Aston Villa have not been able to fully shine under Steven Gerrard and in their previous five Premier League matches, they have bagged only two wins.
Their last game though was a 2-0 victory over Brighton and this weekend they take on Southampton at home. Villa are currently 13th on the league table and if they can pick up all three points on Saturday then they will have a great chance at entering the top ten of the table.
Aston Villa have shown sparks of improvement under their new manager but Southampton have been in top form themselves and to make matters worse, Villa have not won at home in their previous 4 matches.
Gerrard shelved his 4-3-2-1 system and went for a 4-3-1-2 formation against Brighton which allowed both the strikers to link up and we think he is going to stick with the same tactics this weekend as well.
The Saints have an FA Cup game against West Ham United in midweek so fatigue could be a factor for Hasenhuttl’s side when they visit Villa Park and this might just give Aston Villa an upper hand.
Aston Villa team news vs Southampton:
Steven Gerrard is not expected to make too many changes to his starting line up that featured against Brighton and the backline is going to remain the same.
The one major area which was affected due to the change in formation was the No 10 role where Emi Buendia was pushed to the bench with Philippe Coutinho playing as the lone attacking midfielder vs Brighton.
Gerrard explained why he put Buendia on the bench and also admitted that the 25-year-old will be back in contention for the Saints game.
“Listen, we decided to go with one No.10 and two No.9s because we wanted the goals on the pitch with Danny and Ollie,” Gerrard had said on Buendia’s omission.
🚨 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓 🚨
Philippe Coutinho has scored more Premier League goals against Southampton (4) than any other team.#avfc | #utv | #vtid pic.twitter.com/V8Q7DhpBLl
— Aston Villa Statto (@AVFCStatto) March 2, 2022
“We wanted to really go at their outside centre-backs, out of possession but also making it about them in possession as well.
“I think Coutinho’s performance justified my decision to play Phil. I thought he was outstanding, not just with the ball but out of it. He was really selfless for the team.
“The game and the substitutions require different things so it was nothing personal but Buendia’s fit and good to go.”
We don’t think the manager will be looking to change his formation meaning Buendia will once again have to be content with a place on the bench.
"The most important purpose is the supporters, I thought they were terrific today and we gave them a performance to be proud of." 🙌
Steven Gerrard reacts to an impressive victory! 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/2f9Cx3H2gT
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 26, 2022
Aston Villa have only two injury absentees going into Saturday’s game with Nakamba missing out due to a knee injury and Bertrand Traore ruled out with a hamstring problem.
Aston Villa predicted line up vs Southampton:
Predicted XI(4-3-1-2): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Digne; McGinn, Douglas Luiz, J.Ramsey; Coutinho/Buendia; Ings, Ollie Watkins.
