No doubt Alkmaar’s ultras will be mobbed up on Hurst Street and march behind their little drummer boy to New Street. It’s a wild guess but they’ll probably be wearing black and make a lot of noise. Then they’ll get into the ground and make a lot more noise. Expect a bit of smoke as well because even the tightest security operations in football are unable to stop it being brought into any ground in England.

They’re second in the table, which is better than Ajax are doing, their manager’s mother used to be an English singer and their keeper’s dad played for Liverpool. There really isn’t a lot more to say about Alkmaar. We’ve got players coming back for a change, with Alex Moreno fit and Jhon Duran available provided he hasn’t got injured again or gone back home or fallen out with the rest of the squad or anything else that some Twitter account with seventeen followers swears is true. Whether he plays or not is up to Unai Emery, who seems to have finally managed to do what every Villa manger this century has failed at, being able to rotate for cup matches without embarrassment.