Despite the loss to Manchester United, Leon Bailey should keep his place in the starting XI as Burnley travel to Villa Park this weekend.
It was a disappointing result last time out for Aston Villa as they fell to defeat despite being 2-0 up against Manchester United.
The away side were two to the good as first John McGinn opened the scoring and then Leander Dendoncker doubled the lead.
This was as good as it would get for Villa as Alejandro Garnacho scored twice and had one ruled out as he levelled the game. With less than ten minutes to go, Rasmus Hojlund scored his first Premier League goal to seal all three points.
Given the position that Unai Emery’s side found themselves in at halftime, they shouldn’t have been leaving with nothing.
With all that being said, Leon Bailey was once again on top of his game and had an impact on the game. This was until he was strangely substituted after 77 minutes, despite being one of Villa’s most threatening players.
Why Leon Bailey has to start vs Burnley
This season, Bailey has flown under the radar as one of the most improved players in the Premier League. Seeing him go from an underwhelming £25m signing to being one of the best players in the league for goals and assists.
According to Fbref, the Jamaican international ranks second for most goals and assists per 90 in the league this season. He is second only to Erling Haaland and ahead of stars like Mohamed Salah and Jeremy Doku.
After 17 matches played this season, Bailey has featured in 775 minutes and contributed to 1.16 goals and assists per 90. This equates to five goals and five assists so far this season which makes him Villa’s second most involved player. The winger is beaten to the number one spot by Ollie Watkins who has 15 goal involvements, according to FotMob.
With all that being said, he didn’t manage to record a goal or assist against Manchester United last time around. Although he did have an effect on the opener as he appeared to put off Andre Onana in the opposition goal.
Discussing that point, Birmingham World said: “Bailey doesn’t get a statistical assist for it but he was a vital cog in the set-piece routine that led to McGinn’s goal.”
Against a defence which has conceded 38 goals in 19 games this season, attack is going to be the best form of defence. Combining with Moussa Diaby and Watkins, there could be plenty of opportunity going forward.
