Villa blogger Dave Bytheway defends the selection policy of manager Martin O’Neill as an under-strength squad prepare for a tough ask in Moscow.

All your eggs in one basket is the saying doing the rounds this week amongst Villa fans, but will the eggs in the basket crack in the cold air of CSKA Moscow tonight in the UEFA Cup round of 32, or will they grow into bigger and better things?

To ‘rest’ eight of the normally automatic selections in goalkeeper Brad Friedel, Emile Heskey, Gabby Agbonlahor, James Milner, Ashley Young, Gareth Barry, Stiliyan Petrov and Carlos Cuellar for a match finely in the balance at 1-1 is a strange decision, but one that could also prove to be a masterstroke by manager Martin O’Neill.

Should we manage to stay in our current fourth place in the Premier League to the end of the season, it will bring the benefits of Champions League football to Villa Park, something nobody apart from the ‘big four’ have witnessed for a while.

To break that strangehold would be a very notable achievement in itself, but the vast amount of wealth and brand recognition that it also brings, would take the club onto the next level of the five year plan I mentioned in my first ever blog.

We have 12 games left in the league this season, 12 cup finals that see us go away to Manchester United and Liverpool of note. These 12 games will decide if we will be amongst Europe’s elite next season and whether Villa will be back where we should be.

To get to the final of the UEFA Cup, after beating Moscow we would still have another seven games to play with an already stretched squad, putting more pressure on the players to play midweek and weekend until the end of the season.

The squad that has travelled over to Moscow includes young prospects such as Barry Bannan and Marc Albrighton, both of whom are tipped to be edging into the first team squad next season.

This will give them a stage to maybe show a little of what they are about and – who knows – if we did get a positive result in Russia, they could be involved sooner rather than later.

OK, the initial reaction amongst all Villa fans was probably disbelief and disappointment, but the more I have thought about O’Neill’s decisions, the more I have understood them.

Years ago fourth place was a failure, and nobody who finished there were remembered. For Villa to do it this season, would bring the most success we have had in years – and now I am sure people would take note of the achievement.

We then welcome Stoke to Villa Park on Sunday, which will hopefully see the main backbone of the team return. It shows how much O’Neill rates Stoke, having already beaten us this season, that he has rested so many.

I can see them causing a few problems with their direct approach – and Rory Delap long throws – but I feel we will prove a little too strong and come out 3-1 winners.

Have a good weekend. Up the Villa!