Aston Villa have endured a rare sticky patch under Unai Emery, and one player can help change that narrative in the visit to Liverpool.
All eyes will be on Aston Villa’s clash against Liverpool tonight, as they aim to win at Anfield for the first time in over a decade.
The Villans are winless in their last eight meetings with the Reds, and while that record won’t fill many with confidence, there are reasons to be optimistic.
Ollie Watkins has a phenomenal record against Liverpool, scoring five and laying on two assists in eight appearances.
Watkins holds the key to Villa securing a positive result on Merseyside, and there is another star who must rise to the occasion after underperforming recently.
John McGinn has underperformed for Aston Villa recently
Since returning from injury in the 3-1 victory over Fulham in October, captain John McGinn hasn’t reached his usual ‘amazing’ levels for Aston Villa.
Emery’s men have produced a winless run of four matches in all competitions, with McGinn not looking his usual self in a defensive or attacking sense.
In the 1-0 defeat to Club Brugge on Wednesday, the Scottish machine won just one ground duel, one tackle, missed one big chance and zero of his attempted aerial duels, per Sofascore.
It was a night to forget for the midfielder and Villa in general however, it wasn’t the only poor performance served up by McGinn of late.
The Scotsman lacked intensity during the thrashing at the hands of Tottenham, failing to apply the same level of pressure to his opponents.
McGinn’s game is built off being fast with every action; covering every blade of grass, forcing his opponents into mistakes and driving his team forward – three components Villa must see against Liverpool.
McGinn must shut down Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold
Emery normally deploys McGinn on the right or left flank, helping form his iconic box midfield.
The Scotland international started on the right against Tottenham however, he could swap sides this evening to shut down the threat of Trent Alexander-Arnold down the right.
Of every single player in the Villa squad, McGinn is arguably the best at pulling off a man-marking job and he can use his defensive abilities to stop Trent from influencing the game in the final third.
The 26-year-old has been one of the Premier League’s best-attacking full-backs for years now, and although he only has one assist to show for his quality this term, his wand of a right foot can cause mass destruction.
McGinn must therefore be on guard against his threat down the right flank, matching him every step of the way and forcing him away from attacking areas.
It’s this tactical switch from Emery that could hold the key for Villa against Liverpool tonight.
