After a huge win against the Saints, Gerrard's side look to continue this good run of form, against newly appointed manager Jesse Marsch's Leeds side.
Villa have finally found some form, with back-to-back wins, over Brighton and Southampton, keeping two clean sheets and scoring 6 goal in those two games. Striker Ollie Watkins, has been back in the goals for Villa, and mentions that he "wants to keep scoring goals" in a recent interview with VillaTV.
A rescheduled game this is for Aston Villa, with this game supposed to be played back in December last year, the game was postponed due to COVID-19 cases within the Leeds camp.
Since then, things have changed; with Marcelo Bielsa getting his marching orders from the Leeds board. With this Leeds were quick to bring in new manager Jesse Marsch, the 48 year-old from America. The former RB Leipzig manager will be managing his first game at Elland Road.
Marsch has had his press conference ahead of the game, and he has already done his research on Villa, heres what he had to say:
“I will be shocked if they don’t play with a diamond,” Marsch stated. “[Philippe] Coutinho has been good. [Danny] Ings and [Ollie] Watkins have been explosive in transition moments. I admire them with their set-pieces, their creativity means we have to be alert and ready for any special plays they might organise.
“We will need our fans, a good start, certainly one of the goals will be to find a way to get the lead.
However, Marschs' first game in charge saw his side lose 1-0 away to Leicester, in a performance that they can take plenty of positives from. A goal from Harvey Barnes saw Leeds fall to another defeat.
Villa have found form in recent weeks, with two fairly solid performances against Brighton and Southampton. This is mainly down to the fact that Gerrard has changed the system to be able to accommodate both strikers in; Ollie Watkins, and Danny Ings. Brazilian technician Phillipe Coutinho, sitting behind them to create chances. Gerrard has changed to a 4-3-1-2 formation. This gives Coutinho the ability to have space in between the midfield and defence, where his abilities are best used. This has benefitted Watkins and Ings, with them both getting onto the scoresheet in the 4-0 victory over Southampton. Not only have we got the strikers back into form, we have seen improvements in work rate, with players really working hard for each other and doing their job in a professional manner.
One player, who's performances have improved is the other Brazilian; Douglas Luiz. He came under criticism earlier in the season as fans felt he wasn't performing to the standards expected. Luiz, also has managed to silence the critics with two good performances, and managing to even get himself on the scoresheet!
One problem for Villa, is consistency... Striker Ollie Watkins, also has identified this when he spoke to VillaTv during the week. Here's what he had to say:
“We’ve come out the other side of being where Leeds are and now we need to look up and find some consistency."
“It’s the perfect game to go into. We’ve got to keep trying to push on and get as many wins as possible."
VillaTV have been busy this week! The main man, Steven Gerrard ALSO spoke to the press ahead of the game. He gave updates on Team News, Tactical Tweaks and Leeds United.
Team News
“We’re in a good place. We’ve got the majority of the team fit and available.
“There’s only Marvelous Nakamba who we’re waiting for to come back into the group.
“Carney Chukwuemeka will join the group, Ezri Konsa’s back available, Lucas Digne’s back, so I’ve got some tough decisions from now until kick-off. That’s the position I like to be in.”
On the Ings & Watkins partnership
“It’s a lot easier when you’ve got good players who get on well on and off the pitch. They’re involved in each other’s groups off the pitch and they talk a lot about the game.
“I’m very positive about it and I always have been. When we turned up, Danny had a hamstring injury then got a bit of a re-injury. It was stop-start for Danny.
“For Ollie, he came out of the blocks strong, scored goals and then had a bit of a dip – but that happens with forwards. I felt the time was right to get them both in and talk about what I was going to be doing.
“I really fancied it and it’s worked really well in the last two weeks. There’s certainly potential for them to grow and get better. I’m really excited about it.”
On Leeds United
“Tactically, you’ll see a change – you’ll have seen that in the game against Leicester. Marcelo Bielsa was very unique, as in certain areas of the pitch he’d go man-to-man and players would get followed in different positions.
“You also heard about different training regimes that they’d practice and try to back up in the games. I’m sure Jesse will want to put his own stamp on things.
Let's hope for a big win to continue what is a good run of form. Let us know what you think ahead of the game! UTV!
Written by Kian Davies.