Aston Villa vs. Manchester United: Tactical Preview of Premier League Game
Aston Villa host Manchester United this weekend, and Louis van Gaal's men look to make it seven victories in a row. Paul Lambert's side, on the other hand, lost a Midlands derby to West Bromwich Albion last week to halt a streak of five matches unbeaten.
Let's take a tactical look at how this one might play out.
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Villa have been struck by a heavy dose of injuries and suspensions recently. Libor Kozak, Philippe Senderos and Joe Cole are long-term injury casualties, per WhoScored.com, Ashley Westwood is out until January, Tom Cleverley cannot play against his parent club and both Kieran Richardson and Alan Hutton are suspended for the match.
That leaves Lambert with very few options here, but it could still see Andi Weimann miss out to Charles N'Zogbia when the team selection is done. The Austrian has been missing since he got suspended for the Leicester City game, but he could come in to freshen things up.
Lambert may try to squeeze Ron Vlaar, Jores Okore and Ciaran Clark all into the same lineup, making it tough to predict which formation he'll use. Matthew Lowton should come in for Hutton, and Fabian Delph should be fit enough to start.
Manchester United News
The Daily Mirror are reporting Luke Shaw will soon return to action, but this game will come too soon. Boxing Day looks a more realistic option for the left-back, who is nursing yet another ailment.
Daley Blind is a long-term absentee, Chris Smalling is out and the statuses of Rafael, Marcos Rojo and Angel Di Maria—who are all back in training—are to be determined.
Van Gaal has played a 3-5-2 in his last two victories, with the formation against Liverpool impressing in patches. Wayne Rooney in central midfield and Antonio Valencia at right-wing-back were weapons.
Radamel Falcao is a must-start from the fans' point of view, but the manager may have other ideas.
Key Point 1: Midfield 2 vs. 2
It's often correct that the team who wins the midfield battle will win the game—but for some opportunistic finishing by the beleaguered side, or some serious profligacy from the one in ascendancy, perhaps.
United vs. Liverpool last weekend was not the 3-0 blowout the scoreline suggested. Raheem Sterling missed three one-on-one chances against David De Gea, and the United goalkeeper grabbed the Man of the Match award.
What did go well for them, though, was Rooney and Fellaini vs. Steven Gerrard and Joe Allen. The United pair won that mini-battle with ease.
Rooney, in particular, was very, very impressive. He cleaned up plenty of stray balls in a large space, and he can expect similar freedom here. If Villa play 3-5-2, and there is a serious chance they do, then the same open zones in the middle will be found to exploit.
Rather than Rooney/Fellaini vs. Gerrard/Allen, it becomes the former pair vs. Delph and Carlos Sanchez. Again, it's a quality mismatch, but it may be a tougher duel given Delph's brilliance in space and his remarkable athleticism.
Rooney will be key to deciding the flow of this game.
Key Point 2: Michael Carrick's Role
Carrick played a stellar game at centre-back in the middle of a three-man defensive line last week, coping with Sterling's movement as well as possible and adjusting based on the nuances of play.
Christian Benteke represents an entirely different challenge, though. If Carrick is again playing in defence, the Belgian will pair himself up against him immediately and in all likelihood dominate him aerially and physically.
That's not to slate Carrick, but you have to pick your battles when playing him in defence. He's not a centre-back by trade, and some scenarios don't suit him.
Smalling is likely out, and that's a good thing—the Englishman has horror memories of being ruthlessly floored by Benteke two years ago—but how will Phil Jones and Jonny Evans cope?
As with any game against Villa, how well you deal with Benteke goes a long way to deciding your fate. West Brom, surprisingly, bottled him up superbly last Saturday and deserve a lot of credit for how they approached the game.
