View: Aleksandar Mitrović v Tyrone Mings could decide Aston Villa Premier League clash against Fulham
Aston Villa and Steven Gerrard have a golden opportunity to get their Premier League campaign back on track against Fulham on Thursday evening.
Marco Silva’s side have one of the worst defensive records in the Premier League and are certainly going to give Villa plenty of chances at Craven Cottage.
If Gerrard’s men can’t score on Thursday (20 October) then they might never hit the back of the net again. Although they will likely be able to cause Fulham problems defensively there is a concern for Villa at the back.
Tyrone Mings struggled against Chelsea and was certainly at fault for Mason Mount’s opening goal on Sunday (16 October). Unfortunately for Mings, he is coming up against Aleksandar Mitrović who is a master at exposing out-of-form defenders.
If the Serbian is at his best then Mings could well be in for a tough night, with his confidence already low.
One surprising disparity between the two comes in the number of aerial duels they win, and this is the biggest worry for Villa. Despite being 6ft 4in, his ability in the air is dwarfed by Mitrovic.
As per WhoScored, Mings is averaging 1.75 successful aerial duels per game which is five less than the Serbian is managing.
In fact, in Fulham’s first fixture against Liverpool, he won eleven aerial duels, which is nearly as many as Mings has won all season.
We know that Villa’s problems have been predominantly down the other end of the pitch this season, but if they’re to be successful in West London they will need Mings to rediscover his form and deal with Fulham’s main threat.
In other Aston Villa news, three things learned from Villa’s defeat to Chelsea