BUILD-UP
After a long 16 days without competitive football, Aston Villa are back playing in the Premier League as they face Leeds United at Villa Park in mid-week action.
The claret and blue side’s last game, which feels like a lifetime ago now, was the 1-0 away victory over Everton, with January’s player of the month, Emiliano Buendia, bagging the only goal of the game to take three points away from Merseyside.
It was a hard-fought win, and the Villans have been on the winning side twice since, after (finally) beating Thomas Frank’s Brentford, as well as Norwegian outfit Molde FK in mid-season friendlies.
Goals from Ollie Watkins and Tyrone Mings were enough to outwit the Bees in a 2-1 win, canceling out Josh Dasilva’s opener. Meanwhile, in the more recent of the two games, goals from Jacob Ramsey, John McGinn and another for striker Ollie Watkins helped Steven Gerrard’s men get the better of Erling Moe’s Molde FK, who scored a late consolation goal through Kristoffer Haugen.
These two games were beneficial for the side as they looked to maintain fitness levels during a game-week consisting of mainly FA Cup games; the competition that Villa were knocked out of, after falling to defeat against Manchester United in the early days of January. The friendlies also allowed the new arrivals, in Calum Chambers and Robin Olsen, to get a feel for their new teammates and integrate well into the Aston Villa squad.
This week’s opponents are Leeds United who currently sit in 15th in the league on 22 points – just 7 points away from Watford who occupy the final relegation place (18th).
Marcelo Bielsa’s side have been reasonably disappointing this season, especially after achieving an impressive and somewhat surprising finish to the 20/21 campaign, that saw The Whites finish in the top half of the table after winning promotion the season before. The Yorkshire-based side have suffered numerous injuries throughout however, which has stunted their progression over the course of the first-half of the season.
With Bielsa’s ongoing injury crisis and the positive atmosphere around Bodymoor Heath, Steven Gerrard will certainly look for a positive result from this fixture. Can Aston Villa make it two wins from two, or will Leeds finally find their feet and take all three points from Villa Park?
TEAM NEWS
Steven Gerrard revealed the long-awaited Leon Bailey news in the pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday’s fixture against Leeds United. The Jamaican has missed the last two months with an injury sustained against Manchester City on the 1st of December, and is now back in full team training.
Bailey will be unavailable for this particular game, due to a lack of fitness, but may feature in the squad for the trip to Newcastle United on Sunday. The forward’s return is particularly long-awaited having been expected back in January, and with the former Bayer Leverkusen yet to train under the new boss, his inclusion in the Aston Villa side will be an exciting prospect for the Villa faithful.
Bertrand Traore is of course unavailable for the game as he returns from Cameroon after his Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign for Burkino Faso. Traore helped his nation to a respectable fourth-place finish, after crashing out against eventual winners Senegal in the competition’s Semi-final, and then losing to hosts’ Cameroon on penalties in the third-place play-off. He may be back in time for Sunday’s game at St James’ Park.
Trézéguet has moved to Turkish side İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. in the last few days on the back of his AFCON run with Egypt, where he finished second after sadly losing to Senegal in the final.
Ezri Konsa is deemed fit after some injury concerns emerged in the last couple of weeks having being subbed off against Manchester United at half-time a couple weeks ago, and not featuring in the recent friendly match against Molde. The rest of the squad is fit and up for selection for the game, bar Marvelous Nakamba who is out on a long-term basis.
As for the opponents, Leeds United, their list of absentees is far greater than Villa’s and will have many important players missing for this fixture. Star winger Raphinha is reportedly available however, despite concerns that he may miss this one following a heavy knock sustained whilst on international duty with Brazil.
Full-back Junior Firpo, striker Patrick Bamford, midfielder Kalvin Phillips and centre-back Liam Cooper are all unavailable, as the quartet continue to wait for return dates after missing a number of games with their respective injuries. These players occupy important positions as starters in the Leeds team, and such news will only benefit Steven Gerrard and his side heading into the game.
