Tactical Analysis: How Everton can beat Aston Villa
Everton take on Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon as they look to keep up their fine form.
The Toffees are still unbeaten in the league and have scored at least two goals in every game they have played this season and sit in fourth place.
On the other hand, Villa have not had the best of starts and have only won one league match so far.
They have also conceded seven goals, and you would think the Toffees can punish Villa this Saturday.
Villa’s weaknesses and goals they have conceded.
WhoScored claim that Dean Smith’s side struggle to defend against counter-attacks, through balls, and avoiding individual errors.
They are also very poor at defending against very skilful opponents.
Now, if we look at some of the goals that Villa have conceded this season, we can see where and how the Toffees can cause problems.
Watford beat Smith’s side 3-2 on the opening weekend of the Premier League, and one of the goals that Villa conceded was a perfect example of how poor they are at defending counter-attacks. At the same time, there is also an individual error in there.
At this point, Watford are leading 1-0 and win the ball on the edge of their area.
They clear it forward, and Villa fall apart.
The ball drops to Emmanuel Dennis who advances forward and slips Sarr in down the right.
Sarr advances forward and his shot takes a deflection and flies into the net.
Watford managed to turn three passes into a goal, and Villa were left all at sea.
Therefore, with the pace of Demarai Gray and the driving ability of Abdoulaye Doucoure, we can see the Toffees causing Villa some serious problems on the counter-attack.
Villa are also at home, so they will be expected to push and dominate the ball, which could play straight into the Toffees’ hands.
Smith’s side have also conceded another goal on the counter this season, which horribly exposed their defence.
In Villa’s last game, they lost 3-0 to Chelsea, despite playing well, but the final goal was definitely avoidable, even though it was a fantastic finish by Romelu Lukaku.
Hakim Ziyech started the move as he was left in acres of space and slid a ball out to Cesar Azplicueta.
The Spaniard then shows great composure to find Lukaku who thunders his strike into the net.
Yes, this goal happened late in the game, but two passes and one nice moment of skill shredded Villa’s defence.
There were a few individual errors in there as well, so there is clearly a vulnerable underbelly to this Villa side.
You would think that if Rafael Benitez’s side can isolate certain players and hit on the counter-attack, then they will have a tremendous amount of joy at Villa Park.
In other Everton news, one former Toffees man has made an admission about his time at Goodison.
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