Report: Ten-man Palace slip to narrow defeat at Villa

Story so far:

• Vieira makes two changes, with Eze and Zaha returning to the XI.
• Zaha rounds Martinez to score after five minutes, but VAR intervenes for a marginal offside.
• Andersen deflects into his own goal to give Villa the lead.
• Watkins misses the target when one on one with Guaita.
• HT: Aston Villa 1-0 Palace
• Doucouré is shown a second yellow card and Palace are down to 10 men.
• Palace push for an equaliser but to no avail.
• FT: Aston Villa 1-0 Palace

In Zaha and Eze, Palace were boosted by the return of a dynamic attacking duo capable of opening up even the best sides – and this was on full display in the first five minutes.

It was a repeat of Anfield in August: Eze brought it down superbly and slipped in Zaha. This time, the Ivorian rounded the ‘keeper and left Martinez sprawling, slotting home and giving Palace the lead. However, the Video Assistant Referee intervened and Zaha was shown to be marginally offside, curbing the Palace celebrations.

The Eagles cannot buy a piece of good fortune, and soon Villa were ahead. It came via Joachim Andersen, who slid across to block a cross reaching the open Ollie Watkins, but inadvertently diverted it past Vicente Guaita and into the back of the net.

Villa could have doubled their lead just before half-time, with Watkins inexplicably firing wide when through one on one and with the goal at his mercy.

Palace came out for the second-half with real intent and began searching for the equaliser, but the game was transformed by Cheick Doucouré’s dismissal on the hour-mark, after two yellow cards in quick succession.

With the man advantage, the hosts dominated possession and pushed for a second goal, testing Guaita from close-range and forcing a fine save.

Palace had chances at the other end, and Zaha fired narrowly wide after shaking off two challenges on the edge of the area. There was also the positive sight of James McArthur making his long-awaited return to action, playing the final 10 minutes.

Palace pushed forwards admirably as the seconds ticked down but to no avail, and it was Aston Villa who took home all three points.

Aston Villa: Martinez (GK), Cash, Konsa, Mings, Luiz, McGinn, Buendia, Watkins (Durán, 85), Moreno (Digne, 70), Ramsey (Bailey, 70), Kamara (Chambers, 60).

Subs not used: Olsen (GK), Sinisalo (GK), Traoré, Young,.

Palace: Guaita (GK), Clyne, Guéhi, Andersen, Mitchell, Doucouré, Lokonga (McArthur, 81), Ayew (Ahamada, 75), Eze (Hughes, 75), Olise (Mateta, 68), Zaha.

Subs not used: Whitworth (GK), Ward, Milivojevic, Edouard, Richards.

Refresh this page periodically for all the latest action from Villa Park.

Full-time

90+5 mins

There goes the final whistle, and ten-man Palace cannot find that last-minute equaliser.

They fought right to the end, but it’s Villa who claim all three points.

Stay tuned for reaction.

90+2 mins

The Eagles struggling to win the ball back and Villa continue to let the clock tick down.

90 mins

We will have FIVE additional minutes...

Can they?

89 mins

It bounces dangerously in the area but is cleared.

Palace regain possession though, and it's a corner.

Cleared.

88 mins

Now then – Zaha is brought down near the penalty area and Palace have a free-kick in a dangerous position.

Zaha talks himself into a yellow card with his protests, but he won’t care if this sneaks its way in…

Substitution

86 mins

Ollie Watkins is replaced by Jhon Durán.

85 mins

It’s a decent chance for Villa as Chambers drives forwards and finds almost gets it back in the penalty area. It falls for McGinn who steadies himself and strikes, but it’s blocked away.

Yellow card

82 mins

Ahamada the latest player to be booked.

Substitution

81 mins

It’s may not be in ideal circumstances, but how good is it to see this man in a Palace shirt again?

On comes James McArthur to replace Lokonga.

Yellow card

80 mins

Zaha spins away from Douglas Luiz and is cynically dragged back, earning the Brazilian a booking.

Substitutions

75 mins

Off come Ayew and Eze, on come Naouirou Ahamada and Will Hughes.

74 mins

Guaita keeps it at 1-0 with a strong save, but Villa are making the man advantage count.

Substitutions

70 mins

Off come Alex Moreno and Jacob Ramsey for Aston Villa. Leon Bailey and Lucas Digne replace them.