Patrick Bamford is a name Aston Villa fans are all too familiar with, having headlined a number of games against the two sides over the years, including his controversy in the 1-1 draw at Elland Road that saw Marcelo Bielsa gift the claret and blues a a goal. He also scored a hat-trick in this exact fixture last season, so Villa fans will be glad to see his name absent from the team-sheet in the build-up.
Leeds welcome back Jamie Shackleton, Adam Forshaw and Charlie Cresswell to the squad following short-term injuries, as Bielsa reveals the trio “are all healthy now.” Crysencio Summerville is not expected to travel to Birmingham, after the winger was denied a January move from Elland Road having handed in a transfer request early last month.
Despite the number of absentees in the Leeds squad, Steven Gerrard reiterated “They haven’t had the best of luck in terms of injuries, so it’s not fair to judge them too strongly.”
Villa’s boss was also quick to highlight the ability of opposition boss Marcelo Bielsa, saying: “The Leeds players are living the dream to have the opportunity to play and compete in his style. Maybe that won’t be appreciated until he’s gone, but he’s certainly someone that all the coaches here have got immense respect for.”
With that being said, let’s take a look at an overview of Leeds United, including a glimpse at the strengths and weaknesses of their dynamic play-style…
THE OPPOSITION
Marcelo Bielsa is notorious for playing a high intensity, pressing style of play wherever he goes, and this distinguishable identity has been no different during his time at Leeds United.
Bielsa joined the club in June 2018, and was handed the difficult task of taking a Leeds side, that had been without Premier League for 16 years, back to the top tier of English football. In his first season, the Argentine managed to take The Whites into the Championship play-offs, but saw defeat at West Bromwich Albion’s hands after two legs.
Having failed to go up in Bielsa’s first season, the promotion challenge was even more sought after in the 19/20 campaign for Leeds, and this time round they would deliver and come out as title winners, accumulating a total of 93 points whilst playing some of the most attractive football the EFL had ever seen.
‘Bielsa ball’ is the term Leeds United fans refer to when discussing their team’s play, and is often described as direct, attacking football that is played at a high pace while retaining possession. This set-up can be incredibly successful, with the intensity proving too much for opposition to handle for the full 90 minutes. Bielsa’s teams are typically the fittest in their respective leagues, and top the ‘highest total distance covered per 90’ more often than not.
On the other hand however, this system can be problematic and leave a number of gaps in the midfield and defensive areas of the side, ultimately leaving them vulnerable on the counter-attack. Leeds United fixtures are often high-scoring as a result of this, and unfortunately for them this season they have been on the wrong side of such games, with the 7-0 defeat to Manchester City a result that sticks out.
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Leeds’ star man this season has been Brazilian-born winger Raphinha who has further improved on his impressive first spell in the country last season. The former Stade Rennais man has eight goals and two assists to his name so far this campaign, with such performances linking him to top clubs around Europe. Bielsa will hope the 25 year-old can continue this form into this fixture as Leeds look to move further away from the relegation zone and into safety.
Can Bielsa mastermind a surprise victory with his high-intensity, pressing Leeds side, or will the quality of Steven Gerrard’s Villans be too much for The Peacocks to handle?
FINAL THOUGHTS
I think this game will be a difficult one, and Gerrard’s men will need to be on it from the off to cope with the high demands that a Marcelo Bielsa side ask of their opposition. The absence of Kalvin Phillips is the one that is most significant for the away side in my opinion, as the midfielder has such an influence in the middle of the pitch, playing his role phenomenally well.
I can see Gerrard wanting his side to set the game’s tempo early, with his players controlling the ball and imposing themselves on the Leeds United back-line from the get-go. I believe the quality in the team will prevail, and players such as Jacob Ramsey and Emiliano Buendia standing out and continuing their excellent form from recent weeks.
Of course the absences within the Leeds squad will do the away side no favours too, and for that reason I will be going for a comfortable 3-0 win for the Villa, with John McGinn to open the scoring, and Ollie Watkins to grab a brace on the night. Let’s hope the claret and blue boys can perform to the standards that we know they’re capable of, and we are treated to a fine performance under the lights at Villa Park!
Liam.
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