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McLeish wants fearless Villa
Aston Villa, 15:12, January 28, 2012
Alex McLeish says he wants his Aston Villa team to play without fear when they face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the FA Cup.
The Scot has watched his team improve recently after a rocky start to life at Villa Park following his move across the Second City from Villa's rivals Birmingham City.
Just before Christmas, Villa gave Arsenal a scare in the league clash at home but ultimatley went down 2-1.
Since them Villa have won at Stamford Bridge and Molineux to lift McLeish's men into mid-table and leave them brimming with confidence ahead of the trip to Arsenal.
The last time Villa played in north London they won 2-1 and McLeish is looking for his players to repeat that trick against the Gunners in their fourth round encounter.
McLeish said: "I don't see why we should be fearing Arsenal. I am sure the lads will remember what they have done at the Emirates before.
"Statistics don't determine the outcome of this latest encounter but it does offer the players evidence they can do it against the best of the Arsenal teams.
"There is a good bit of confidence going into this next game. It's the FA Cup, we are away, the pressure will be more on the home team Arsenal to win."
McLeish enjoyed causing an upset against Arsenal last year when he guided Birmingham City to the Carling Cup, beating the Gunners in the final.
With that in mind punters might fancy using their free bet to back Villa to cause what would be an FA Cup upset by dumping Arsenal out of the competition.
Here are some betting tips from Betfair's tipsters:
