Aston Villa

Last-five form: W W W D L

Villa have won three of the last five. xG per match across the last ten sits at 1.85; goals conceded at 1.0. The team ranks top six in the league for high turnovers (14.2 per match) - the press is the foundation.

Squad watch

Unai Emery's 4-2-3-1 holds. Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana sit; the front four rotates on opposition. Ollie Watkins leads the line; Jhon Duran is the impact sub off the bench with a 0.74 xG per 90 in his substitute minutes.

Moussa Diaby has been the creative spark from the right flank - 0.45 xA per 90 and 5.2 SCA per 90. The left side is rotated between Jacob Ramsey and Leon Bailey.

Next three fixtures

vs Brighton (home), vs Bayern Munich (away, Champions League), vs Liverpool (away). The Bayern game is the tactical reference - Emery will set up for a low block and counter-press trigger.

Depth chart

GK: Martínez. Back four: Cash-Konsa-Torres-Digne. Midfield: Onana-Tielemans. Front four: Diaby-McGinn-Ramsey-Watkins. Bench: Bailey, Duran, Luiz.

Editor's note

The ceiling is the right-half-space overload between Diaby and McGinn, with Watkins pinning the centre-backs. The floor is when the press cue breaks and Watkins is isolated. January is typically used on a left-back and a back-up six.