Aston Villa can take advantage of a growing issue at Chelsea since Liam Rosenior’s appointment as head coach
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery with set piece coach Austin MacPhee
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery with set piece coach Austin MacPhee(Image: PA)
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Aston Villa have struggled in front of goal in recent weeks, but there is a significant weakness in Chelsea’s setup that they can exploit on Wednesday night.
Unai Emery’s side host the Blues following a disappointing 2-0 defeat against relegation-threatened Wolves at Molineux and will be eager to respond against a fellow Champions League qualification hopeful.
A win against Chelsea would see Villa open up a nine-point gap over Liam Rosenior’s team, who currently occupy sixth place.
Rosenior has made an encouraging start at Stamford Bridge, winning eight of his first 13 matches in all competitions. However, Chelsea have only won one of their last four games.
Since replacing Enzo Maresca as the club’s permanent head coach, Rosenior has struggled to address the team’s disciplinary issues, with two players sent off in the last two matches against Burnley and Arsenal.
An equally worrying trend under Rosenior has been Chelsea’s vulnerability to conceding from corners, having allowed seven goals from such situations this season, including two against Arsenal at the weekend.
Villa, by contrast, have been highly effective from corners this season, scoring nine goals - only Arsenal and Tottenham have scored more from set pieces. In fact, all of Villa’s last three goals have come from set plays, including two from corners: one an own goal by Brighton’s Jack Hinshelwood, and the other a late strike from Tammy Abraham against Leeds.
After Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal, Rosenior acknowledged that defending corners is an area that requires improvement.
“I think it's clear where our strengths are and I think it's clear to everyone what we need to improve on,” he explained. “I felt as a group, including me, we learned our lesson last week. To concede two goals from set plays, which ultimately has cost us the game, is really disappointing.
“And then to have another red card, again, really disappointed. I don't want to be sat here saying how well we play every week without picking up the points.
“We need to start finding a way of playing well, which we have done in large parts of my time with the group. But we also need to pick up points very, very quickly.
Asked why Chelsea are now conceding from corners, Rosenior replied: “It's a great question. I think it's me. I said last week I'm learning about the group, and I'm learning about certain people in certain positions.
“The actual scheme hasn't changed up until this week, in terms of how we go about that. But it's something that's come into our game, which is something that's costing us points, and that we need to change very quickly.”
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