Ahead of Aston Villa’s trip to Portsmouth Villa boss Martin O’Neill believes his side are still in with a chance of finishing fourth and qualifying for next season’s Champions League (Villa are 8/13 to beat Portsmouth at Fratton Park).
With just two wins in their last six fixtures O’Neill’s side have fallen behind in the race for fourth spot, with Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur looking the most likely to qualify for next season’s Champions League. However, Manchester City’s loss to Manchester United has given O’Neill a glimmer of hope and the Villa boss inists his side can still take the final Champions league spot – although he accepts it will not be easy.
He said: “People here at Villa have talked about fourth spot for a long time.
“Manchester City have spent in the region of £200million and for £200million there is a fair chance you are going to get some really decent players and that is exactly what they have done.
“Harry Redknapp summed it up five or six weeks ago when he was asked about Tottenham Hotspur.
“He said that they could finish fourth or finish seventh and that was before Everton came into the picture.
“So these teams are vying for the same things as Villa and no-one has said it would be easy.
“In fact it has been exceptionally difficult. But it has been worth the trip.”
Villa stand a great chance of picking up all three points at Fratton Park on Sunday as they have a basically fully-fit squad going into the game against already relegated Portsmouth. O’Neill’s only concern is Stephen Warnock who faces a late fitness test but the likes of James Milner, Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor are all available. Warnock has proved a crucial member of the Villa defence but Richard Dunne has perhaps been the key man for Villa and they could keep a total shut out against Pompey at Fratton Park (Villa 11/10 to keep a clean sheet).
By Contrast Pompey are struggling with injuries and Hassan Yebda (knee), Kevin Prince Boateng (ankle), Nadir Belhadj (thigh), Papa Bouba Diop (knee) and Tommy Smith (broken nose) all look set to miss out on Sunday.
However, a very much patchwork Portsmouth side managed to secure an unlikely 0-0 draw at Wigan’s DW Stadium in midweek and boss Avram Grant remains keen to see his side continue to put in performances despite the fact their fate has already been sealed.
A win for Villa would be massive in their hunt for Champions League football, indeed a top six finish would guarantee them a place in the Europa League and with Everton in fine form a European spot is still not assured for Villa. With Pompey’s injuries Villa should come out on top on Sunday, but the Champions League may elude them for another year.
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