ASTON VILLA v BOLTON (Saturday, 15.00 GMT)

Wasting the opportunity to move into the top four by beating West Ham in midweek has left Martin O'Neill's ASTON VILLA players to prove defeat against Gianfranco Zola 's team was more of a blip than a damning indictment of their chances of earning a Champions League berth this season.

One consistent thread runs through Villa's start to the campaign - their inability to defeat teams in the bottom half of the table. Wigan, Blackburn Rovers and now West Ham have already beaten them and that failing will seriously hamper their prospects unless it is rectified swiftly.

More galling for O'Neill, Villa seem to have discovered the happy knack of taking points off well-established members of the Big Four.

That fact is not lost on striker John Carew, who will be given the added incentive of improving on his solitary goal this season against former Villa defenders Gary Cahill and Zat Knight.
 
At least Villa are back in front of their own supporters after four successive away games and Carew said: "We should have at least got a point from the game West Ham. To concede a goal so late was a huge disappointment.

"Now we are at home again and these are the games we have to win if we want to reach our objective this season. We have to show that we can do better."
 
O'Neill will also be hoping the exceptional goal scored by Ashley Young will be the catalyst to re-ignite the England international's disappointing season and justify his manager's continued support after he lost his place in Fabio Capello's squad.
 
Young admits the defeat at West Ham took some of the sheen off his individual effort, but saysd: "We want to move on and win in front of our supporters again and get back on track."
 
Strategy: For the first time this season, O'Neill has to operate without Stilian Petrov, his captain and the player he trusts the most at Villa Park. The Bulgarian international is suspended for collecting his fifth booking of the season against West Ham.

It is likely to give Nigel Reo-Coker his first start since his training ground altercation with his manager and he will have the responsibility of commanding the central areas. An equally key area will be how Carew fares against Knight, one of the few players taller than him in the Premier League.

Villa need the Norwegian to dominate against a man who has a point to prove, following his £4m sale from Villa Park in the summer. The return of Carlos Cuellar from suspension will give Villa's defence a more familiar and solid appearance.

Injury update: James Milner faces a late fitness test on the calf injury that prevented him from taking his place in the side at West Ham. Emile Heskey suffered a back spasm in the same game and is doubtful.

Craig Gardner is still suffering the effects of a groin injury, while long term injury victims Stewart Downing and Curtis Davies are not expected back in action for a month.

Despite winning just once in their last five matches, BOLTON manager Gary Megson is not the depressed individual you would expect after such a dire recent record.

Last week's  4-0 home hammering from Chelsea came just three days after they also conceded four to the same side in the Carling Cup.

That came on the back of a victory over Everton but a loss to Manchester United and more droppped home points against Tottenham Hotspur ensured that October was a month to forget.

However, Megson refuses to become too downbeat over the results and believes his side's performances have been better than recent scorelines suggest.

"We are not a million miles away and you can't say defensively that we are poor,' he maintains. ''The performance against Chelsea was very good until we went down to 10 men and even then it was good in terms of work-rate and honesty.

"It was the same at Old Trafford and against Tottenham, clubs who have spent £200m when we have spent about £6m. You have to look at the big picture."

Strategy: Stop conceding goals and try to collect more points on the road. The eight conceded in two games against Chelsea will not have done Bolton's confidence much good, but a strong defensive showing at Aston Villa would change all that.

Defender Cahill is going back to face his former club and will want to prove a point to them while Megson is hoping Kevin Davies can improve this season's tally of just three strikes because Bolton have netted just six away goals in the Premier League this season.

Injury update: Apart from Sean Davis and Joey O'Brien who are struggling with long-term injuries, Bolton are relatively lucky at the moment as they have no other major injury worries.

Fran Houseman writes on behalf of Fanhouse UK