Emery can ditch Bailey by playing “special” Aston Villa ace out of position
In the Champions League match against Juventus, Aston Villa came very close to snapping their six-game losing streak. After a “foul” on the goalie during the buildup, Morgan Rogers’ goal in the last seconds was disallowed.
Unai Emery will be striving for three points at Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, but a draw against one of the top teams on the continent is undoubtedly no dishonour.
Leon Bailey might be one of the players benched following yet another lacklustre performance, as a number of changes are anticipated.
Leon Bailey’s game in numbers vs Juventus
So far this campaign, the winger has scored zero goals while registering just three assists in all competitions, a far cry from the 28 goal contributions that he recorded last season for Villa.
Unleashed on the right wing against Juventus, Bailey failed to cause much trouble for the Serie A side.
In fact, the Jamaican winger only completed two of his four dribbling attempts, lost possession 16 times during the game, won just six of his 12 contested duels, and only 70% of his passes were successful.
How has the 27-year-old fared in the past several months? He was frequently Villa’s saviour in the previous season, but this season he has found it difficult to contribute anything to the team’s final third.
| Leon Bailey’s stats for Villa this season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Metric | Premier League | Champions League |
| Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Assists | 2 | 0 |
| Key passes per game | 0.9 | 1.3 |
| Big chances created | 3 | 1 |
| Successful dribbles per game | 0.6 | 0.8 |
| Via Sofascore | ||
This performance will surely see Emery drop him to the bench for the trip to Stamford Bridge. The question is, who will come into the starting XI to replace him?
Why Emery must unleash Jaden Philogene against Chelsea
After a successful season with Hull City, when he contributed 18 goals in the Championship, the youthful player returned to Villa Park in the summer.
Emery spent £13 million to entice him back, and it might have been a smart move. Despite being a left-winger by trade, Philogene has occasionally played on the right side this season, and his adaptability may allow him to take Bailey’s position in the Chelsea match.
In the Champions League, the former Hull sensation has succeeded with 50% of his dribble attempts along with winning 3.7 total duels and making 0.3 key passes per game, despite starting just one match and playing for 124 minutes in total.
In order to continue on his stellar season for Hull, he now needs a regular run in the starting lineup. Liam Rosenior praised him as a “special talent” during his time in the Championship; now, he needs to step up and begin playing frequently in the Premier League.
The £40,000-per-week talent would be out of place if he played on the right, but the Chelsea defence might be taken by surprise as they won’t anticipate him starting over Bailey on the wing.
Changes must be made in any case to rejuvenate the team following a demanding schedule of games.
Read more news on https://sportupdates.co.uk/
Leave a Reply