Home Match Dean Smith's Villa Seek to Buck the Recent Trend Against the Blades
Dean Smith's Villa Seek to Buck the Recent Trend Against the Blades
By Dean Gregory
Sheffield United vs Aston Villa
After last weekend's humbling defeat to Leicester, Villa will look to bounce back at Sheffield United, who currently sit at the lofty height of 8th on 22 points.
Sheffield's return to the Premier League has so far been a rousing success, looking like they belong there despite being the cheapest assembled team in the league.
Can Villa despite missing Tyrone Mings for the trip start to gain form by taking points off their fellow promotees?
Sheffield United – D D D L W
Aston Villa – L W D L L
Manager Quotes
Dean Smith on Sheffield United
"We're going to Sheffield United, a team I really like, Chris Wilder's done unbelievable there. They're a team that got promoted like ourselves who are unbeaten away from home in the Premier League, which just shows how you can do with a team that's been setup for a long time. We're a team that has been thrown together in the summer. We've kept a nucleas of players in terms of the spine but a lot are getting used to the Premier League and they'll get better for the experiences we've had so far.
"They have threats all over the pitch. Their wing-backs scored both goals last week at Norwich City. They haven't conceded a lot of goals. I know a couple of their back three, Jack O'Connell and John Egan, I had both of them at Brentford. I know them well and we had a really good game at Villa Park last season, 3-0 down with 10 minutes to go and getting back to 3-3. It'll be a good, entertaining game. I have a lot of respect for what they've done so far."
Chris Wilder on recruitment
"I always think there can be a bit of snobbery when it comes to recruitment.
"A lot of the time, you get the impression that people won't look at people who are lower down the divisions.
"But what a lot of our lads have done is show that there's real talent down there.
"And that, if you work hard and apply yourself, then you put yourself in a position to go on and achieve things."
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Sheffield use a 3-5-2 formation with David McGoldrick and Callum Robinson as strike partners, Oliver Norwood supporting in midfield and a back three of Chris Basham, John Egan and Jack O'Connell.
Chris Wilder utilises the concept of conveyor belt-like positional switching to keep opponents guessing. Of the three centre backs, John Egan mostly holds his position while his partners, who more closely resemble fullbacks, regularly switch and overlap with the wing backs and midfielders in front of them.
Likewise, the wingbacks often swap places with the striker on their side along with the midfielder closest to them. This means that they maintain passing triangles all the way up the pitch, as well as fluid, constant movement that is difficult to defend against.
In attack, Sheffield are fairly efficient; 19 goals from a team xG of 20.22 shows that they are good value for their performances. They don't generate a lot of chances in their games, but when they do they are often of good quality.
They play a daring brand of football, too – they like to push high up the pitch and attempt to control the game in their opposition's half, despite averaging 45.5% possession so far this season. Their overall passing accuracy of 75.4% is reasonable, but it shows where their vulnerabilities are – they can be intercepted, and there will likely be space in behind to exploit.
Sheffield are a dangerous side who have taken to the Premier League very well. They will present a tough challenge for Villa.
Despite only playing 600 minutes in 13 games so far, striker Lys Mousset is Sheffield's highest goal contributor with five goals and three assists. These numbers suggest he should be playing more often and for longer, so it begs the question – why is he not?
Perhaps it is his dismal pass success rate of 67.2%? Or could it be his non-existent defensive workrate, a vital trait in a Chris Wilder system? Whatever it is, his time on the pitch will likely be Sheffield's most dangerous period of the game.
Sheffield United 0-1 Aston Villa – 30-01-2018
A cagey and tense match was lit up in the 90th minute by a screamer from Robert Snodgrass, in what was among the most electrifying moments of a season that almost ended in glory.
How it could play out
There's no doubt about it, Sheffield United have enjoyed the best campaign so far out of the newly promoted teams. They have taken a point from Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United, and have beaten Arsenal on the way to their current 8th place spot in the league.
All of that with a squad worth £104.45 million, the cheapest in the league. Chris Wilder proved in the Championship that buying power isn't the only thing that matters, and he's doing a good job of proving that point in the Premier League too.
Villa have taken a hit with Mings being out for at least the rest of 2019. While far from perfect, his overall presence in the defense made the Villa back line a stronger unit. The question is, who should replace him for now?
The obvious answer is Hause, but in the last match Smith opted to call upon Engels instead.With the aerial ability Sheffield have, along with their propensity towards crossing the ball, Villa should consider a centre back pairing of Engels and Konsa, as they win five aerial duels between them per game.
Sheffield are a tactically astute team who know how to get the absolute best out of every player. Everybody knows the system, everybody understands their role within it. Villa could learn a thing or two by paying attention to what they do.
Sheffield United 1-2 Aston Villa
This is one of the games Villa have to be able to win if they want to reestablish themselves in the league. United have lost more games at home, then they have won. It will not be easy though – the odds will be against them this time.
[Has Dean got his claret and blue specs on with this prediction? – MOMS]
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Totaly agree, why didn't we wait until the end of the season before giving a new contract, and I have to say I've been saying from the beginning that Wesley is no where near good enough for the PL We have to get some fire power in January we have zero goal threat, Can't believe that DS can't see the problem, and yes if we don't get a min of 7 points from our next 3 games we're in deep crap. The teams below us are starting to play and that's really worrying given our complete lack of form, don't think team selection has been great, why aren't we playing Trez ? I'm sorry to say this but I'm now beginning to question DS, but I'm still hoping for the best
Jinksy Dec 16, 2019 At 12:43 am
Agree Trez should play in middle Saturday. Bring Connor back too. Give Mcgin rest he will react well to that.
Another dreadful, inept performance. I said it after Wembley last think we need is half the team changed. We change the lot!!! Who's making the decisions?? If its Smith then he needs to look at himself. I was amazed we gave him a new Contract. We have been doing that with players for years. Makes them not hungry!! We are in deep crap. Anything less than 2 wins and a draw in the next 3 will leave us in relegation zone. Why can't the manager see Wesley must be dropped. McGinn needs a rest he's been useless for 5 games. Hourihane is the only player we have apart from Grealish who can score and create. As soon as he does that he's dropped. Is Smith out of his depth?
faraahbekheet Dec 14, 2019 At 11:47 pm
Each week I look at your predictions: have you gotten ONE correct? We haven't beaten a team in the top 10 all year- not sure why you think we would win this game…(I was at the fan Fest in Miami Beach- all the Vila fans we like:" thank God this game wasn't shown on the big screen- we were pretty p**s poor."). DS MUST change his tactics and formation. Switch to a 3-5-2 (we do have some good center backs) or a 4-2-3-1 (to help support Wes) because this current 4-3-3 just isn't working…