Aston Villa v Blackpool: Goal-shy hosts eye boost

Paul Lambert will be hoping misfiring Aston Villa can rediscover their touch in front of goal against Blackpool in the FA Cup.

Lambert s men head into the third-round clash with their scoring record under increasing scrutiny given they have managed a meagre 11 in 20 Premier League outings.

But the visit of a Blackpool team who sit bottom of the Championship having shipped 41 in 24 league games could well provide the perfect remedy for Villa.

Lambert may choose to recall Joe Cole to his starting XI after the former England man came back from a hamstring injury as an 83rd-minute substitute during Thursday s goalless draw with Crystal Palace.

Nathan Baker and Ashley Westwood (both knee) remain sidelined along with Libor Kozak (leg), while Fabian Delph serves the second game of a four-match ban.

Villa were dumped out in the third round last season by eventual semi-finalists Sheffield United, marking the second year running that Lambert s side had been knocked out by lower-league opposition.

With a League Cup reverse to third-tier Leyton Orient in August already under their belts, the pressure is on the top-flight side to avoid another upset.

And Villa will come up against a striker determined to find the net against his former club in the shape of Nathan Delfouneso.

The 23-year-old came through the ranks at Villa Park, only to make a permanent move to Blackpool in the close-season.

Now he is hoping to show Villa, for whom he scored in a 3-2 victory over his current club in 2010, what they are missing.

Funnily enough, I scored for Villa and we won last time the sides met at Villa Park, so it would be good to score in a Blackpool shirt there and for us to win through to the next round, he told The Blackpool Gazette.

It s a game I m really looking forward to. I haven t been back there since I left. For some reason I had a feeling we d get Villa, and as soon as the draw was made I rang my mum and dad.

I was at Villa for a very long time and this is the only other club I ve joined on a permanent basis. It will be great to see a lot of old faces. I can t wait.

Hopefully I can play and do a good job, I ve never faced Villa before and it will be brilliant.

Birmingham is my home town, so I ll have a fair few family and friends in the stands. I really hope I can do well.

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