Southampton vs Aston Villa
Saints | Official Matchday Programme of Southampton FC | Issue 14 Southampton vs Aston Villa | Premier League Saturday 21st January, 2023 | KO 3pm | St Mary’s
Saints | Official Matchday Programme of Southampton FC | Issue 14
Southampton vs Aston Villa | Premier League
Saturday 21st January, 2023 | KO 3pm | St Mary’s
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tactical<br />
watch BY sam tighe<br />
What shape are <strong>Aston</strong> <strong>Villa</strong><br />
in ahead of this encounter?<br />
If there’s a club in the Premier<br />
League that can match<br />
<strong>Southampton</strong> (and Arsenal)<br />
for high spirits right now, it’s<br />
probably <strong>Villa</strong>. They feel like a<br />
team in a good place and are<br />
steadily climbing the Premier<br />
League table.<br />
Like Saints, they switched<br />
managers just before the<br />
World Cup, hiring Unai Emery<br />
from <strong>Villa</strong>rreal, and it’s had<br />
quite the effect at <strong>Villa</strong> Park:<br />
they’ve taken 13 points from<br />
their last six games, including<br />
wins over Manchester United<br />
and Tottenham Hotspur.<br />
They’ve scored in every game<br />
Emery has presided over and<br />
competed hard in each one too,<br />
with a new tactical blueprint so<br />
far proving a recipe for success.<br />
What is <strong>Villa</strong>’s tactical<br />
identity under Emery?<br />
First and foremost, Emery’s<br />
<strong>Villa</strong> have been defensively<br />
solid. They line up in a 4-4-2<br />
formation that demands<br />
plenty of defensive work rate<br />
from the wingers, while the<br />
centre-backs are protected by<br />
a responsible midfield pivot of<br />
Boubacar Kamara and Douglas<br />
Luiz.<br />
In games against extremely<br />
possession-dominant sides,<br />
like Spurs and United, the<br />
wingers tracked the opposing<br />
full-backs all the way back<br />
while their own full-backs<br />
tucked into a narrow position,<br />
creating a 6-2-2 look. It was<br />
near-impossible to break<br />
down.<br />
To suggest they pride<br />
themselves on clean sheets<br />
would be an understatement;<br />
Tyrone Mings recently<br />
admitted they’re so focused on<br />
that side of the game, they’re<br />
even celebrating offside calls.<br />
On the ball, they play short<br />
from the goalkeeper and<br />
circulate it around the<br />
backline, attempting to bait