Yellow card

70 mins

Eze is the latest in the book, for a pull-back on Matty Cash.

69 mins

A reminder that Villa’s lead is still a slender one, as Zaha shakes off two challenges on the edge of the area and fires narrowly wide.

Substitution

68 mins

That’s Olise’s final involvement today, as Jean-Philippe Mateta replaces him.

Yellow card

66 mins

That is excellent from Olise, who rounds two players and wins a free-kick – Moreno goes into the book.

Red card

63 mins

It goes from bad to worse for Palace, as Cheick Doucouré is shown a second yellow card in a just three minutes and the Eagles are down to 10 men.

Substitution

60 mins

Kamara is in some pain and cannot continue. On comes Calum Chambers to replace him.

The free-kick is whipped in invitingly but no one is there to meet it, and it’s a goal-kick.

Yellow card

57 mins

Doucouré into the book for a late challenge on Kamara – no complaints there. The Villa man is down requiring treatment, but it is another free-kick in a promising position.

53 mins

Villa’s turn to win a free-kick, and now a chance to whip a dangerous ball into the Palace box. Luiz stands over it.

They try to work it short, but Olise reacts well and Palace can come away.

49 mins

...but it's overhit and straight out of play.

48 mins

Decent start for Palace, and they have won a free-kick on the right. A chance for Eze to deliver…

Kick-off

46 mins

Here we go again – COME ON, PALACE!

16:01

The players are back out, and there are no changes for either side.

Half-time

45+3 mins

A frustrating opening period for Palace who can’t seem to buy a bit of good fortune at the minute.

Zaha opened the scoring but was a whisker offside, before Andersen deflected it past Guaita for Villa’s opening goal.

Plenty of time left in this one, though – don’t go anywhere.

Chance

45 mins

Oh my goodness me.

No one – not least Ollie Watkins – can believe it is still 1-0.

The England man is played in behind and is one on one with Guaita, but inconceivably pulls his shot wide. Massive let off for Palace.

We will have TWO minutes of additional time.

44 mins

It’s a dangerous ball in and almost falls for Watkins, but Guéhi reacts well and shepherds it into Guaita’s hands.

43 mins

Danger for Palace before the break, as Ayew fouls Ollie Watkins by the touchline.

Decent set-piece opportunity, this.

42 mins

Ramsey rounds Clyne on halfway and looks to be away, but the Palace right-back shows excellent acceleration to catch up and make the challenge.

39 mins

Excellent persistence from Zaha, who shakes off one tackle and wins the corner.

It’s cleared, but Palace press high again and force an error level with the penalty area. The home crowd is sounding nervous – can Palace find that killer pass?

36 mins

It's worked short from the set-piece but Olise overhits the delivery straight out of play.

34 mins

Palace are pushing forwards and working it nicely in the Villa half – Michael Olise’s range of passing is growing by the week.

Ayew wins it back high upfield and drives into the penalty area. He looks for Zaha but his cross is forced behind for a corner.

GOAL

Aston Villa 1-0 Palace (Andersen og)

27 mins

Villa lead, and it’s an unfortunate one for Palace.

The hosts’ attack down the right and there is space for McGinn to slide a ball across the penalty area looking for Ollie Watkins. Andersen has to intervene and slides to make the block, but gets himself in a tangle and watches despairingly as it wrong-foots Guaita and nestles in the bottom corner.

25 mins

Just Zaha doing Zaha things.

Palace are under pressure and struggling to clear, so he picks the ball up on the edge of the area, rounds two players and wins the free-kick on halfway.

19 mins

Villa have settled into possession here, with Martinez exchanging passes with his defenders. Palace happy to wait patiently, however, as the hosts have yet to threaten in the right half.

15 mins

Wonderful football from Palace.

Olise sprays a 60-yard pass out to Mitchell on the opposite flank, and Palace work it around the edge of the area before Ayew’s cross is blocked behind.

The corner comes to nothing.

11 mins

Palace look for Zaha again, but again the offside flag is raised.

Villa work it well at the other end and Moreno has space to cross, but Ayew is back defending excellently to snuff out the danger.

8 mins

Villa come forward through Cash, who tries to race onto a through ball into the area but is met by the onrushing Guaita.

VAR - NO GOAL

6 mins

It could not be tighter. Zaha is offside by a toenail, and Palace are denied.

