Dean Smith has alluded to a Southampton weakness that Aston Villa need to exploit when the two sides face-off.
What did he say?
With Villa currently just one point above the relegation zone, Smith will be looking for any possible advantage he can get for his team, or weakness in the opposition to be exploited to help earn vital points.
Ralph Hasenhuttl provided him with some ammunition after the Saints lost to Burnley last weekend, as reported by The Irish Independent: “You know at the moment it is sometimes a little bit difficult to play at home, because against Burnley everybody expects we are three up after 10 minutes and it is a little bit hard for us to show this.
“I think this is something, the pressure, that guys are not used to…because in away games nobody expects anything from us, so it is easier to play them at the moment for us.”
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The Villa manager has gone on to add his own take on the potential Southampton weakness, ahead of the two teams’ match on Saturday, stating: “Their head coach has said that it’s tough to play at home, because there is pressure on them.
“We have to concentrate on ourselves and put that pressure onto Southampton and their supporters.
“If we play to the capabilities that have got, we are a match for anyone.”
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Encouraging sign
The contrast between Southampton’s home and away form this season is pretty shocking to see, as they are currently fifth in the league when playing away from St. Mary’s, but are rock bottom with their home form.
That is because they have taken just 11 points from 13 matches on their own turf, while they have the worst home goal difference with -16 – even if the 9-0 defeat against Leicester City is taken out of the equation, only Norwich City’s goal difference would be worse than the Saints’.
Looking at this from a Villa point of view, it is vital that they are able to contain and frustrate Southampton early on, stopping them from getting into the lead.
Considering Villa’s big problem is conceding goals late in each half, this could actually come to suit them, so Smith will definitely be looking to make the most of that.
Meanwhile, one website has named Jack Grealish among the world’s best in his position.