Aston Villa vs. Hereford Match Preview: McLeish Should Shake Things Up a Bit

Tonight, Aston Villa face League Two side Hereford United in the second round of the Carling Cup as Alex McLeish is expected to continue his good start to the season.

He is, however, expected to shuffle his pack after naming two identical sides for Villa's opening two Premier League fixtures.

There will be several players hoping to play their ways into contention for the weekend derby game against Wolves, so McLeish will be at ease in the knowledge that there will be no motivational issues with his players.

There are no fresh injury concerns, apart from a few niggles picked up in the win against Blackburn Rovers.

Agbonlahor, Heskey, and Young are expected to be rested as McLeish will give youth it's chance amongst a mixture of professional heads.

I would expect Ciaran Clark, Eric Lichaj, Brad Guzan, Jean Makoun, Marc Albrighton, and Stephen Ireland to be well in contention for a start and eager to show what they can do. I also believe star striker Darren Bent will be rested as he is an unnecessary injury risk.

Hereford United are going to be a tough proposition, though, as they are clear underdogs with nothing to lose. They will come to Villa Park and be eager to upset the apple cart, and for me this is what cup ties are all about.

Ultimately, though, the Premier League side have avoided what I believe is the primary potential obstacle in cup ties: inferior pitch conditions at a lower-league ground.

The likes of Petrov, Makoun, and Ireland, if selected, will be able to spray the ball around with ease and should come out on top in the end.

I would love to see Gary Gardner alongside Makoun; however, there are too many first-team professionals that need to show what they can do.

Predicted Lineup:

GK: Guzan
RB: Lichaj. CB: Clark, Dunne. LB: Warnock
CM: Makoun, Petrov
RW: Albrighton. AM: Ireland. LW: Bannan
ST: Delfouneso

Predicted Result: Aston Villa 2, Hereford United 0 (Bannan, Delfouneso)

 What are your thoughts?