View: Three ways Aston Villa can hurt Tottenham in Premier League clash
Unai Emery suffered his first Premier League defeat as Aston Villa boss as his side went down 3-1 to an impressive Liverpool side at Villa Park.
Villa had their moments, but ultimately Jurgen Klopp’s men showed far too much quality for their hosts to deal with on the night. The task now for Villa is to bounce back against Tottenham on 1 January at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It’s been a tough run of fixtures for the Villans and Antonio Conte’s side will provide no let-up in the calibre of opponents they’ve been facing of late. Tottenham have been inconsistent so far in the 2022/23 season but still sit in fourth position and are well-placed to compete for a Champions League place come May.
Despite their high league position, Spurs do have their weaknesses and they’re coming off of a 2-2 draw against Brentford. Here Villa News takes a look at three areas Emery’s team could look to target.
Shots against
Firstly, the amount of shots Spurs allow on their goal. According to Wyscout, Spurs allow 11.71 shots per 90 minutes on their goal which is higher than Villa’s 9.65. However, Conte’s side have the lowest expected goals per shot against in the whole Premier League (0.095). So what exactly can we take from this?
Essentially, Tottenham are happy to allow shots on their goal from specific areas on the pitch but don’t allow too many ‘high quality’ chances to the opposition team. This could well lead to Villa being allowed shooting chances from outside the box or in low-percentage areas inside Spurs’ box. With this in mind, Villa could look to start Philippe Coutinho after his brief substitute appearance against Liverpool.
The Brazilian has the ability to unlock a game with a moment of magic, and if he operates in a wider left position, he could be allowed the chance to cut in on his right foot and try and find one of those signature strikes which have always been associated with the Brazilian.
The graph above displays all of the Brazilian’s shots for Villa in the 2022/23 season, with over half of his shots on target coming from the left-hand side of the box.
Finally, considering Spurs give up a high number of ‘harder’ chances, including Danny Ings in the starting lineup could be an option for the Spaniard to use. Ings has shown he’s more clinical than Ollie Watkins, who was wasteful against Liverpool, despite hitting the back of the net.
Right back weakness
Another area for Villa to look at is the clear and obvious problem that Conte’s side has in the right back area. Japhet Tanganga endured a torrid time against Brentford and Emerson Royal has been poor this season. Looking to deploy a creative player up against whoever plays there should be something the Spaniard looks to do.
The pair are often indecisive in their defending and can struggle when having to make quick decisions. For example, against Brentford. Tanganga tried to compete with Ivan Toney in the air, which was never going to end up in him winning the ball.
This led to the full-back falling out of position and ultimately allowing Bryan Mbeumo the space to set up the Bees’ opener. Getting the likes of Ings and Leon Bailey running beyond and at Tanganga could open up plenty of space for the Villans to exploit.
If Emerson plays instead of Tanganga then exploiting his lapses in concentration must be utilised by Villa. Against Leeds, the Yorkshire side used runners from deep to exploit the Brazilian’s defensive inability.
Getting the likes of Bailey and potentially Emi Buendia making runs from out wide or out of sight of the Tottenham defender could lead to plenty of opportunities, should he be given a start.
Early goals
Spurs have conceded first in ten of their 16 games so far this season, which shows they’re not the fastest starters. Villa have to be looking to get at their hosts early on to register an early goal. Villa showed against Brighton their ability to dig in when needed, and if they can do something similar against Spurs they could have some success.
The Villans will need Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa to improve after they both struggled against Liverpool. Having a solid and consistent central defensive pairing is a must if Aston Villa want to pull themselves higher up the Premier League table.
In other Aston Villa news, The day Villa went berserk at the Bridge: Eight goals, two penalties, and three sent off in 2007 bonanza