Contentious one.

GOAL!

Aston Villa 0-1 Palace (Zaha)

5 mins

ZAHAAAAAAAA!

How good is it to have him back?

Zaha races in behind to meet Olise’s inch-perfect through ball, rounds Martinez with ease and slots home.

But hang on – there is a VAR check for offside…

3 mins

Villa have an early free-kick on the edge of the area, and it’s only half cleared to Buendia 12-yards out. He swipes at the volley and it’s blocked behind for a corner.

The set-piece routine is an inventive one, but it leads to nothing.

Kick-off

1 min

We're underway at Villa Park - COME ON, PALACE!

19:58

Here they come, Palace in their white away strip and Villa in traditional claret and blue.

19:57

The players are in the tunnel and we’re almost ready to get underway – not long now…

14:50

What difference could these three make today? Kick-off is just 10 minutes away...

14:40

Palace defender Joachim Andersen has discussed today’s opponents Aston Villa before kick-off…

“I expect a difficult game against a good team,” he said. “They have had mixed results but you can see their players, the way they play under the new manager is positive, so I expect a tough game.

“It was a really good performance [against Aston Villa] at home. We need to try to do that again today. It’s a different game with the new manager, a totally new confidence, but hopefully we can do the same today.

“It is small margins in football and in results. If you win the next two it looks quite good, so I think we need to stay positive and be positive.

“We are difficult to beat. We don’t concede a lot, but we don’t score a lot. We are working on that every week and hopefully we can go and score goals today.”

14:30

Patrick Vieira has been chatting to the media before kick-off…

“Wilfried [Zaha] is an important player for us, there is no doubt about that,” he said. “He had a really good week, and there was no reason I couldn’t start him today. I am glad to see him back and hopefully he can help us score some goals.

“We [have] had some tough games. We managed to create a couple of chances – not enough to score goals, but we created some really good ones that we didn’t take. It’s about finding the right balance between not conceding and scoring these goals.

“We know which kind of team we are going to face. We know how well organised they are, we know how difficult it is for us to create chances. We have to be up for it, we have to move the ball quickly and stretch their back four.”

14:20

Jordan Ayew feels that if Palace keep performing to the same standard of recent weeks, with the addition of a little bit of luck, results will soon start to follow.

Ayew and Palace have held in-form opposition in the shape of Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford and Liverpool to draws – and arguably ought to have won the latter two.

With the foundations of solidity present, therefore, Ayew feels his side simply have to keep doing what they have been doing.

The Palace No. 9 said of the 0-0 draw against Liverpool: “[There were] positives. We were a bit unlucky because we could have scored. We had opportunities. It’s still Liverpool, even though they are not at their best.

“We have picked up some kind of momentum. Obviously, it was a difficult game. We did really well. We fought. We respected the gameplan. The gameplan worked very well – what was missing was just a goal.

“Obviously at the moment, with the fixtures that we have, it’s a bit tough, but we’re going through it, we’re doing well, we’re pushing hard, and we don’t need to panic, because we’re in a good place.

“We just need to keep working hard and to keep pushing, and we just need that little bit of luck. We need to fight for it, and we’ll keep on doing what we’re doing. It will come.”

Looking ahead to Saturday, Ayew continued: “We’ve been playing really well in the last three games. Brentford… we should have won that game, but were unlucky – it’s part of the game.

“Villa is a tough place to go – a big club with a big fanbase – but we know our qualities, we trust ourselves and we know we can go there and put in a performance and we’ll see.”

Regarding the remained of the campaign, Ayew feels his side want: “To finish as high as possible. Obviously, to start winning games, and to finish as high as possible – and after [that], we’ll see.

“[For me], it’s just to keep on pushing, keep on working hard for the team, keep on doing what I’ve been doing – working hard, and my time will come – and put in good performances. The rest will follow.”

14:10

You’ve seen the teams, now check out our in-depth preview before kick-off…

Team news

14:00

Wilfried Zaha starts for Crystal Palace upon his return from injury as Patrick Vieira makes two changes to his side to take on Aston Villa.

Zaha replaces Jeff Schlupp in an attacking lineup, with Ebere Eze also coming into the side in place of Jean-Philippe Mateta. Michael Olise and Jordan Ayew complete the attack.

