Aston Villa have won just two of their last six league matches.
It’s perfectly normal for that to happen in a season such as this. But Unai Emery’s side had won a staggering 10 matches from 11 before that.
After going winless in their first five league matches, and goalless in four, Villa were in need of some urgency. Emery provided that by being more empathetic with the players. And it worked.
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Aston Villa are still having a terrific season in the context of becoming a regularly elite club, which is never easy to do. But pains have come with the reward.
The Villans are still in the FA Cup, third in the Premier League and one of the favourites to win the Europa League. But they have also been decimated by midfield injuries and have stumbled against low blocks.
In this article we’ll cover:
Aston Villa’s midfield injuries
The injuries to Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans are much worse than first thought. Kamara is out for the rest of the season, while Tielemans and McGinn won’t be back until April.
As a result, Villa have lost versatility and industriousness in midfield. McGinn and Tielemans, deceptively, are brilliant chance creators and can play anywhere in midfield. But they are also good ball winners.
The pair are usually crucial to create a box midfield, with players cutting in from the wing who are also very comfortable in the middle of the pitch. Both can press opponents and thread a pass through their lines.
When all three midfielders player together, they can win duels quickly and interchange with one another before releasing Ollie Watkins or Morgan Rogers.
An old, unsung hero of the past in Douglas Luiz has been signed to fill the void. A player who was sold for PSR purposes now has a chance to be crucial again.
Villa need him to regain form and desperately so. It looks as though the first choice pairing will now be Amadou Onana and Luiz. But the three absent midfielders made Villa tick.
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Tactical issues
Emery’s recent dealings with the media show that Emery is spikier than usual. Perhaps it’s because Aston Villa have lost consecutive home games for the first time in two years. Or that he’s dealing with a thin squad with holes filled by signing former players Luiz and Tammy Abraham.
Because of how Emery is having to manage his squad, Aston Villa are pressing a lot less. This was clear in defeats to Brentford and Everton. With the Villans sitting off, opposition defences can send balls over the top to have big strikers compete in the air. We’ve seen Jean-Philippe Mateta, Thierno Barry and Igor Thiago all cause Villa problems.
Aston Villa’s current wide options are good. Emiliano Buendia, Jadon Sancho and Leon Bailey are all tricky for opposition defences. But they are much easier to bustle off the ball when they tuck inside, in comparison to McGinn or Tielemans.
Naturally, they are also far more effective when hugging the touchline rather than cutting inside. Villa, however, benefit from having wingers who are ostensibly wide but find space in the middle of the pitch.
Is it as simple as suffering from key injuries? Perhaps. But Villa have long been this season’s Expected Goals overperformers.
Emery looks concerned. A man who has seen it all, and won four Europa League titles. He knows how crucial this period is and being understaffed is not ideal.
Villa have set themselves up for another excellent season, but they will have to navigate a tough peiod before players return. Or the good work they’ve done thus far could all be for nothing.