BUILD UP
Next up for Aston Villa in the Premier League is Ralph Hasenhüttl’s in-form Southampton side.
This fixture comes off the back of a much needed victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, and Steven Gerrard will look to make it two wins on the bounce to climb up the league table.
Goals in either halves, including an impressive Matty Cash strike and a vintage Ollie Watkins finish, were enough to see off the Seagulls in game week 27, with the whole team putting in improved performances compared to recent weeks.
Southampton are a side who are currently unbeaten in five league games, having earned respectable draws against both Manchester-based sides and seen off the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Norwich City in the last couple of months.
The Saints are playing some impressive football at the moment, with players such as Ché Adams and Aston Villa summer target James Ward-Prowse noteworthy performers of late, among many others. Their last defeat came at Wolves’ mercy in mid-January, and so Hasenhüttl’s side have not tasted defeat in some time.
Villa were on the losing side in this season’s reverse fixture at St Mary’s Stadium, in what was a significant game for the club as it spelled the end of Dean Smith’s time in charge after a memorable three year reign.
Since their return to the Premier League, the Villans have faced the Saints on five seperate occasions, losing four and winning just the one, indicating the team from the south coast are somewhat of a ‘bogey side’ for the claret and blues.
Last season’s game at Villa Park was full of goals and finished 4-3 to the away side, with Ward-Prowse bagging a brace of free-kicks in what was an entertaining 90 minutes of action. Ross Barkley’s first-half header was enough to get the better of Hasenhüttl’s side in the reverse fixture at the St Mary’s.
Star man Philippe Coutinho enjoys playing this week’s opposition, and the Saints are considered his favourite opponent from his time playing for Liverpool, having scored four times against them over the years.
Can Coutinho continue his fine record against Southampton and inspire his side to victory at Villa Park, or will former Birmingham City striker Ché Adams and the unsuccessfully-acquired Ward-Prowse inflict more pain upon the claret and blue side?
TEAM NEWS
Aston Villa are expected to welcome Carney Chukwuemeka back to the match-day squad for this week’s game against Southampton, after the 18 year-old missed the trip to Brighton last week with a knock. His return will likely come at Tommi O’Reilly’s expense, after the young Irishman made the Villa subs bench for the first time in his career, having been promoted from Mark Delaney’s U23 side.
Winger Bertrand Traoré has very recently recovered from the hamstring injury that has been a constant concern for the Burkino Faso international, keeping him out of action for a large part of the 21/22 season. The No.15 returned to full first team training earlier this week, but is of course a doubt for the upcoming fixture due to a lack of fitness.
Marvelous Nakamba continues the rehabilitation process to recover from the knee injury sustained in the defeat to Liverpool back in December, but assures the Villa faithful that he will “come back stronger”; a point made in a recent interview with VillaTV. Nakamba is expected to be out of action for another couple of months at least, and his absence in the Villa midfield has certainly been felt after an impressive number of performances since Gerrard’s arrival. The full sit-down with the Zimbabwean can be viewed by accessing the following link: https://www.avfc.co.uk/video/0_5ci8vcqd.
Aside from this, there are no known injury concerns and the rest of the Aston Villa squad is deemed match fit and available for selection for this weekend’s battle with Southampton.
The Saints face a few injury issues of their own, including that of defender Lyanco who has missed the last month of football after picking up a hamstring injury in the FA Cup victory over Coventry at the start of February. The Brazilian was substituted after just 33 minutes, and it appears as if he will miss the next couple of months of action after boss Ralph Hasenhüttl described the injury as “serious”.
Goalkeeper Alex McCarthy will continue his time in the medical room as he looks to recover from a hamstring set-back also. The shot-stopper’s last appearance for Southampton was in the 1-1 draw against Brighton at the of 2021, with back-up ‘keepers Fraser Forster and Willy Caballero picking up the pieces in net.
Southampton were victorious on Wednesday night, extending their stay in this year’s FA Cup competition after defeating West Ham at home by three goals to one, but faced a couple of fresh injury concerns for the trip to Villa Park on Saturday, after the talented Kyle Walker-Peters and poacher Shane Long were removed at half-time following knocks picked up in the opening 45 minutes of play.
Inform defender Mohammed Salisu and Norwegian winger Mohamed Elyounoussi weren’t risked in the recent cup game after picking up respective hamstring and heel issues in the week, but after a few days of rest and recovery, the pair may be deemed okay for the weekend’s fixture.
Nathan Tella will also be assessed for the game after recently recovering from a groin injury sustained in mid-January against Wolves, but is currently a doubt due to a lack of match fitness.
