Aston Villa plan to field youngsters for Liverpool FA Cup clash
- Aston Villa players are in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19
- Villa are however determined to play the FA Cup third round tie against Liverpool scheduled for Friday, January 8
- Manager Dean Smith and his coaching staff will likely not be involved in the game
- The Birmingham-based club is set to field their under 23 players for the tie
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Aston Villa are preparing to field a team of young players for the FA Cup third round tie against Liverpool slated for Friday, January 8.
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The game is facing uncertainty after it emerged the Villa camp was hit by a COVID-19 outbreak.
According to a statement from Aston Villa's social media, manager Dean Smith, his coaching staff and a significant number of first team players will not be involved in the match after the forced closure of the club’s Bodymoor Heath training headquarters.
Despite the crisis, Aston Villa is in discussions with the FA to oversee the fulfilment of the game on Friday although the final verdict on whether the game will be played is highly dependent on the latest round of testing which will be done on the young Aston Villa players.
In the absence of Dean Smith, Aston Villa’s under 23 coach Mark Delaney is set to take charge of the game against Liverpool.
The match as initially plunged into doubt after "a large number of first-team players and staff" tested positive after the latest round of testing done on Monday, January 4.
Affected players went into isolation and the club’s training grounds was closed, and the string of positive results prompted another round of mass testing on Thursday which again led to a number of confirmed positive tests.
Villa, who are determined to see out the game, have their hopes solely dependent on their youngsters testing negative.
The last time they faced Liverpool was in the Premier League where they emerged 7-2 winners in what is to date the outstanding fixture of the current Premier League campaign.
Because of the chaos in the Villa camp, it also remains to be seen whether they will play the Premier League game against Tottenham scheduled for Wednesday, January 13.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Jose Mourinho has warned the English FA Tottenham will refuse to play two midweek matches again as their postponed games maybe rescheduled, Mirror.
The Lily Whites had their London derby against Fulham was recently shifted forward and the upcoming game against Aston Villa next week could be postponed due to the pandemic.
The Special One played two Premier League games, a Carabao Cup tie and a Europa League match within the space of seven days at the start of the season.
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Akan Anwankwo Akan Anwankwo is a sports editor, a graduate of English Language and Literature Studies at the University of Lagos. He's passionate about what he does and finds fulfillment in informing readers.
Khadijah Thabit (Copyeditor) Khadijah Thabit is an editor with over 3 years of experience editing and managing contents such as articles, blogs, newsletters and social leads. She has a BA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Khadijah joined Legit.ng in September 2020 as a copyeditor and proofreader for the Human Interest, Current Affairs, Business, Sports and PR desks. As a grammar police, she develops her skills by reading novels and dictionaries. Email: khadeeejathabit@gmail.com
