Winksy excited by Villa opener

Harry Winks will give full respect to Aston Villa but he’s hoping the first time we kick-off a new season at our new home will provide the catalyst for a strong start to 2019/20.

Villa are back in the Premier League after winning the Championship play-off final against Derby at Wembley in May and return to N17 on Saturday 10 August (5.30pm). Relegated at the end of the 2015/16 season, we last locked horns in the FA Cup in January, 2017.

Midfielder ‘Winksy’ can’t wait for the big kick-off after the best season of his career so far. He made 41 appearances in 2018/19, 10 in the Champions League including returning from injury to start the final in Madrid. Those 41 appearances took him past the 100 mark for the Club already at the age of 23.

“It’s going to be an exciting game to kick-off the campaign against a newly-promoted side, especially with this being our first full season in the new stadium,” said the Academy graduate. “Villa are a big club and are going to want to kick-off their season positively after just being promoted back to the Premier League. We’ll be ready for that.

“We also have to respect the fact that this season a lot of teams are going to want to beat us, especially when they play at our new stadium. We will prepare well for every game as always and I’m fully confident can win any game at home.

“Hopefully we can get off to a good start and that can be the catalyst to a winning run which in the Premier League is so important because the early stages of the season can play a big part in determining where you finish at the end of the season.”

Jack Grealish is Villa’s talisman and captain and a player Harry knows well. “I’ve played with Jack for England and he is a good friend of mine. He’s a very good player and someone who can win a game on his own so we’ll have to be wary of that. As I said, we’ll give Villa full respect.”