Aston Villa will play their final game at their Portugal training camp tomorrow against S.C Braga before flying back to England where the Villans will take on Football League sides, Swindon Town, Walsall, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Nottingham Forest before their opening Premier League fixture against Bournemouth on the 8th August.
Aston Villa manager, Tim Sherwood, has said he wants his players “fitter and stronger” than last season as he prepares for his first full season as a Premier League manager. In the first friendly in Portugal Villa lost 3-1 to Fulham, where Sherwood fielded two totally different elevens in the two halves. Libor Kozak scoring on his return was seen as a massive positive along with Niall Mason, an 18-year old signed from Southampton this summer.
Who’s Looking To Impress?
Tim Sherwood has said that Carles Gil will make the “perfect number 10” for Villa which is a dramatic turnaround from the end of last season where Sherwood labelled him as a player “with the icing on the cake” features that he did not necessarily require at the time. It is clear Gil has made a good impression over pre-season so he will be looking to continue his good form in the final friendly in Portugal.
Manager, Sherwood has took plenty of Villa’s star youth players out with the first-team to Portugal. Young striker, Andre Green along with midfielders Niall Mason, and Riccardo Calder will be looking to show what they can do in a Villa shirt to potentially get a chance next season in the Premier League.
Libor Kozak made a scoring return against Fulham in the first friendly and will be looking to impress further as he looks to prove he can lead Aston Villa’s line next season with or without Christian Benteke. Also, Aleksander Tonev who has become the new joke among the Villa faithful.
The Squad out in Portugal
Goalkeepers: Jed Steer, Mark Bunn, and Brad Watkins,
Defenders: Janoi Donacien, Ciaran Clark, Nathan Baker, Micah Richards, Phil Senderos, Leandro Bacuna, Kieran Richardson, Alan Hutton, and Aly Cissokho.
Midfielders: Niall Mason, Gary Gardner, Joe Cole, Carles Gil, Charles N’Zogbia, Riccardo Calder, Andre Green, Jack Grealish, Scott Sinclair, and Aleksander Tonev.
Strikers: Christian Benteke, Libor Kozak, Callum Robinson, and Gabriel Agbonlahor.
The Opposition
S.C Braga finished fourth in the Portuguese Liga and offer some real threats. One of the main goal threats, Eder has recently departed for Swansea City. Brazilian, and captain, Alan will lead the line along with Felipe Pardo who has found the net 17 times in 67 appearances for the Portuguese outfit.
