Aston Villa vs Wolves: Back to the Chase
Today at 09:52 AM
Aston Villa left Switzerland worthy 3-0 winners over Young Boys in their first appearance in the Champions League, such as it’s become. Was quite a momentous night, when you think about it, and it seemed to me that last season’s Conference League adventure helped the side. They took it all in stride, played their game, and walked out with the points. Emery made the increasingly familiar changes to both keep players fresh and ease them in.
And just like that it’s back to the league and an opponent in Wolves who’ll likely give us more trouble than Young Boys, especially given they’re still looking for their first win of the season; no matter how they’re going, it’s always a difficult fixture.
You’d like to think Villa will come in feeling good about themselves after erasing an 0-2 deficit against Everton and then dispatching Young Boys with a clean sheet. And you’d like to think last season’s experience will go a ways toward the side shifting focus and being mentally prepared. This initial run shouldn’t be too taxing this early in the season (it’s the back half where it all starts to add up), so I think this is has more to do with that next step, which is where the CL sides manage their European business while ruthlessly attending to business in the league. Villa managed that pretty well last year until the lack of depth caught up to them.
In team news, still no Matty Cash, so Emery’s opted for the Konsa-Carlos-Torres set-up. Nedeljkovic is available, as is Bogarde, and I’d like to think the game plays out in such a way that Kosta gets some needed minutes. I’ve liked the look of him. I think the only downside is youth. And while Bogarde has worked hard, seems to me that Nedeljkovic might have a bigger upside. Lamar struggled defensively in the first half midweek, and I think Kosta has a bit more pace. Bogarde also has struggled with turnovers, and doesn’t seem to be particularly trusted going forward. It only goes out wide right to him occasionally, and this seems to limit McGinn’s influence a bit. Villa will seemingly always tilt a bit left under Emery given the personnel, making the right side a preferred avenue for long counterattacking balls, but also an area where Villa can find space. Whoever it’s been, we haven’t quite gotten the mix down on that side, though.
Everyone else seems to be doing just fine, with Tielemans in particular standing out for me as a very heady and dangerous pivot man. Combined with Onana, that’s a pairing I feel good about. Ollie’s starting to find the back of the net, and Rogers probably just needs to relax a touch. Seems like he might be forcing the issue a little too often. That said, it is a big part of his game. Ramsey looks to be finding his form again.
So, not a whole lot else to say at the moment. Villa will want to keep pace in the league, have a bit of a break against Stevenage (I know), and be in a good place to welcome Bayern Munich to Villa Park. But it all happens one match at a time.
Over to you.
