Don't mess around with the starting XI

Last game didn't just show us a team that gave us their all, but also had some skills, and that against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge!
I think Collison and Noble put on admirable performances and good enough against Chelsea should be good enough against Villa.

I'm ever so pleased that all the reports from the reserve game have said that Lopez had a brilliant game. It's understandable that one hopes that the next player will be the Messiah, and I'm sure Lopez will get opportunities to shine for the first XI but I think it's a little bit too much to hope that a good run out in the reserves equals a starting position today. Actually I hope that Zola sticks with the same midfield that started the game last week and connected quite well I think.

This season we've seen a lot of changes in the team. Without having looked, I doubt that we have started with the same team two times in a row and many of our players have been asked to play in several positions.

One of the things that is typical of many successful teams is consistency, the ability to start the same players many games in a row. To act as a team it surely helps to know what the people around you are doing, and also what the players around you expects of you.

So don't throw in Lopez just yet, give Behrami, Noble, Parker and Collison another game together, they can only gain from experience.