Their away record is poor W:1 D: 2 L:5 GF: 4 GA: 15. They've gone on a bit of an unbeaten run lately, but have done so against a struggling Arsenal and two of the worst teams in the league (Reading and QPR).
Although they play a pressing game, it can break down quickly, exposing them at the back, and forcing them to play more of a midfield press. For this they usually play a 4-2-3-1 formation. Lucas, with a couple of games under his belt now, will probably step up in intensity, and might last the whole game. He will, as always, be vital for cycling the ball from side to side, but also because as Villa step up to add the offside trap to their press, Lucas' eye for the through ball might find them exposed more than they'd like. The key for us will be who plays in the wing forward positions - if Sterling gets rest and Enrique is good to play, Villa could be in for a nasty afternoon, because the two centre backs will have enough on their hands looking after Suarez that a few through balls to Enrique or Sterling might just stretch them enough to create space for a good few shots from midfield from a late run.
They are very good at intercepting from their pressure positions, but their ability to hold on to the ball long after that is not great - they do have fast transitions, and Lambert does a LOT of high intensity pattern play in training to work on it, but if we can hold them off to the 5th or 6th pass they'll probably lose the ball (probably down the wings, so if Wisdom is good to play, him on the right and Johnson on the left might be the better options), at which point we just need to take advantage of their high line and look at playing some through balls, or else hold the ball and force them into their own defensive third. They don't have an efficient attack, and it is fairly predictable - they'll transition down the right side and look to set up the cross to a player running in to the back post from the left side.
Last edited by Divide et Impera; 13/12/12 04:15 PM.
