Aston Villa v Burnley: Dean Smith’s men striving to find a winning formula on home soil
In a year when natural order has been turned on its head, perhaps it is no surprise Villa are suddenly enjoying themselves on the road while struggling to find home comforts.
Last season it only tended to be matches at Villa Park which provided the chinks of light for Dean Smith and his struggling team, while away days – at least prior to lockdown – were approached with an increasing sense of dread.
This term things could hardly be any different. While Villa look confident and strong on their travels, where they have won four out of five, on home soil things have been rather more tricky.
Smith’s men have not won at Villa Park, or even led a match, since the 7-2 thrashing of Liverpool and welcome Burnley tonight looking to avoid a fourth-straight home defeat.
How much can be read into home or away form during a period where the vast majority of matches are played behind closed doors is questionable, of course.
“There is certainly a neutral feeling about every game at the moment with no supporters present,” said Smith, when quizzed on the subject this week.
“Every game now, whether it is at Villa Park or elsewhere, has felt like a neutral game. There has been no advantage either way.
“If you look at the games at Villa Park, we certainly deserved something out of the Brighton game, we shouldn’t have been beaten.
“Southampton, as I’ve said before, was a bit of an anomaly. Leeds was a game we got wrong and took on the chin.
“But we certainly don’t read too much into the fact we have lost three games on the spin at home. I don’t believe there is a trend behind it.”
It feels fair to claim tonight’s match represents the biggest test of Villa’s squad to this point of the campaign.
With Douglas Luiz and Matty Cash suspended, Trezeguet injured and Ross Barkley also facing a race to be fit, Smith is likely to be without four players from what most would accept is currently his strongest XI.
While Frederic Guilbert or, more likely, Ahmed Elmohamady will replace Cash at right-back, the head coach’s options in midfield and on the right-wing are less obvious.
John McGinn is the only certainty to start in the middle and though Marvelous Nakamba will hope to replace Luiz in a defensive-holding role, Smith could opt to recall Conor Hourihane and keep faith with Jacob Ramsey after the teenager’s solid debut in the win over Wolves.
Bertrand Traore will be hoping for a second straight start out wide in place of Trezeguet. Yet the £19million signing from Lyon is coming under pressure from Anwar El Ghazi, who has given Smith food for thought after scoring the last-gasp spot-kick at Molineux.
The Dutch winger was one of several players the club looked to move on during the recent transfer window but has come off the bench in the last four matches.
His winner and Wolves created a surprise postscript with Tyrone Mings taking to Twitter on Sunday, to hit out at the online critics who had prompted El Ghazi to delete his social media accounts following Villa’s Carabao Cup exit to Stoke in early October.
“I think for the modern player now, social media platforms are part of their life,” said Smith.
‘But it’s also there for people to criticise. Not just performances, it can be your looks, what you’ve said, anything can be critiqued on there.
“If that’s going to be of any harm to you or your mental welfare, then keep off it is my opinion, or block people’s accounts you don’t want to hear from.
“Unfortunately, it’s part of the world we live in now. Anwar decided to leave (his accounts) which is everybody’s right.
“I’m glad he did, because he’s looked a stronger person. Coming on to score the penalty against Wolves shows he was strong as he won the game for us.”
Bjorn Engels, Keinan Davis and Kortney Hause are all back available following injury.
