Villa favourite Ian Taylor believes that hat-trick hero John Carew simply must start against Stoke  – a team the big Norwegian simply loves scoring against.

John Carew has to start for Villa against Stoke on Saturday – and the big striker could be the key to the rest of the season.

Any player who scores a hat-trick in their previous game has earned their place for the next one and Carew is no different. He could not have done any more.

An outstanding display against Reading in the FA Cup last weekend and it was a timely reminder of just what a fit and firing Carew is capable of on his day – the issue for him has always been consistency.

But he is bang in form right now and you play players that are in form.

I would be very surprised if Gabby Agbonlahor did not come straight back into the side at the Britannia Stadium, so that means either John or Emile Heskey will almost certainly face the chop. But there’s only one winner for me on current form and that is Carew.

Going to Stoke, Martin O’Neill knows his attacking players are going to have to have to defend from the front but, for me, John can do that job just as well as Emile.

The main thing is he is a far bigger goal threat than Heskey right now, as their goal records prove – Carew wins that battle 11 to five.

We’ve been crying out for another major goal source of late and John’s return to form could be the difference between the FA Cup and a Champions League place, rather than more Wembley heartache and the Europa League.

What he needs now is a run of games to build up a head of steam – we saw how he benefited from that around this time last year when he managed seven goals in 14 games.

And, if there was any doubt in Martin’s mind, Carew’s goalscoring record against the Potters should clinch it. He has scored in each of Villa’s three Premier League games against them – including the winner in this season’s reverse at Villa Park.

If that isn’t an omen then I don’t know what is.

Our Champions League challenge has almost been forgotten in recent weeks with all that’s been going on in the cups and there’s some work to be done this weekend if we are to stay in the hunt.

Stoke away is one of the most testing trips of the campaign – as Villa found out the last time we went there, losing 3-2 in the last minute.

If we can emerge from the Britannia battle with three points I genuinely believe we can pull this Champions League mission off.

Because of our cup commitments, we’re now the ones with the games in hand and it is a wonderful position to be in.

For me, Liverpool’s defeat at Wigan effectively ended their top-four chances and Villa now trail them by just two points having played three less.

The players brushed aside any fears of fatigue in that second 45 minutes at the Madejski Stadium, which the phrase ‘it’s a game of two halves’ seemed to be invented for.

At half-time I thought we’d blown it. I don’t know what Martin said in the dressing room but it sure worked! It was one of the comebacks of the season and, in a strange way, it will have boosted the players’ confidence more than any routine victory.

As I said last week, a win was a must to get over that Carling Cup final disappointment and, in the end, they got the confidence back two-fold.

As for the draw, I say bring on Chelsea. Of course, it will be a tough game but I think we have a better chance of beating them than Manchester United. What a few weeks it promises to be!

It’s going to be a fascinating month in the title race as well.

Despite tipping Chelsea for the title from day one, I’ve now got a funny feeling it could be Arsenal who are popping the champagne corks come May.

The Gunners looked dead and buried not so long ago but, thanks to some fantastic form along with slip-ups from Manchester United and Chelsea, it’s a three-horse race for the Premier League crown again.

But Arsene Wenger’s side have the best run-in of the three, while United and Chelsea still have to play one another. By the sounds of it they could also have Robin van Persie back for the last month’s run-in and what a boost that would be.

It’s been a poor league this season. I don’t see anyone running away with it because none of them have that extra special something to enable them to do that.

Chelsea definitely have the strongest squad but there’s no question they’ve been affected by the off-field controversies involving John Terry and Ashley Cole.

Arsenal have their own limitations but they’re growing in resilience and stature – as Tuesday’s stunning 5-0 win over Porto proved.

People forget how young so many of their players are – Theo Walcott is still 20, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Alex Song and Nicklas Bendter are just 22 while Abou Diaby is 23.

There’s still much, much more to come – but it’s starting to look like they might not have to wait as long as we thought.

And I am probably in the minority in believing this, but FIFA were spot on in rejecting the introduction of video technology.

I’m not just saying that because it was Blues who were on the receiving end of a bad decision last weekend! My issue with its use is at what level do you draw the line?

Football is a universal game. Therefore, every team should have the same rights. But that just couldn’t be the case with video technology.

If you had it just in the Premier League then teams in the Championship would be complaining. If you had it in the Football League then the teams in the Blue Square Premier would be complaining.

What then do you do if you have a Premier League team going to a non-league ground in the third-round of the FA Cup? You could go on and on.

Sometimes things are better left as they are.