1934: Joe Beresford collected his first cap for England in the 2-1 defeat in Prague. He had joined Aston Villa from Mansfield Town in 1927 and went on to make 251 first team appearances, scoring 73 goals, including a hat-trick in only his second appearance for the club. He was surprisingly sold to Preston where he helped them to the FA Cup final in 1937.

1966: Villa recovered from a 6-1 mauling against Manchester United to end the season with a 2-0 victory at Chelsea.

1977: A 1-0 home win against Stoke City was Villa's fifth game in under two weeks and there were still two games of the season to go! Andy Gray scored the only goal of the game with a second-half penalty.

Random Villa Fact

Bobby Charlton brought Preston North End to Villa Park on 25th August 1973 for his first competitive match as manager - but the England World Cup hero didn't have the best of starts to his new career. Charlie Aitken put Villa ahead and three minutes later debut boy Trevor Hockey hit the second to give Villa a 2-0 win.