Express & Star

Sheffield United v Aston Villa: Response needed after Foxes mauling

Villa’s 4-1 loss to Leicester last weekend was their heaviest defeat since being beaten by the same scoreline at Sheffield United last season.

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There is a certain irony then, that it is Bramall Lane where they will now look to deliver a response to the toughest afternoon of their Premier League return to date.

The defeat at the Blades took place more than 15 months ago but in terms of Villa’s transformation since it might as well have been 15 years.

They now have a different manager, a very different looking team and – like their hosts – are now playing in the Premier League.

It would be fair to claim though that for the first since February, when Villa began the 10-match winning streak which would ultimately catapult them to promotion, there is a sense momentum has slowed.

The home humbling by the Foxes was their fifth defeat in seven Premier League matches and though the standard of opponents through that period has admittedly been tough, Villa suddenly look a team lacking a little in confidence.

Positivity generated through the rush to the top flight, maintained during the early weeks of the campaign, has in some quarters of the fanbase given way to nerves, ahead of a looming festive programme which will go a long way toward defining how the rest of the season plays out.

In the space of eight days, starting with the home match against Southampton on Saturday week, Villa play the only three teams below them in the table. Tomorrow’s result will further define the mood heading into those fixtures.

Smith described the defeat to Leicester a “jab in the stomach” for his team.

“It gives us a chance to take stock, have a look and reflect where we are at the moment and how we move forward,” said the boss.

Smith’s biggest dilemma heading into the match is how to set up a defence missing Tyrone Mings.

The defender is expected to miss at least the next three matches, though possibly more, with a hamstring injury.

Pairing Ezri Konsa and Bjorn Engels, the two men who have partnered the previously ever-present England international at the heart of defence, would appear the obvious move.

Yet neither would it be a surprise to see Kortney Hause brought in from the cold.

To say the 24-year-old has endured a frustrating time since joining in a £3million deal from Wolves in June would be putting it mildly, with a series of minor injuries and illness pushing him down the pecking order.

But Hause remains highly-rated by Villa’s coaching staff and a big part of Smith’s future plans. Like Mings, he is left-footed and has always been viewed as a natural replacement and his inclusion would allow Villa’s defence to maintain its balance.

Smith must also decide what to do with a midfield which is currently lacking cohesion and arguably the biggest reason for his team’s inconsistency. Conor Hourihane could be recalled after missing the Leicester defeat, with Douglas Luiz and Marvelous Nakamba the two most likely players to make way.