Tactics View: Aston Villa must play on front foot against Southampton despite Unai Emery switch
Aston Villa will take on Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday (21 January), but how Unai Emery sets up tactically could well decide who takes the spoils.
Villa continued their fine start to life under the Spaniard with a 2-1 win over Leeds at Villa Park, which made it 13 points gained from the six Premier League games since Steven Gerrard’s sacking.
The recent upturn in form sees Emery’s side placed on the cusp of the top ten, and a win against Nathan Jones’ resurgent Saints team could push them ever closer to the European spots.
Despite claiming wins over Manchester United, Brighton, Spurs and Leeds since the change in manager, every one of these victories came with a very similar style of performance.
The Aston Villa manager likes to set up his team in a rigid 4-4-2 formation that is hard to break down but still offers a threat on the counterattack through Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins. Against the Whites, the home fans witnessed a side happy to soak up pressure for large periods of time and concede several chances – which Leeds luckily didn’t convert.
Using this match as an example, but as has been the case in every game under Emery, Villa’s average positions are far deeper and narrower than you would expect, with every player bar Danny Ings positioned in their own half during the opening 45 minutes at Elland Road.
The Sky Sports graphic highlights Emery’s insistence on letting your opponents make the mistakes and over-commit players before producing clinical and concise attacks on the break.
Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with these tactics against the Premier League’s top-six and sides who may possess more quality than Villa do, but against struggling teams such as Southampton, Villa must come out of their shell.
The Saints remain rooted to the foot of the Premier League table despite a victory against Everton last weekend and have only picked up four wins all season.
It is clear Jones’ side have lacked confidence in recent months, but their recent upturn in form could pose a threat to Villa if they get off to a flying start. Villa were caught out by such a threat in their recent draw against Wolves, where they allowed their local rivals to take the ascendency and conceded after just 12 minutes.
Emery shouldn’t be worried about opening up space by progressing his full-backs and playing a more progressive style of play, as both Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz are capable of shielding the back-four to great effect.
Kamara’s ability to read the game, nip in with vital tackles, and intercept opposition attacks has proven to be one of his great traits since his summer switch from Marseille, and he can continue this role when Villa push a couple more bodies forward.
The clash against Southampton isn’t going to define Villa’s Premier League season, and it won’t be the end of the world if they don’t claim all three points, but the way Emery approaches the game could be a clear sign of his tactics in the coming months.
Villa must take the game to Southampton from the first whistle and show they possess more quality by proactively looking to break down their back four. If not, Emery may get stung by a resurgent Saints team.
In other Aston Villa news, this one first-team player could quickly become a fan-favourite after his brilliant performance against Leeds in the Premier League.