Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard ready to renew his rivalry with ‘fierce competitor’ Frank Lampard
- Seb Sternik
- 12 August 2022
Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard shared the changing room during their spell with the England team. This weekend, the two men will be in opposite dugouts.
Gerrard, who is the current Aston Villa manager, will host his rival and former teammate on Saturday afternoon as Everton arrive at Villa Park.
Both the Villans and the Toffees kicked off their campaigns with defeats last weekend, and both will be looking to register their first wins of the season.
This will also be the first time that the two men, who sparked countless debates over their past England contributions, will go head-to-head as managers.
Having played together 71 times for the Three Lions - and many more times against each other in the Premier League - Gerrard admitted he knows his counterpart well.
He said: "He's a fierce competitor. He's a winner. He's very composed, very calm, and has got a really impressive football IQ.
"I could see from very early on, once I started sharing a dressing room with him, that he'd probably stay in the game in some capacity.
Gerrard and Lampard have gone head-to-head before you know... 💥
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 12, 2022
Aston Villa v Everton | Saturday, 11.30am | BT Sport 1 & Ultimate pic.twitter.com/LkKioiAn4V
"It's no surprise to see him in a similar position to myself, which is to try and lead a big establishment and progress it and move it forward.
"In terms of competing against each other, whether it be on the pitch or now as a manager, you've got two people who are desperate to be on the winning side.
"That will never change. It never did when we played, and it won't from a touchline point of view."
Villa started their campaign with a 2-0 defeat by newly-promoted Bournemouth last weekend, while Everton fell to a narrow 1-0 loss against Chelsea.
