Alan Hutton: Steven Gerrard should adjust Aston Villa formation
We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…
Alan Hutton suggests Steven Gerrard should adapt his Aston Villa formation in order to prevent his side from giving away a lot of chances.
Villa have conceded ten goals in six Premier League fixtures in the 2022/23 season and currently sit 17th, just one place outside the relegation zone.
Hutton feels that Gerrard’s narrow formation allows teams to exploit space in wider areas and that he should potentially adjust his current set-up.
“I think for me it comes down to a formation thing, the way Steven Gerrard plays is very narrow and I think a lot of teams know that and they go down the sides a lot and create a lot of chances,” Hutton exclusively told Villa News.
“So I think he needs to minimise that by possibly changing the formation and being a little more difficult to play against.
“They need to be a little more difficult to play against and harder to break down because at this moment they are easy to play through.
“If you are allowing the other team to create chances, you are going to concede goals and I think that is where they’re at.
“So be defensively strong and build from that solid foundation because they’ve got those flare players at the other end of the pitch so it’s about being defensively organised.”
The Villa boss does have some defensive reinforcements to call upon with deadline day arrival Jan Bednarek set to bolster his back line after Diego Carlos’ Achilles injury.
Southampton make the trip to Villa Park on Friday evening (16 September) with Gerrard’s side looking to build on their impressive point against Manchester City and climb away from the relegation zone.
In other Aston Villa news, this breakout star of the season so far has to be the first name on Gerrard’s teamsheet against the Saints.