Aston Villa podcast: can Steven Gerrard’s side bounce back against Watford?

Aston Villa are looking to bounce back from their defeat to Newcastle United this weekend when Steven Gerrard’s men take on Premier League strugglers Watford on Saturday.

Gerrard’s side looked off the pace against a resurgent Newcastle side on Sunday (13 February) and lost 1-0 thanks to Kieran Trippier’s free-kick ten minutes before half-time.

It was lacklustre performance from Villa and Gerrard will be expecting a reaction from his players against Watford at Villa Park on Saturday (19 February).

Watford sit 19th in the table and are without a win in 11 league games.

Villa could finish the weekend in 10th place if they beat Roy Hodgson’s side, and Gerrard said he would make changes following the loss to the Magpies.

On this week’s West Midlands football podcast, our guests discuss how Villa can bounce back from defeat this weekend.

Gerrard to make changes

Following the defeat at St James’ Park, Gerrard told avfc.co.uk: “Since I came through the door here that’s the worst performance I have seen. All the positives that I’ve seen since arriving were missing and we need to improve individually and collectively.

“If we don’t improve, we could be dragged down this league very quickly. I take responsibility for the defeat but there’s a lot of work for all of us to do in training this week.

“However, there is enough in that dressing room to put it right against Watford. After a performance like that though, I believe there will be changes to the team. It would be reasonable to expect that.”

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