Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villans as Pressure Mounts
Are Aston Villa in a blip? With two consecutive Premier League home losses and a bunch of key midfield injuries, should we be concerned? Here’s five reasons as Villans to be cheerful and put our minds at ease.
1. Bang for Buck
Considering the curveball thrown at Unai Emery by recent multiple injuries to Villa’s midfield, that has essentially wiped out the core reason for why Villa are third in the Premier League. Villa’s transfer window was focused on working within UEFA restraints with the objective of damage limitation. As per the agreement reached with the governing body, Villa had to show a positive profit for the window, or face not being able to add to their squad for the Europa League.
Bit-part players Donyell Malen and Evann Gessand have left and been essentially replaced by Tammie Abraham, Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey, former Villans that have largely proven themselves as main men in claret and blue shirts in previous years.
If Villa get the 2023/24 version of Bailey, a Luiz that is fit and at his previous Villa levels, and an Abraham matching his best seasons at Chelsea and Roma, then it’s very positive business.
There’s no doubt that with Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans and John McGinn, all out long-term, Villa will be a different team.
But with the new recruits, and Ollie Watkins, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley returning to the fray, at least Emery will have a decent enough squad to tackle the months of February and March, before McGinn and Tielemans return for the season finale.
2. xG Flippy Floppy
Villa are defying xG, the stat nerds say. Regularly out scoring our supposed expected goals with long shots. Yes, shots from outside the box are apparently a foolish venture that Villa would come unstuck relying on. It wasn’t sustainable the stats geeks echoed.
Well, the xG of the Villa vs Brentford game was 2.13 vs 0.53 in Villa’s favour, yet they lost 1-0. How does this fit in the supposed narrative?
Right, back to entertaining supporters with cracking goals from distance, it is then.
3. Points Buffer
Whatever happens away by the south coast against Bournemouth, Villa will remain third in the Premier League. It’s more than just optics. While, the media are pointing to the proverbial sharks that are circling under Villa in the league table, after home slip-ups against Everton and Brentford. Yes, there maybe danger ahead, but currently it’s a points gap that hopefully allows Emery to readjust and get over any blip without losing Villa’s position.
4. Europa Home & Cavalry Advantage
Meanwhile, in the Europa League universe, Villa ended up second in the league table, securing second leg home advantage all the way through to the final. That should prove important, especially when you get to the quarter-final and semi-final stages.
Probably more important though was the already established fact of finishing top eight and skipping the play-off round of games in February. With John McGinn potentially back late March and Youri Tieliemans likely back in April, the fewer games you have to play under strength, the better.
5. Player Song Reprises
With soaring ticket prices, more tourist fans, and a rising average age of match-going supporters, the atmosphere is noticeably suffering at Villa Park. So, just in time to save us from trying to fill the void with new songs from the stands of Villa Park, the arrival of Tammy Abraham, Douglas Luiz, and Leon Bailey means we can legitimately reintroduce some old favourite player chants.
Abraham and Luiz’s chants are simple and help fill any silence void, while the Leon Bailey song – based on Shakira’s Waka Waka (the official World Cup 2010) – is actually a welcomed return.
UTV
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