Aston Villa: Player grades from final pre-season tuneup vs Watford
By Josh Tonti
Aston Villa completed their final pre-season friendly versus Watford on Saturday. The Claret and Blue held the Hornets to a 0-0 draw at Villa Park in a tribute match to the late Graham Taylor.
Aston Villa jotted out a nearly full-strength first eleven against Premier League-side Watford. In place of the injured Sam Johnstone and Mark Bunn, Jed Steer took the reigns in goal.
Aston Villa XI: Johnstone; Hutton, Chester, Terry (C), Taylor; Whelan, Lansbury; Elmohamady, Grealish, Green; Agbonlahor.
In return, Watford called an equally near-full strength first eleven:
Watford XI: Gomes; Cathcart, Kabasele, Kaboul, Mason; Cleverley, Doucoure, Chalobah; Amrabat, Sinclair, Pereyra.
Austrian international Sebastian Prodl took the place on the 7th minute as Kabasele picked up an injury. Not to be outdone, Aston Villa dealt with an early injury of their own as Jack Grealish was replaced. Leandro Bacuna, fresh off a disappointing Gold Cup with Curaçao, took the place of Grealish. He walked off on his own it what looked like a hip/rib bruise.
Aston Villa took it to Watford early with several fizzling crosses on the fast break. Elmohamady in particular excelled on the right flank. Gabby has several chances with his quick, blistering movement. His finishing let him down as he had a 1-on-1 situation saved straight at Heurelho Gomes.
6.5. Played well in place of the injured Sam Johnstone. Steer has a lot to prove this season to Steve Bruce after an achilles tear. Very well could play next week against Hull City in the Championship opener.. GK. Aston Villa. JED STEER
6.0. Paired well with Ahmed Elmohamady on the right flank. Hutton got turned around a few times by Watford, but defended astutely. Hutton vs. James Bree is the biggest question mark heading into next week.. RB. Aston Villa. ALAN HUTTON
7.0. Great friendly for the rock, James Chester. Paired well with John Terry at center back. The Wales international is ready for Hull.. RCB. Aston Villa. JAMES CHESTER
JOHN TERRY. 6.5. Very quiet evening for the captain; which, is a sign of a good outing for a center-half.. LCB. Aston Villa
LB. Aston Villa. NEIL TAYLOR. 5.5. Got turned around quite a few times by the Watford wingers. Would have been booked in the first-half had it been a league match.
6.5. Astute defense, great passing range. Glenn Whelan makes for an excellent addition to the Aston Villa squad. Mile Jedinak will miss the first 2-3 matches as he’s still recovering from offseason groin surgery.. CDM. Aston Villa. GLENN WHELAN
6.5. Very active, very strong in winning possession back. Wish Lansbury was a bit more lethal in the final third, though. Took a bad penalty that was saved by Gomes.. CM. Aston Villa. HENRI LANSBURY
RW. Aston Villa. AHMED ELMOHAMADY. 7.5. Elmohamady was very threatening at his right wing position. Offered a ton of pace and width to the Villa attack. Likely to start next week against Hull City.
5.5. Jack came off injured around the 25-minte mark, which affects his rating. Looks precautionary, but the fight between he, Conor Hourihane, Andre Green, and others for a spot remains fierce.. CAM. Aston Villa. JACK GREALISH
ANDRE GREEN. 6.0. Showed off his blistering pace on the left wing, but not a whole in the final third. Green sent in some decent crosses to an empty Agbonlahor up top.. LW. Aston Villa
6.0. Lots of good (speed, GREAT off-the-ball movement), mixed with lots of bad (finishing). One would think Scott Hogan starts over Gabby, but stranger things have happened.. ST. Aston Villa. GABBY AGBONLAHOR
Substitute rankings…too long to list.
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