View: Aston Villa could expose Newcastle United weakness from crosses
Aston Villa face a huge test this weekend as they face Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United side who are currently flying high in the Champions League places.
There’s a new lease of life around St James’ Park and their success has mainly come from their imperious defensive record. At the moment, Howe’s men have the best defensive record in the Premier League, with their solid base proving to be the catalyst for their success in the 2022/23 season.
Villa face a tremendous challenge to get anything from the North East, despite coming off of a positive result against Brentford in their last outing. Aaron Danks will be trying to work out a way of breaking down the Magpies’ rock-solid defence.
There could well be one area the Villans look to target, with Newcastle conceding the majority of their goals from the same scenario. Out of the ten goals they have conceded so far this season, six have come from out wide.
The two examples above display how Newcastle can sometimes get a little bit lost when the ball is delivered from out wide and allow players to remain unmarked in the box. The first example shows Ilkay Gundogan make a run into the box unchallenged to put Manchester City ahead, and the second picture shows Mo Salah free at the back post, in the lead-up to Fabio Carvalho’s winning goal for Liverpool.
The story was very similar at Craven Cottage for Fulham’s consolation goal with a midfielder making a late run into the box and gaining the run on the defender who is left static. Villa’s midfielders must be looking to gamble and overload the box when given the chance, with some of Howe’s defenders slow to pick up additional bodies in the box.
Against Bournemouth, Philip Billing is rewarded by making a run from midfield with a goal after latching onto a cross into the box. John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz would be foolish not to gamble and get into the box when given the chance.
Furthermore, the Villans’ fullbacks must get high to provide crossing opportunities regularly. If Lucas Digne returns, this could be an excellent chance for the Frenchman to be an attacking threat for Danks’ side.
Against a team who haven’t conceded many goals, it’s absolutely essential the Villa analyse any potential weaknesses and look to exploit them accordingly.
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