Joleon Lescott is set for a memorable home debut for Aston Villa. Barring a late injury or a surprising decision from manager Tim Sherwood, the central defender will face his former club, West Brom, at Villa Park on Saturday.
It amounts to a breathless beginning to his Aston Villa career. First Leicester, and that amazing five-goal roller coaster that ended in a loss, then what's certain to be a feisty Midlands derby against the club he represented in 2014-15, and finally -- last but not least -- the League Cup tie with rivals Birmingham next Tuesday.
The Midlands derby is not for the faint-hearted; the intensity levels will be way beyond anything many of the new members of the Villa squad have experienced before. Lescott is in a minority. As a former player of Everton, Manchester City and West Brom, he's played in derbies on Merseyside, in Manchester and, of course, in the Midlands too. Last season, he lined up in all three of the Baggies games against Villa, playing every single minute.
He was on the losing side on both occasions at Villa Park, in the Premier League and FA Cup, and will of course be desperate to halt that run on Saturday. Not just because important points are at stake as well as local pride but also because he'll be determined to remind his former club that he can still play a bit. The official line from Albion, after selling Lescott to Villa, was that it was a decision taken to reduce the average age of the defenders in the squad.
Fair enough: alongside Gareth McAuley, who turns 36 in December, and 32-year-old Jonas Olsson, the 33-year-old did complete a vintage defensive trio at the Hawthorns and the incoming defenders West Brom manager Tony Pulis recruited over the summer were significantly younger. Johnny Evans is 27, James Chester 26. Whether either will be as effective for the Baggies as Lescott was, only time will tell. There's no doubt that he was consistently very good last season.
At Leicester last Sunday, Lescott had a pretty solid debut. It's strange to say that considering how the afternoon but before the sky fell in on Villa -- as the team conceded three goals in the final 20 minutes -- the centre-back was generally in control. What we saw from Lescott was sound positioning, decision-making and that ability to spot a hint of danger and snuff it out.
The match was barely 40 seconds old when he moved across to cover the space behind left-back Jordan Amavi and quietly nudged Shinji Okazaki (and the ball) out of play. A minute later he blocked an Okazaki shot with his face and hardly flinched.
Several times in that opening hour at the King Power Stadium, he was in the right place at the right time to clear a cross or make a crucial interception. His mistake came in the build-up to Leicester's first goal when he left his position to go chasing the ball in the right-back area. He failed to take charge as Leandro Bacuna's presence confused the situation and put himself on the back foot.
It was an uncharacteristic slip and a reminder of what Lescott's role at Villa is. He was brought in to organise the back four and to provide a steadying and calming influence -- not just to the rest of the side but also centre-back partner Micah Richards, who is more "blood and thunder" in style. Lescott forgot that for a second and his judgment was punished. His experience can be of huge benefit but his age means that he cannot allow the opposition to get in behind him; he won't recover the ground.
Still, it was a promising start, nevertheless. Yet as Sherwood observes the beginnings of a strong new central defensive partnership he might be unhappy at his options in another couple of areas. During the widespread transfer activity this summer there were two positions he wasn't able to nail: right-back and goalkeeper. And there are signs that these could become problems.
Bacuna as a right-back is an experiment that looks to be coming to an end. The Dutchman is not a natural defender and though he's had some decent games in that position, he remains vulnerable in that role. When Leicester turned up the heat on Sunday he panicked, lunging into tackles which missed and conceding possession. He's useful as fall-back choice if needs must, as he's fine when the ball is ahead of him and is good going forward, but he's not a regular, starting Premier League right-back.
However, Sherwood's current options at the position are limited. He is clearly not entirely convinced by Alan Hutton, but at least the Scot has a decade of experience in that position and is relatively reliable. Spaniard Jose Angel Crespo has also played at right-back but has been injured since pre-season -- though he's close to a return -- and Tiago Ilori, who might also be in contention for the role is not yet considered ready for the first team squad. But the problems don't just lie at that position.
Goalkeeper Brad Guzan has not had a great start to the season and the suspicion is that he's just keeping the gloves warm until a replacement arrives -- maybe in January, maybe next summer. Perhaps the American knows that too, and it's playing on his mind.
He lost the confidence of his manager last season and already he's been involved in conceding two goals -- both winners -- that he was partially to blame for. Rolling the ball out to a tightly-marked Amavi in the closing minutes at Crystal Palace was a questionable decision, though the error was ultimately the Frenchman's as he lost possession.
But Guzan's failure to prevent Nathan Dyer's winner for Leicester was disappointing. The keeper had to be decisive and bold then but instead Dyer, at 5-foot-5, got there first and the image of Guzan pushing his gloves out as the winger headed the ball is pretty damning.
The difficulty for goalkeepers, and there has to be a degree of sympathy here, is that a small misjudgment is often costly. A performance level drops slightly and it's suddenly noticeable. Guzan looks just a little less sure of himself this season and that is a worry.
For Sherwood, there is now no Shay Given to turn to if he feels he needs to make a change and bringing in Mark Bunn is too much of a gamble. Guzan stays in, for now at least.
The Villa manager will wait for fitness checks on Carles Gil and Adama Traore before naming his side, and possibly Idrissa Gueye, too. Gil was superb against Leicester and must start, if fit, while Gueye's physical strength was definitely missed -- particular in the last quarter of the game. Traore's explosive pace gives Villa an extra attacking dimension.
This is a match Villa cannot afford to lose. Since the opening day victory at Bournemouth, the club has taken just a single point from four league games, the worst run of any side in the division other than Newcastle -- who have also taken a point in that time. Sherwood understands the importance of the occasion, and so does Lescott.