Aston Villa pre match chat
Have hung off doing this just in case, but looks like for the time being Daniel Farke will limp on.
He has a challenge ahead of him with our upcoming fixtures coming against for one reason or another tricky teams.
First up is Unai Emery's resurgent Aston Villa.
A difficult start saw Villa on 3 points after 5 games, they are now one of the form teams, 15 points from the last 6 with only defeat to Liverpool as a blip and only league leaders Arsenal with more points in that time (16).
Overall they had won 8 of their last 10.
They aren't quite the same side away though with only 1 win and a 1 point per game average.
Tactically Villa use a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3
He likes as patient build up from the back with Villa having the most touches in the Premier League in their own penalty area, but isn't wedded to just short passes as Villa rank fairly high for both long and medium passes.
And Emery is not afraid to have players recycle possession rather than go forward fast as he preferred to maintain structure.
But he does encourage once an attack has been started one of his 2 or 2 of his 3 midfielders to join the attack and make runs into the box.
Some frustration has occurred because of his slow build up with Villa not particularly creative offensively and in fact before Bournemouth they'd only scored 9 goals in 10 games.
Defensively they aren't afraid to press but usually set up in a mid block with Emery preferring to keep his team compact than risk the gaps that can come with overly aggressive pressing.
But tend to counter press hard especially in midfield if the ball is lost.
They are vulnerable down the flanks as he asks his full backs to push on in possession, but this is limited by the amount of control he likes.
In terms of key players.
Daniel Farke's wet dream Emi Buendia is seeing a career rejuvenation this season under Emery. After injury issues and an underwhelming loan the Argentinian attacking midfielder is becoming a key player. He has scored a goal or created one in all but 1 of the last 5 games (got a goal and an assist in 1 so technically 5 in 5). He ranks top 80 percentile for chances created in the league.
Spanish international cb Pau Torres is a key player at the centre of the Villa defence and his return to the starting lineup (only started 1 of the first 5 but has started all of the last 6) has coincided with the good Villa form. The silky cb is good on the ball, calm under pressure and has previously worked with Emery at other clubs so understands what his manager wants.
Holding midfielder Boubacar Kamara is the glue in the Villa midfield whose job it is to not just start attacks but to stop them. A tall, strong leggy player Kamara is known for his reading of the game, upper body strength and prowess at winning the ball back. He is also technically gifted, good at beating the press and has an eye for an attacking pass with 2 assists this season.
Despite all the positives Villa aren't untouchable by any means. They don't create huge amounts of chances, they do struggle to get the ball into the attacking 3rd (rank low for shots, big chances created and xG) and are somewhat reliant on Emi Martinez to dig them out at the other end at times.
However their form can't be ignored, they have beaten Bournemouth, Man City and Tottenham this season and are clearly capable of beating us.
But we have shown an ability to be competitive this season, unlucky against Spurs and Bournemouth ourselves.
So from our point of view then.
What will Farke do?
He does tend to be a bit braver at home, on the other hand he's massively fixated on his 1ppg average which he brings up as often as possible.
Could he go ultra cautious in order to protect it? Would seem ridiculous with our upcoming fixtures but self preservation?
What changes could we see?
A return finally for Willy Gnonto? Or will the Aaronson obsession continue
We certainly seemed brighter when James and Piroe came on vs Forest, are they pushing for a start?
How about the defence? Will we see a return for Pascal Struijk?
You would think Nmecha did enought to keep his place but given DCL only was dropped due to fitness and Farke tends to be quite set in hus ways could DCL return?
Finally the result, would a draw be enough to satisfy a frustrated fanbase?
Is it not just about the result though? Performances have been poor, does it need to be a draw earned through a good performance or will points be enough?
Or alternatively would a good performance but a defeat be enough? Or a bad performance but a win?
He has a challenge ahead of him with our upcoming fixtures coming against for one reason or another tricky teams.
First up is Unai Emery's resurgent Aston Villa.
A difficult start saw Villa on 3 points after 5 games, they are now one of the form teams, 15 points from the last 6 with only defeat to Liverpool as a blip and only league leaders Arsenal with more points in that time (16).
Overall they had won 8 of their last 10.
They aren't quite the same side away though with only 1 win and a 1 point per game average.
Tactically Villa use a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3
He likes as patient build up from the back with Villa having the most touches in the Premier League in their own penalty area, but isn't wedded to just short passes as Villa rank fairly high for both long and medium passes.
And Emery is not afraid to have players recycle possession rather than go forward fast as he preferred to maintain structure.
But he does encourage once an attack has been started one of his 2 or 2 of his 3 midfielders to join the attack and make runs into the box.
Some frustration has occurred because of his slow build up with Villa not particularly creative offensively and in fact before Bournemouth they'd only scored 9 goals in 10 games.
Defensively they aren't afraid to press but usually set up in a mid block with Emery preferring to keep his team compact than risk the gaps that can come with overly aggressive pressing.
But tend to counter press hard especially in midfield if the ball is lost.
They are vulnerable down the flanks as he asks his full backs to push on in possession, but this is limited by the amount of control he likes.
In terms of key players.
Daniel Farke's wet dream Emi Buendia is seeing a career rejuvenation this season under Emery. After injury issues and an underwhelming loan the Argentinian attacking midfielder is becoming a key player. He has scored a goal or created one in all but 1 of the last 5 games (got a goal and an assist in 1 so technically 5 in 5). He ranks top 80 percentile for chances created in the league.
Spanish international cb Pau Torres is a key player at the centre of the Villa defence and his return to the starting lineup (only started 1 of the first 5 but has started all of the last 6) has coincided with the good Villa form. The silky cb is good on the ball, calm under pressure and has previously worked with Emery at other clubs so understands what his manager wants.
Holding midfielder Boubacar Kamara is the glue in the Villa midfield whose job it is to not just start attacks but to stop them. A tall, strong leggy player Kamara is known for his reading of the game, upper body strength and prowess at winning the ball back. He is also technically gifted, good at beating the press and has an eye for an attacking pass with 2 assists this season.
Despite all the positives Villa aren't untouchable by any means. They don't create huge amounts of chances, they do struggle to get the ball into the attacking 3rd (rank low for shots, big chances created and xG) and are somewhat reliant on Emi Martinez to dig them out at the other end at times.
However their form can't be ignored, they have beaten Bournemouth, Man City and Tottenham this season and are clearly capable of beating us.
But we have shown an ability to be competitive this season, unlucky against Spurs and Bournemouth ourselves.
So from our point of view then.
What will Farke do?
He does tend to be a bit braver at home, on the other hand he's massively fixated on his 1ppg average which he brings up as often as possible.
Could he go ultra cautious in order to protect it? Would seem ridiculous with our upcoming fixtures but self preservation?
What changes could we see?
A return finally for Willy Gnonto? Or will the Aaronson obsession continue
We certainly seemed brighter when James and Piroe came on vs Forest, are they pushing for a start?
How about the defence? Will we see a return for Pascal Struijk?
You would think Nmecha did enought to keep his place but given DCL only was dropped due to fitness and Farke tends to be quite set in hus ways could DCL return?
Finally the result, would a draw be enough to satisfy a frustrated fanbase?
Is it not just about the result though? Performances have been poor, does it need to be a draw earned through a good performance or will points be enough?
Or alternatively would a good performance but a defeat be enough? Or a bad performance but a win?