Talking Tactics: Villa — Playoff Final
Villa have tended to lineup in a 4141 in recent times, with Mile Jedinak featuring as the holding midfielder against Boro. Jack Grealish has moved to a central midfield position, alongside Conor Hourihane who very much operates in the Stefan Johansen box to box role in this Villa side. Lewis Grabban will very likely start up front as the single striker.
Villa’s Tendencies
Villa were very happy to concede possession to Middlesbrough over their two playoff games, which probably came as a shock to Tony Pulis. Over the course of the two legs, Villa averaged just a shade below 40% possession, far below their average of 51% over the course of the season. Boro looked short of ideas when they had the ball and Villa were more than comfortable sitting up and clearing long balls sent to Britt Assombalonga. Bruce played an interesting hand by having Alan Hutton track Adama Traore wherever the Barcelona academy product went throughout the game and it paid off huge dividends. Traore was constantly dispossessed and unable to generate any space so that he could create for his teammates. Bruce had recognised (as would most people) that if he stopped Traore, then Villa would be comfortable dealing with Boro’s other attacking tactic of hopeful long balls to Assombalonga.
It’s fair to say that Fulham are far better in possession than Boro are and are much more diverse in attack than hopeful long balls, as we have all seen throughout the season. With so many attacking options, Fulham are likely to give Bruce a headache on how to handle all the threats they have.
Interestingly, last time Villa faced Fulham, Bruce was so wary of the threat Ryan Sessegnon provided that he played two right backs, Axel Tuanzebe and Ahmed Elmohamady, to counteract his threat. It worked — until Elmohamady got injured just before half time. Robert Snodgrass was switched over to the right but didn’t offer the same defensive pressure that Elmohamady did (although it should be noted that Snodgrass still averages 2.37 defensive actions* per 90, a respectable tally). Eventually Sessegnon was able to drift and find space to tap in Fulham’s opener.
There is a possibility though that Villa’s right side could be completely different from that game though. Tuanzebe has a foot injury and won’t play while Elmohamady was classified as a “major doubt” by Bruce, which would lead to James Bree featuring at right back, who has played less than 500 minutes this season. With Sessegnon and Targett up against an inexperienced full back, there is certainly scope for Fulham to breach a tough defence down the left hand side.
Much has been made of the threat that Jack Grealish poses to Fulham, particularly with his knack of winning set pieces and his ability to deliver them. Indeed, Grealish tops the Championship in terms of fouls won per 90 (of players who played more than 23 matches), something Jokanovic should bear in mind and ensure that the likes of McDonald and Johansen don’t earn a yellow card too early when marking him. With the height advantage that Villa are likely to have through Terry and Jedinak, it’s imperative that Fulham attempt to avoid giving away set piece opportunities to Villa that proved to be Middlesbrough’s downfall. It’s also worth noting that counter attacking opportunities are likely to present themselves to Fulham from defending set pieces well and could be hugely effective due to Villa’s considerably slower backline. Let’s just hope that Kamara makes the right decision this time if put through on goal.
Fulham’s Keys for the Game
Villa will be happy to allow Fulham to have possession, as they did to Boro over both legs but will be cautious. Whether they employ a press that the likes of Brentford and QPR did or sit back and absorb pressure remains to be seen, although I’d imagine the latter with the age that Villa have in their squad. Given that Wembley is a far bigger pitch than the Cottage, Fulham will have much more room to operate and dictate play when they settle into their passing rhythm and could potentially pass their way out of a press with so much room.
Particularly important to Fulham’s success is Aleksandar Mitrovic’s hold up play and how he can bring the likes of Johansen, Sessegnon and whoever lines up on the right hand side into play and running at Terry and Chester. If Fulham can get Mitrovic to post up against Jedinak, then they have a strong chance of running straight at Terry, whose positioning is still good but mobility… is not. Fulham only have to look at Aston Villa’s loss against Norwich for a template on how they can get Mitrovic into positions to succeed and bring others into play.
For Norwich’s third, Srbeny posted up against Terry between the halfway line and the goal line and had three onrushing runners to play the ball to: Murphy, Reed and Maddison. Srbney laid it off to Murphy, who had a three on two situation, opting to pass it to Maddison who comfortably slotted home. If Fulham can get Mitrovic in these sorts of areas and drag Terry or Chester out of position, then they can easily have a Sessegnon or Johansen running onto it and going one on one against a slower centre back or the goalkeeper.
Additionally, overlapping full backs could also be hugely important for Fulham’s success. In the Craven Cottage game, Fulham opened the scoring from a Ryan Fredericks cutback after he sprinted into space behind Alan Hutton and drew Terry towards him. If Villa do indeed start with Hutton and Adomah, then it’s certainly possible that this tactic could be repeated to huge success.
Summarising Tactical Points
· Be calm in possession.
· Exploit Villa’s slower pace or inexperience in their full backs for overlaps.
· Limit giving away set piece opportunities to Villa when possible.
· Be wary of the threat Villa have from long range in Grealish, Adomah, Grabban and Snodgrass.
· Put Mitrovic in the best position to succeed to either shoot or bring others into play.
