Things haven’t been going well for Aston Villa recently. The club has lost four Premier League matches and is currently in the bottom half of the table. In fact, it’s ranked second-lowest with Leicester City beneath it. There’s a lot of pressure on the club’s manager, Steven Gerrard, to turn its fortunes around.
Starting the Season
At the time of writing, all clubs competing in the Premier League have played five matches. Of the five Aston Villa have played so far, they’ve won just one, and lost four. Their sole win was against Everton; their four losses were against West Ham United, Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.
Across these five matches, Aston Villa scored four goals, while the other teams collectively scored 9 goals. As it stands, Aston Villa are facing relegation to the English Football League Championship.
Defence Is Weak
So what’s to blame for Aston Villa’s poor performance in the Premier League so far? The club’s defence strategy could be a key reason why only one out of five matches was won. The main centre-back pairing for most of the current season has been Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa. However, many fans believe that Calum Chambers, who was signed in January after playing for Arsenal, should play defence. Since being signed, he’s appeared in just six games. Supporters think he may improve the club’s defence and energise the other players.
Best System
Since Gerrard took over, Aston Villa has adopted the 4-3-2-1 formation. There are no indications that this is going to change anytime soon. In the past, the team used other formations such as the 3-5-2 with varying levels of success. Given the recent match results, Gerrard may want to rethink the team’s core strategy.
In the club’s four most recent games, it’s been the match against Everton where it had its strongest performance, winning 2-1. What sets this one apart from the other recent ones is the inclusion of the defender Diego Carlos. In the match against Everton, he performed well but unfortunately suffered an injury that later required surgery. He was thus unable to take part in later fixtures. It’s believed that since Diego was rendered unable to play, the team’s key strategy has suffered.
Exterior Factors
Usually, when a club underperforms, there are one or more explanations. These can be things from key players getting injured to lineups being changed too often. Some fans are blaming Steven Gerrard and his management style. He took over Aston Villa last year after a rather successful stint with the Rangers in Scotland. In a recent interview, he admitted to fearing for his job following the club’s four defeats. He also said that the club has to work on its defending techniques, maintaining control of the ball and staying on top of things.
Conclusion
So is Gerrard in trouble? He shouldn’t be, providing Aston Villa manage to fare better in the Premier League. It will be exciting to see how it all pans out for Aston Villa. If you wish to feel the same excitement you can also try your luck and play online live casino games, which take the gaming experience to the next level.
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