A platform to improve on

The Cherries will be content that they competed against Villa. It was not like the lesson that Liverpool gave them in the cup games last season and with every match against such top class opposition the Cherries should start to improve. Good teams find ways of getting a result and that was simply what Villa were able to do in the end last Saturday. Looking forward though, AFCB have to see what was right about their performance that they can draw strength from now.

Artur Boruc was playing well against Villa, but was not that
busy first half and only had three shots on target to face.

The form of Artur Boric was one factor that has not been covered in much detail, but he had a reasonable game mainly because Villa did not give him much work to do. When he was needed he exuded confidence and that was a great basis for the back four to operate on. He did make one fabulous save going back on himself to reach a Scott Sinclair shot early in the second half which was hit with real venom. On another day that could have been the save that earned the Cherries a point. I think he will come to AFCB's rescue though on many occasions this season and I decided not to score him that highly for a game where he made one save and only faced three shots on target, one of which he could have thrown his kit bag on and still had time to run to the corner flag and back before preventing Agbonlahor's shot from going in.

Where the team did find it harder to play like it has in recent seasons is with the wing backs. Defensively Daniels and Francis were pushed back and did not find as much space to try and hurt Villa. The one player who did seem to always be in space was Matt Ritchie but he was often looking isolated and while his first touch was more often than not exceptional, it is asking a lot of him to always beat a couple of players before getting a shot in on goal or a cross to Wilson and King. AFCB need more players arriving late in the box to somethimes open teams up when they can't get around the back, as well as shooting more from the edge of the area.

How strong is Tim's newly rebuilt Villa?

There have been a lot of changes at Aston Villa over the summer, not least the departures of former captain Fabien Delph, lead striker Christian Benteke, midfielder Tom Cleverly, Andreas Weimann and the experienced Shay Given. It's been difficult for Tim Sherwood and after the FA Cup Final and the poor end of the season that the club had he'll be desperate to prove that he is the man to bring stability and then success to Villa. New signings have been made that are thought to exceed an outlay of £45 million, but are Villa really a better side than the Cherries fast in the fourth round of the FA Cup last season?

Aston Villa will have a very different looking team to when they last met the Cherries.

Well, they certainly should be. While Delph's leadership and midfield gile have been lost it will be a race to try and integrate the new summer signings with much reliance on the foreign signings of Idrissa Gueye from Lille, along with Jordan Veretout from Nantes, Jose Angel Crespo from Cordoba and Jordan Amivi from Nice. If these players click in the Premier League Sherwood will be rewarded with vision and praise, but the signing that he has made that I believe will lift their team is midfielder Scott Sinclair who was long lost at Man City but may have found the perfect home at Villa Park. Sinclair signed in May having been on loan at Villa and he is in good form too having smashed a hat-trick in the Villa's last pre-season game at the City ground against Nottingham Forest.

Pre-season has been a little uneventful with Sherwood looking how best to integrate new signings into his side. Draws against Walsall (1-1), Wolves (2-2) and Nottingham Forest (3-3), and an early 3-1 defeat to Fulham, might not have given Villa the winning feeling but playing against Championship and League One sides in pre-season is perhaps a good grounding for the newly signed foreign players who'll have to come to terms with the pace of the English game fairly quickly. Sherwood has a squad that still has some recognisable names but it's not known how much playing time he'll give to the likes of Joe Cole, Philippe Senderos and Gabriel Agbonlahor. His jewels though are the flare players like Jack Grealish and Carles Gils, but he'll want more from them and the likes of Charles Nzogbia, Ashley Westwood, Carlos Sanchez and Ciaran Clark.

Sherwood has not added that many British-based players, but big things will be expected for former Blackburn striker Rudy Gestede. The Benin player is 26 and has signed for four years and he had been linked with Watford and Norwich before deciding on Villa. Mark Bunn has also signed from newly-promoted Norwich. Micah Richards will know all about the Premier League but he has been playing in Italy so it will be interesting to see how much he has improved since his Man City days. Perhaps there are enough funds to bring in Emmanuel Adebayor from Spurs as well? There was a time when Villa would bring in the top Premier League strikers such as Darren Bent, but perhaps sights have had to be set lower now.

Behind the scenes there is still talk of a takeover as Randy Lerner seeks an exit deal. This has been the unsettling influence that could still spell disaster if the club cannot sort out the direction it is going in. While the sales of Benteke and Delph have allowed the strengthening of the team, it is a test of Sherwood's eye as to how well he has bought. By bringing in Ray Wilkins to the coaching staff, Tim is getting help from a well respected pro. One thing's for sure, he could have hoped for a less charged first game against the newly-promoted Champions on the south coast.

Injury news for Villa for the game includes the attacking talent of Carles Gils and Jack Grealish who have not trained, Jores Okore has had a knee operation at the end of last season, but keeper Brad Guzan and Carlos Sanchez should be available, while defender Ciaran Clark signed a new five-year deal at the club this week.

If you still want to predict the score for this first game send them in on twitter to @peterbell19