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Leeds United Aston Villa v Leeds Home Competitions Championship: Grealish defensive discipline holds the key

Aston Villa v Leeds United comes under the tactical microscope, and it could be a cracker…

This should be an interesting style clash and territorial battle at Villa Park as the hosts, for the second time this season, are allowed to sit a little deeper and wait for the counterattack opportunities The other game ended 7-2, of course, and yet Aston Villa faces a much more severe test here; Leeds United will swarm and harass as always, pouring in with enough body to put all four of Dean Smith’s full-backs under pressure for arguably the first time this season

Villa’s biggest threat is recycling their possession into their own third So far, Smith’s insistence on looking for a short option for a good 10-pass streak before hitting her longer has met with little resistance, but the Leeds press may cause an error Moreover, the details of Marcelo Bielsa’s vertical possession football are more complex than anything Villa has faced.The hosts could counterattack behind the Leeds high line, or they could just be blown away

Wolves ‘five full-backs were able to cancel Leeds’ use of the wings on Monday night, but Villa surely won’t be so strong when attacks are filtered down their left flank Right-back Peter Ayling gets chalk on his boots, pulling the opposition’s left-back with him, while Mateusz Klitch passes from midfielder to pass to the wall and Rodrigo runs between the two This creates a famous Bielsa triangle, overloading the right flank for a quick one-two-three behind

The Villas are particularly vulnerable on this side, unlike Wolves Jack Grealish won’t be able to keep up with Rodrigo enough, while Matt Targett is Villa’s weakest link in terms of position unless Smith’s team can’t pull off the kind of ruthless, back-to-the-wall defensive display we saw towards the end of last season, Leeds will do some damage here

Not that Villa has no reason to be optimistic They are arguably the first truly counter-attacking team Leeds have faced in the Premier League this season, and after even Fulham managed to score three times coming out of a defensive shell, Villa – by Jack Grealish, Ollie Watkins and Ross Barkley – should have the firepower to get in behind Bielsa’s high line

Villa’s most important player is John McGinn, playing a deeper midfielder role alongside Douglas Luiz this season, allowing him to play the first parting pass to forwards His ability to use his strength to escape the Leeds press, then distribute to Grealish or Watkins, could ultimately define this game

Bielsa has confirmed that 21-year-old Pascal Struijk will replace Kalvin Phillips at the base midfielder as the England international is absent with a shoulder injury Normally center-back Struijk has only played two times at this position for Leeds in the Championship games against Charlton Athletic and Derby County He has big boots to fill

Phillips, who could be out for up to six weeks, is the quarterback for the squad whose main job is to throw long balls at the Leeds four or five runners Struijk clearly cannot replace this technical ability, which could disrupt his team’s pace at Villa Park, but it is an improvement from a purely defensive perspective. Phillips is often abandoned in central midfielder as Leeds clears the midfield in favor of flank overload With Struijk they could do better against Barkley and McGinn

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Leeds United, Aston Villa FC, Premier League, Marcelo Bielsa, Kalvin Phillips, EFL Championship, Villa Park