View: Aston Villa could look to expose Manchester United second half weakness
The trip to St James’ Park was one to forget for Aston Villa and Aaron Danks as the caretaker boss saw his short caretaker tenure come to an end.
Unai Emery is now the man to take the reigns at Villa Park and the Spaniard has been thrown straight into the deep end with back-to-back fixtures against Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United side, who are now beginning to find their feet under the Dutchman.
It’s now absolutely essential for the 50-year-old to get some points on the board before the Villans see their Premier League campaign come to halt during the World Cup break. His side are teetering on the edge of the relegation zone, and will almost certainly find themselves in it unless they pick up two positive results against Manchester United and Brighton.
How Emery will approach the task at hand is still very much up in the air and it will be intriguing to see if he will implement a new style of play straight away or prioritise results with an extended break approaching. It looks like an ideal time to really get to work on the training ground and get across exactly how he wants his side to play.
Ten Hag’s United side have slowly got the ball rolling after a disastrous start to the campaign. With a stroppy Cristiano Ronaldo, a number of new additions and a squad littered with deadwood, it’s safe to say the former Ajax boss has done a half-decent job thus far.
However, in their most recent victory over West Ham United at Old Trafford, the Red Devils were far from convincing and were fortunate to escape with three points. It was an even first half, which saw Marcus Rashford head United in front, however, David Moyes’ side threw the kitchen sink at their hosts in the second period and was only stopped by an inspired David De Gea.
As per Wyscout, United were much more of a threat in the first period with an expected goals of 0.65. This decreased to 0.3 in the second period. If Emery’s team can pin United in, much as West Ham did, then they could have success at Villa Park.
Another telling statistic which demonstrated United’s drop-off was their lack of pressing in the second period. The Red Devils managed an impressive 8.2 passes per defensive action (PPDA) in the first half against the Irons but saw that rise to 13.6 in the second period.
If Villa can stay in the game in the first half and look to frustrate their visitors as much as possible, there is a chance United could wilt in the second period and revert back to their low block, which was evident against West Ham.
In other Aston Villa news, the new boss has been given the longest managerial contract in club history.