Aston Villa had issued an advance ticket warning as supporters were gripped by Premier League title fever. That week’s home match against Sheffield Wednesday was already heading towards a sell-out and the club was anxious to avoid a repeat of previous week’s Tottenham game when 1.100 fans were locked out. All seats for the Sheffield match had been sold and only 8,000 tickets remain for the Holte End terrace.
Secretary Steve Stride said “Since Sunday’s performance against Manchester United we have had a phenomenal response for tickets for our last four home matches, It looks like we could be heading towards a capacity crowd on Saturday, but there is no need for anyone to be locked out. We were disappointed that so many fans didn’t get into the Tottenham game, but people who buy Nolte End tickets in advance are guaranteed to see the match. A lot of supporters, in fact, are buying tickets for all four remaining home games. That means they make a saving of £8 on the normal matchday admission prices.”