Walsall vs Aston Villa

The Saddlers suffered defeat at the hands of Premier League side Aston Villa at a sun-kissed Poundland Bescot Stadium in what was Michael Flynn's first home ...

As the game edged towards the final whistle, Ronan Maher went close twice for the Saddlers but both of his efforts were brilliantly saved by Sinisalo in the Villa goal. Bertrand Traore went close twice in a matter of minutes for the visitors but both times was denied by some fine keeping from Evans on his first outing in front of the Saddlers faithful. Steven Gerrard’s side took the lead after just seven minutes as the ball fell for Bailey inside the penalty area and he thrashed the ball into the roof of Owen Evans’ net.

Villa chief Steven Gerrard and Saddlers boss Michael Flynn both took the opportunity to look at plenty of players, with the visitors displaying a clinical edge ...

James-Taylor also saw an effort fly over the bar. As the half drew to a close, a few young fans posed for photos with England and Roma star Tammy Abraham, who was watching younger brother Timmy from the stands. A floated cross from the right flank was flicked on by El Ghazi, and the unmarked Bailey cleverly adjusted his feet to smash the ball home on the half-volley. The Premier League side opened the scoring in a matter of minutes as Leon Bailey rifled the ball into the net from close range, and they continued to impress in attack. Villa would introduce a completely fresh outfield line-up for the second period and two of their big hitters made it a straightforward success, with Ollie Watkins slotting home and Douglas Luiz netting straight from a corner. Villa chief Steven Gerrard and Saddlers boss Michael Flynn both took the opportunity to look at plenty of players, with the visitors displaying a clinical edge at a sun-soaked Bescot.

All the trialists featuring for Walsall today against Aston Villa have been revealed by Aston Villa's social media feed. They are as follows Timmy Abraham…

Aneurin Livermore (midfielder) Ben Richards-Everton (central defender) Timmy Abraham (striker)

Marvelous Nakamba featured in Aston Villa's first pre-season friendly match on Saturday afternoon. The Zimbabwean midfielder was in the first XI that started ...

It was his usual industrious work from the Zimbabwean this afternoon. Commenting on the performance of the Warriors star in the first half, Birmingham Mail‘s Aston Villa correspondent Ashley Preece wrote: “Delighted the Villa faithful with an uncharacteristic bit of show-boating, flicking the ball past two Walsall players. Marvelous Nakamba featured in Aston Villa’s first pre-season friendly match on Saturday afternoon.