Aston Villa

It's time to talk about Villa. A LOT.

Villa are supposed to be the seasoned top flight team, while today's opponents Watford were supposed to struggle as they returned to the top flight. Instead, it's the other way around.

Villa are bottom of the table with five points and no Premier League team has ever avoided relegation having accumulated that amount of points or fewer after 13 games of a season.

If Villa lose to Watford, they will equal the Premier League record for lowest points tally after 14 matches of a season.

We want to hear the strangest items you have taken to a match...

Abingdon Utd Ultras: Has to be 28 bog rolls at Flackwell Heath away last season.

Vicky Tanner: Spotted lady in home crowd with set of casserole dishes at Anfield when #cpfc, external beat #lfc, external again.

Get involved with the debate via Twitter #bbcfootball, external or text us 81111 (UK only and don't forget to include your name and where you're texting from).

Goalkeeper Joe Hart is Manchester City's latest casualty, having suffered a hamstring strain in midweek, which means former Ipswich and England goalkeeper Richard Wright is promoted to the substitutes' bench!

Wright has been very much living the dream these last few years...

There's a south Yorkshire derby in the day's early League One game, with two sides in poor form facing off. Barnsley (22nd in the table, lost nine of the last 10 games) host a Sheffield United side in 12th place and five points shy of the  top six.

In the play-off places there are some fine match-ups this afternoon as Walsall (fourth) play Bradford (sixth), and fifth-placed Wigan head to Southend - lurking in eighth spot.

Crewe, bottom of the table, are at home to an Oldham side who shipped five goals at home in midweek and are also in the drop zone.

Myles, that is rank. 

Keep those suggestions coming though! Some excellent ones. 

We want to hear the strangest items you have taken to/seen at a match...

Myles: FA Cup 3rd Round Man U v Portsmouth when Redknapp was in charge. Man in front had a head full of crawling lice. Still haunts me.

David Meacock:  Seen a bloke come dressed as a lizard/Silurian at an A-League game in Australia. He was then told to stop by stadium! 

Chris Howles: Saw a man swinging a live chicken round his head during a game here in Uganda.

Harry Partridge: Apparently someone had a beach ball at a Liverpool v Sunderland game a few years ago...

This is the beach ball you are referring to Harry. Suspect Pepe Reina still has nightmares about it.

Image source, Getty Images

Get involved with the debate via Twitter #bbcfootball, external or text us 81111 (UK only and don't forget to include your name and where you're texting from).

If you're just joining us this lunchtime a reminder that there is no Premier League early game today, with early kick-offs in the Championship, League One and the National League to keep us busy.

In the meantime expect plenty more build-up to our five 15:00 GMT kick-offs here.

They are:

Aston Villa v Watford

Bournemouth v Everton

Crystal Palace v Newcastle

Man City v Southampton

Sunderland v Stoke

BBC Radio 5 Live

Plenty of sport going on around the world today, and as ever 5 live is the place to stay abreast of it all. Starting now is live Premier League and Davis Cup build-up with Mark Pougatch.

You can listen using the tab at the top of this page or by clicking here.

Football Focus

Dion Dublin
Former Aston Villa striker on Football Focus

Image source, Reuters

"Sam Allardyce is old school, and he has demands of his players. Now he'll have found out who his strong players are, so they can do his job for him in the dressing room. 

"For me, Sunderland have to play Fletcher and Defoe up front for 25 or 30 games together, because they have goals in them."

Graeme Le Saux
Former England defender on Football Focus

"Sam Allardyce has won 1.29 points per game over his career.

"That is why he has never had a team relegated under him. He gives teams a solid backbone but also players look up to him. They believe he can lead you to success or out of trouble. He gives confidence to players. There are a lot of average players at Sunderland and he is able to motivate them as he has done in the past."

In association with the Danny Baker Show on Radio 5 live, we want to hear the strangest sporting items you have taken to a match, just like Daryn here....

Get involved with the debate via Twitter #bbcfootball, external or text us 81111 (UK only and don't forget to include your name and where you're texting from).

Football Focus

Former England left-back Graeme Le Saux on Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge, after manager Jurgen Klopp said the player must manage his pain to overcome his injury issues.

"He has a long history of injuries, he has played 12 games and missed 36, going back to last season. The manager is trying to build a team. If it was not down to Sturridge's talent he would not be considered at Liverpool. You have to trust the players are being honest and Sturridge must be so frustrated."

Dion Dublin
Former Aston Villa striker on Football Focus

Image source, AP

"Lukaku is a powerful lad. He needs to be more consistent, but when he's on song he's as good as any forward in the Premier League, of that there's no doubt."

"Everton can push into the top four - they have a great chance. But at the moment they are inconsistent, hot and cold too often."

Football Focus

Former England left-back Graeme Le Saux, who played under Claudio Ranieri at Chelsea: "My first impression at Chelsea was the positive energy be brought. He has so much enthusiasm and buzz in training, which was also very intense. That has become the blueprint for everything Leicester is doing. They play high intensity and positive football.

"As long as the run continues I think we will see this high energy, open football."

Leicester aren't just top of the league when it comes to playing football, their supporters are also best at predicting Premier League games. Yes, Foxes fans are pretty wily so far this season if our BBC Sport Predictor game is anything to go by. 

So if you want to knock Leicester off their perch or boost your own team's league position, just log in and predict this weekend's games. Bottom-of-the-pile Aston Villa could certainly do with a boost. 

Image source, BBC Sport

Dion Dublin
Former Leicester striker on Football Focus

"Jamie Vardy, first and foremost, works so very hard. From his first game for Leicester in the Premier League he has been outstanding, getting forward and wanting to hurt the opposition. 

"With every run he knows exactly where he wants to go. It's all about sheer hard work and movement - he is willing to work hard for his team and he gets results."

You can watch Football Focus live now on BBC One or at the top of this page.

Our debate today is the strangest items you have taken to/or seen at a match...

HM Hammer: My brother accidentally took a tuning fork to The City Ground in 1978! Took some explaining to Old Bill!

Emily Pulham: Man in a full, real, chainmail St. George knight outfit waving a sword around while my water bottle was confiscated.

Neil Armströng: A couple sharing a salad during half time at Arsenal.

Neil Lennon
Bolton boss Neil Lennon on BBC Radio 5 live

“If someone was asking me about another manager coming and taking my job, I wouldn’t answer the questions either so I do have sympathy for Manuel Pellegrini. It must be difficult for him, but I guess it’s part and parcel of being a manager at one of the biggest clubs in the world."  

Image source, PA

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini says he is not concerned by reports linking Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola with his job. 

Guardiola pulled out of a pre-match news conference on Friday amid fresh newspaper claims he will move to City with Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.

"It's a rumour we've had the last two-and-a-half seasons," said Pellegrini,appointed by City in June 2013, when asked about the speculation.

"I don't have a problem with that."