In midfield, Sambi Lokonga and Cheick Doucouré continue their partnership, as do Joachim Andersen and Marc Guéhi at the back, flanked by Nathaniel Clyne and Tyrick Mitchell. Vicente Guaita starts once again in goal.

Mateta is available off the bench alongside Odsonne Edouard as Palace’s attacking reinforcements, with Will Hughes, Naouirou Ahamada, James McArthur and Luka Milivojevic also among the replacements.

Aston Villa: Martinez (GK), Cash, Konsa, Mings, Luiz, McGinn, Buendia, Watkins, Moreno, Ramsey, Kamara.

Subs: Olsen (GK), Sinisalo (GK), Traoré, Chambers, Young, Durán, Digne, Bailey.

Palace: Guaita (GK), Clyne, Guéhi, Andersen, Mitchell, Doucouré, Lokonga, Ayew, Eze, Olise, Zaha.

Subs: Whitworth (GK), Ward, Milivojevic, Mateta, McArthur, Hughes, Edouard, Richards, Ahamada.

13:50

Ten minutes until team news – who do you want to see start today?

From the manager…

13:40

Patrick Vieira is delighted to have a full squad once more for the trip to Aston Villa – admitting that his selection headache is a welcome one.

The Palace manager confirmed earlier in his pre-match press conference that Wilfried Zaha would be involved at Villa Park following his recovery from an injury sustained against Newcastle United in January.

Reflecting on his team’s form without their No. 11, Vieira said: “It’s always about how you look at it. We only lost once, but we didn’t win any games, so outside of those numbers, it’s about the performances of the team in and out of possession.

“I think players grow and take responsibility as well. Looking at Michael Olise, the way he’s been playing recently, he’s shown more maturity in his game, and as a manager, what I want is to have all the best players on the field and all the best players available to play.

“Of course, not having Wilfried was a miss for us, but on the other side I had some players who took responsibility, and I want the other players to take the same kind of responsibility even when Wilfried is here.

“Yes, he’s an important player for us, but it’s not just about him – it’s about how we can perform as a team, and of course if we perform well, Wilfried with his quality will score those goals, so I count on him as much as I count on all the players around him.

“I think at every club you have players who are quite important. If you’re talking about Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne is important to the way they want to play. Wilfried is important for us as a player.

“He has experience, he can score goals, he is a leader of the group, but at the same time you need those players around [him] with the quality that we have to perform at the level we know that they can do, and they need to do it week after week. I expect more from some players in the squad to perform at a better level.

“It’s good to have everybody back from injuries, and of course it makes it really tough for me to choose the squad and the starting eleven.

“As a football club we have four good centre-backs, and when you look at Tonks [James Tomkins] or Chris [Richards], every time that they played, they did really well for the team, and this is what I want as a manager: to have those kinds of options. That will raise the competitiveness in training and that will be the best for the team.”

Check out the manager’s full pre-match thoughts by clicking HERE.

13:30

Over 100 miles separate Selhurst Park and Villa Park as the crow flies – and yet links between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, historical kit colours aside, abound in football.

The two sides have met on 49 post-War occasions, with 21 of those fixtures coming in the Premier League action: Palace winning eight times, and Villa seven.

Before kick-off, take a look at seven memorable players – all of whom have made recent senior appearances for both clubs…

13:20

Speaking of fine Palace goals, there were plenty throughout February – check out the very best and vote for your Goal of the Month HERE.

Past meetings

13:10

Wilfried Zaha was at the double as Palace put Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa to the sword at Selhurst Park in August, completing the comeback after Ollie Watkins’ opening goal just five minutes in. Jean-Philippe Mateta dutifully added a third late on and the Eagles could not be caught.

Patrick Vieira’s men last visited Villa Park in May, 2022, where Watkins was their kryptonite once again. He netted the opener in controversial circumstances, grappling with Marc Guéhi in the penalty area, before Jeff Schlupp equalised with just eight minutes remaining to earn Palace a deserved point.

Welcome to Villa Park

13:00

It’s been the scene of some of football’s finest hours: European Cup triumph; legendary FA Cup semi-finals; Dwight Gayle’s late winner in 2013/14; and so on…

We’re back again in 2023 for a fixture that is rarely short of incident, as Palace take on a confident Aston Villa side under Unai Emery looking for a win that would take them within two points of the top-half.

We’ve got all the build-up, action and reaction for you right here, so stay tuned…