Aside from this however, Ralph Hasenhüttl will have a full squad to pick from with key men such as captain Ward-Prowse, Armando Broja and Tino Livramento all expected to start on Saturday afternoon. With that being said, let’s take a closer look at this week’s opponents…
OPPOSITION
Southampton are a side that play wide, expansive football and enjoy building out from the back and focusing a large part of their play down the sides to create chances and score goals. The two full-backs see a lot of the ball in Ralph Hasenhüttl’s system, and both Tino Livramento and Kyle Walker-Peters have found plenty of success and won many plaudits this season as a result.
The pair are outcasts from their former employers, highlighting the quality of Southampton’s recruitment team who saw potential in the two despite being forced out and deemed not good enough by their former clubs. Livramento was at Chelsea for a total of twelve years but never made an appearance for the first-team, and Walker-Peters played just twelve times for Tottenham Hotspur’s first-team before leaving on loan to the St. Mary’s, and then on a permanent deal the season after.
The defensive duo are both still so young and were incredible pick-ups financially, so are fantastic acquisitions for Ralph Hasenhüttl and Southampton. The pair are on the verge of England call-ups due to their impressive form, and therefore Steven Gerrard and his side will have to keep a firm eye on these two on the weekend.
Another offensive threat this week’s opposition pose is of course captain James Ward-Prowse. Villa know all about the 27 year-old, after his performances against the Midlands side over the years and having tried to win the England international’s signature in the summer transfer window. The No. 8 signed a new deal instead, proving his loyalty, and has played a significant part in Southampton’s progression not just this season, but over the last several seasons – he is a real cult hero down on the south-coast.
His midfield partnership with the relentless Oriol Romeu is one of the best outside of the top 6, as the two are passionate and work tirelessly for their team. In Hasenhüttl’s 4-4-2 system, the central-midfield pairing can often be seen receiving play from the centre-halves before spraying it out to the wide players. There is a reliance on these wide individuals to progress play and get the ball into the box, where either Ward-Prowse and Romeu are typically anticipating if play is cleared from immediate danger. In Southampton’s latest Premier League win over Norwich City, this exact passage of play was demonstrated, as Romeu found himself on the end of a loose ball outside of the box and fired it past Angus Gunn to secure the victory.
Ward-Prowse is notorious for his set-piece capabilities and has scored numerous free-kicks and penalties and assisted many goals from corners during his career. Aston Villa will certainly have to avoid conceding any set-pieces in Saturday’s game and not present Ward-Prowse with an opportunity to produce something from a dead-ball scenario.
Mohammed Salisu and Jan Bednarek have formed a solid partnership at the base of Southampton’s team this season, and the two have been difficult to outwit and beat both on the ground and in the air, helping the Saints to keep seven clean sheets this campaign. Forward Armando Broja has been another fine acquisition on loan from Chelsea, and the quick, physical striker will be a constant threat for the Villa back-line. The Albanian has scored six goals this season, and alongside Ché Adams who has seven goals to his name, has helped fill the void that Danny Ings left after completing his summer move to Villa.
Overall, Southampton are a very good ball-playing side who play well as a unit and demonstrate good shape both in and out of possession. Ralph Hasenhüttl has coached his team fantastically since his arrival in 2018, improving the footballing aspect and bringing in very capable footballers. As a result, Southampton pose many threats and this week’s fixture will be a very difficult challenge for Steven Gerrard and his side.
FINAL THOUGHTS
For the first time ever in my match previews, I am sadly going to be predicting a loss for this weekend’s game. I feel Southampton come into this game full of confidence, and are playing a side who are still finding their feet and adapting to their new manager’s play-style and system, despite moments of it working and flashes of success.
Of course, I hope I am wrong and it is a comfortable game for Aston Villa, but realistically that just isn’t going to be the case. As mentioned earlier in the piece, the Saints are somewhat of a ‘bogey side’, and I feel we always find it hard when the two sides meet – even in the win at St. Marys last year, the result could’ve gone either way and I thought we were quite lucky. The Matty Cash handball incident springs to mind, for example.
Whatever the result, the important take-away from the game for me is the team performance. We need to see the side making progression and playing attractive football like we, as fans, know they can. The team is sprinkled with high quality talent, and we need to see these abilities on display more frequently throughout the 90 minutes. Aston Villa rank 19th in most big chances created, with only Norwich City producing less. With the creativity and money spent on offensive players, e.g. Buendía, Bailey, etc, we need to be doing more in the final third and providing Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings with more opportunities in front of goal.
My exact prediction is 2-1 to Southampton, with Armando Broja and Stuart Armstrong on the score sheet for the away side, and John McGinn to bag a consolation for the Villans. As I said, I hope I am incorrect and the boys can put on a show to grab all three points on Saturday. Up the Villa!
Liam.
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