View: Aston Villa must be alive to Southampton threat from wide areas
Aston Villa must react to Southampton’s threat from wide areas when the two sides meet at Villa Park on Friday evening.
Steven Gerrard’s side are looking to build off their impressive display against Manchester City and really kickstart their Premier League campaign.
However, if they want a positive result against the South Coast side then they must ensure that they are alive to second balls from crosses.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have used wide areas well in the early part of the Premier League season and ensured that they commit plenty of players forward inside the box to pick up on loose balls.
Che Adams’ opening goal for the Saints in their 2-1 comeback win against Leicester is an excellent example of how they latch onto second balls in and around the box due to the number of players that have been committed forward.
As the image below displays, Hassenhuttl’s side have filled the box in order to give them the best chance of winning a loose ball.
At the time when Adams shoots, there are eight players in and around the box which makes life extremely tough for the Leicester defenders and also means the Foxes don’t have many forward options available should they win the ball due to the number of players needed to defend.
It was a similar story in their win over Chelsea with Adam Armstrong’s winning goal coming from the Saints crowding the box and increasing the chances of a ball landing at one of their players’ feet.
Below, Romeo Lavia picks the ball up and drives at the Chelsea defence in a direct manner, with a number of potential options ahead of him to pick out.
Lavia eventually picks out James Ward-Prowse and it’s clear to see the number of bodies that they have forward before the England international sends the ball out wide.
Crucially, the Southampton players are all playing on the shoulders of their defenders which makes it difficult for the Chelsea players to assess whether to engage the man with the ball or stick with their man.
The ball is eventually sent out wide and then delivered into the box, where unsurprisingly, it lands at Armstrong’s feet before being expertly finished into the Chelsea net.
It is essential that Villa’s central defenders are alert when defending in their own box with Adams and Armstrong being efficient finishers from close range.
Furthermore, Villa’s defence will need the likes of Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey to track the runners that do venture into their box.
In other Aston Villa news, Villa must make move for Conor Gallagher after Thomas Tuchel sacking at Chelsea