It has been a mixed time on and off the pitch for Aston Villa.

On the pitch, defeat at Sunderland in the EPL, to a record-breaking own-goal from Irish international centre-half Richard Dunne, was followed by qualification for the Carling Cup quarter-finals – in which Villa were beaten finalists last season.

Off the pitch, Bulgarian international Stilian Petrov will miss up to two months after picking up a knee injury during the first half at the Stadium of Light.

And striker Gabriel Agbonlahor, who has scored the winner in two recent Birmingham fixtures, will be also be missing from Sunday’s midday clash, as his recovery from a groin operation at the start of October is taking longer than medical experts had forecast.

 

Meanwhile, England international winger Ashley Young hinted that his temporarily-aborted contract talks will come to a successful conclusion, as recently-appointed manager Gerard Houllier addressed the issue across the club.

Dunne inadvertently decided last Saturday’s match on Wearside when he turned in Steed Malbranque’s 28^th-minute cross for what proved to be the only goal of the game.

The Irishman has now scored eight own goals in EPL football, and kept his unwanted record ahead of Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher, who also notched an ‘og’ at the weekend.

Afterwards, Houllier expressed his disappointment that Villa weren’t awarded a penalty when captain Nigel Reo-Coker appeared to be felled in the act of shooting in the seventh minute.

The Frenchman admitted the non-decision “would not have made a change to the result” but added: “The TV pictures seem to say there was a penalty.”

Striker Emile Heskey missed the easiest of Villa’s many chances. But he bounced back against Burnley in the Carling Cup-tie three days later, coming off the bench to put Villa ahead on 84 minutes.

They couldn’t hold onto their lead in normal time, but fellow substitute Stuart Downing won the tie in extra-time with a stunning strike.

Villa keeper Brad Friedel kept his side in the match with a number of fine saves, while Houllier praised the substitutes, saying: “I don’t take credit for the subs. I wanted to rest them. But they made a difference.”

Friedel is one of a number of Villa players whose contracts expire at the end of the season, alongside Reo-Coker, who began preliminary talks this week, and Norwegian striker John Carew.

Ashley Young halted his talks last week, amid claims that Spurs manager Harry Redknapp made an illegal approach to the 25-year-old. Redknapp denied the claims.

But Young stressed: “I have no problem with Aston Villa and I’m very much enjoying my football. I want to concentrate on what’s happening on the field and (not) get distracted”

Houllier claimed: “I’m quite happy with what he said, that he’s happy to talk about his contract at the end of the season.”

And he warned of the general risks of giving out lucrative contracts, adding: “You don’t want a player, once he has got a contract, to get back into a sort of comfort zone.”