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Villa on course for Wembley

Author: John Harris
Date: 20/01/2010
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Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers lock horns at Villa Park in the second leg of their Carling Cup semi-final, with the home side holding a one-goal advantage.

James Milner's goal at Ewood Park was enough to hand the Villans a useful cushion to take back to their home turf, with the England international tucking away a Stewart Downing cross midway through the first half.

Martin O'Neill's men will, therefore, be confident of finishing the job off and reaching Wembley, with midfielder Stiliyan Petrov desperate for a final appearance.

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He said: "We've a great chance on Wednesday. We're at home with a 1-0 lead but it's going to be a very tough game.

"If we win, I'll be really happy for the young lads because people say, when you get to a final, you get hungrier for more. I want them to make that trip to Wembley."

Petrov and his colleagues can also draw on the memory of a recent 3-1 FA Cup third round win over Rovers, which came just over a fortnight ago.

The only injury absentees for Villa are Wilfred Bouma (ankle) and Curtis Davies (shoulder), although Nigel Reo-Coker is a major doubt due to an ankle problem he sustained in training.

Rovers head to the Midlands boosted by a 2-0 Premier League win over Fulham at the weekend, their first victory in 13 games in all competitions.

The talk before that game was of boss Sam Allardyce's job being under threat, with the Rovers manager admitting that his players were beginning to feel the pressure.

He said: "The pressure is felt by us all. We're tense and nervous and we have to accept it because we brought it on ourselves.

"It's got to bring the best out of us and we can't let it put us off our game."

Striker Nikola Kalinic was twice denied by the woodwork in the first leg, but Allardyce has warned not to expect too much from the Croatian - who scored Rovers' only goal in their FA Cup reverse to Villa.

Meanwhile, El-Hadji Diouf returns to the squad after completing a three-match suspension, while David Dunn is set to return after being rested for the weekend action.

However, Allardyce has doubts surrounding three players, with Vince Grella and Lars Jacobsen (both thigh) and striker Jason Roberts (knee) all likely to miss out.

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