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Is This Aston Villa’s New Starting XI?

By Josh Tonti

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 16: Ross McCormack of Aston Villa celebrates scoring his sides first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Huddersfield Town at Villa Park on August 16, 2016 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 16: Ross McCormack of Aston Villa celebrates scoring his sides first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Huddersfield Town at Villa Park on August 16, 2016 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) /
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With #DeadlineDay officially in the past, let’s look at how Roberto Di Matteo can utilize his Aston Villa squad following the international break.

Club owner Dr. Tony Xia and company did a very solid job removing dead weight players who no longer wished to be part the club. By thinning out the ranks he then had the ability to buy proven Championship goal scorers mixed in with high upside, young talent.

Spots in the first team picture will be fierce, especially in the attack. Here is one option Roberto Di Matteo has at his disposal (4-4-1-1):

GK: Pierluigi Gollini, 21

RB: Ritchie De Laet, 27

RCB: Tommy Elphick, 28

LCB: James Chester, 27

LB: Jordan Amavi, 21

RAM: Albert Adomah, 28

RCM: Mile Jedinak, 32

LCM: Ashley Westwood, 26

LAM: Jack Grealish, 20

CF: Ross McCormack, 30

ST: Jonathan Kodjia, 26

SUBS: Bunn, Baker, Cissokho, Bacuna, Tshibola, Ayew, Gestede

The additions of Kodjia and Adomah–while questionable in terms of money-extracted value–do in fact add immense attacking depth in the squad. One way to tell? Jordan Ayew suddenly appears on the bench. While I’m not guessing that this will happen, it certainly remains a possibility due to concerns about his natural position and the depth in the Aston Villa attack.

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In addition to the first eleven, the bench suddenly looks livelier from a tactical view. No longer will Villa have to deal with two center backs and two full backs, coupled with Libor Kozák and Andre Green in the second half of matches–down one looking for a match winner.

In order to survive the ruggedness of a forty-six match schedule, Dr. Tony Xia and management bet on providing enough depth in the squad to overcome the Championship. Rotating players and allowing Di Matteo to play match-ups best services Aston Villa to pick up maximum points week in and week out.

With a current record of 1-2-2, Aston Villa can not afford to slip further down the table. It might take some time for this squad to gel, but Di Matteo has to get this team running with a handful of wins in his pocket.

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