asked me and said he would like to invite him there and introduce him to the boys and get a feel for St George’s Park.

“It’s not ideal – we want to be out there playing games – but at this time of the season it often gets a little fragmented. He won’t be alone, a few of the boys are doing exactly the same”.

But Sherwood warned the 20-year-old he must focus on his Villa form if he stands any chance of gatecrashing Hodgson’s squad for Euro 2016.

It was Sturridge himself who grabbed a brace to help his team to the three points, James Milner scoring the other to ensure that despite more goals from Gestede, the target man scoring twice, Villa left with nothing.

The casual way Liverpool strolled through to add a game-deciding third at Anfield last Saturday was the latest example, though Villa can also look back on errors against Palace, Leicester and Sunderland recently and identify careless mistakes and decisions which cost points. I think it’s too early to put us in a relegation battle.

“We will have to see how he is over the coming hours, because he hasn’t trained with the group yet this week”, Stoke manager Mark Hughes told the club’s website on Thursday.

Last season, this game was officially Sherwood’s first in charge and again Villa took the lead – through Scott Sinclair – only for Stoke to fire back and eventually win 2-1 thanks to Ron Vlaar’s calamitous error paved the way for the same player to concede an injury time penalty.

Although Shaqiri could yet feature for Stoke, Marc Wilson remains in doubt with a calf injury and Ryan Shawcross is not expected to return from back surgery until the match away to Swansea City on October 19.

My Old Man Said, or MOMS, a leading Aston Villa blog alongside our very own 7500 to Holte, has commended Southampton for their sensible ticket pricing. He’s already looking like the best header of the ball I’ve seen in a while, and his goal tally is starting to reflect that.