Ever since I stood on the Holte End, Villa Park as Ally McCoist scored a 20 yard screamer against Switzerland at Euro 96, Ive had a soft spot for the Villians. Theyre a big club with a large support, great history and a cracking stadium. Theyve got a new manager this year in Alex McLeish - who committed the ultimate betrayal by joining from city rivals Birmingham. This didnt go down too well with Villa supporters either as they greeted the news with demonstrations at the stadium. McLeish has three scores against his name, he managed Birmingham, he managed them to two relegations and hes perceived as a negative manager.

Theres no point arguing the first two as they are cold, hard facts and to be honest its quite hard to argue the third point when you consider how few goals his Brum team scored.

Villa are a different proposition though, and despite the loss of Young and Downing, the potential for goals is there. Whether McLeish maximises that potential remains to be seen.<!--more-->

He has brought Warnock back into the fold at left back after Houllier last year banished him to train with the kids. Warnock is well capable of assisting Villas attack and can realistically set up a few goals and possibly chip in with the odd one or two goals (he started his Liverpool career as a midfielder). Dunne and Collins the centre halfs will always offer a goal threat from set-pieces. New signing from Spurs, Alan Hutton finishes off the back four at right back.

Hutton hails from my part of the world, and as such, Ive kept a close eye on his career. Its fair to say that things didnt quite work out for him at Spurs. The manager that signed him (Ramos) got sacked, there were injury disruptions as well as fallings out with Harry Redknapp. None of this helped Hutton showcase the talents that he has shown previously, for instance, against the then world champions Italy in Glasgow. It was these kind of performances that had Ramos splashing out £9 million for him (its maybe worth noting that Arsenals new signing, attacking full-back Santos - a Brazilian international - cost £6 million).

McLeish was Huttons manager at Rangers and for Scotland and he knows better than anyone how to get the best out of him. My hope is that hell have Hutton bombing down that right-side whenever possible sending crosses over for Agbonlahor and Bent to put away.

Due to Huttons attacking nature, the Rangers fans dubbed him "the white Cafu" after the legendary Brazilian attacking full-back. The Celtic fans retorted with "aye, hes like Cafu but shite!". The truth probably lies somewhere in between.

McLeish has shown a few times this year that his teams arent just about defense. Hes not been shy to line up as an attacking 4-3-3 formation. Judging by early-season team line-ups - Petrov and Delph will start for Villa in the midfield. Petrov scored a peach of a goal a couple of weeks ago, which he is well capable of given the opportunity. Hes not likely to be given too many opportunities though as hes adjusted from being a box-to-box midfielder in his early career, to more of a sitting central midfielder. Delphs game isnt really about the goals either, or if it is, then hes hiding it quite well.

Bannan and Albrighton look like they might be getting rotated with Bannan just about getting the nod. This is good news for us, as Bannan took on penalty kick duties against QPR at the weekend. I did find this surprising as Agbonlahor was on the park at the time, in fact he was fouled for the penalty. He clearly doesnt lack confidence and also takes a good free kick.

NZogbia was signed pre-season but hasnt yet hit previous heights like last season when he scored five goals in the last six games which was pivotal in keeping Wigan in the Premier League. Some have suggested this is because hes been playing on the left for Villa rather than on the right as he often did for Wigan and where he was such a goal threat cutting in onto his favoured left foot. Stephen Ireland played at the weekend and most people would agree that its about time he found the goal scoring attributes that have been largely MIA for the last three years. If everyone is fit its unlikely hell get the opportunity though, not when the likes of the injured Jenas have still to come back in.

This leaves Bent, Agbonlahor and Heskey up front. McLeish has surprised me by playing all three on more than one occasion, including away from home. All three are currently, or have been, England internationals. My feeling is that he knows his card is marked by Villa supporters and after consecutive top six finishes under Martin ONeill (before last years disaster under Houiller), they will very quickly turn on him if they dont like what they see.

If he appears to field an attack-minded line-up it might buy him a bit of time if Villa hit a form slump.

Heskey can be an important player for Villa but in fantasy terms, he offers very little. Bent and Agbonlahor are both potentially 20 goals a season men and I hope that McLeish plays a system that enables this to happen.

Id like to see NZogbia played on the right with Hutton attacking on his outside and really stretching the opposition with Bannan attacking on the left and Jenas to come into the middle.

My line-up:
<p style="text-align: center">Given
<p style="text-align: center">Hutton    Dunne    Collins    Warnock
<p style="text-align: center">NZogbia    Petrov    Jenas    Bannan
<p style="text-align: center">Bent    Agbonlahor
<p style="text-align: left">Not a bad team at all and if McLeish gets them playing to their potential they should sit comfortably in the top ten and with the exception of Petrov &amp; Jenas all these players can be considered, depending on variables
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