Aston Villa will kick start their new Premier League campaign against newly promoted, Bournemouth at Dean Court on Saturday.
The Cherries are seen by many as candidates to go straight back down to the Championship, however Eddie Howe’s men have a few tricks up their sleeve, with the momentum from their Championship run potentially causing some problems for many sides this season.
The South Coast outfit have made some shrewd business moves this summer including a massive boost of pace to both wings by signing Max Gradel and Christian Atsu.
The latter is a player will be more familiar with from his so far not so good time with Chelsea, having spent his Blues career on loan to feeder club Vitesse Arnhem and then Everton where he only started five games.
However, now at a club where he is a viable option on the wing, Atsu could prove a tough customer for new Villa signing Jordan Amavi to contain.
On the other side of the pitch is Gradel, who has improved drastically since his time at Leeds United.
The 27-year old inside forward scored 17 league goals for Saint-Étienne last season, and will be able to provide support to new signing Lee Tomlin and Callum Wilson, as well as pull our defenders out of position.
Another new addition, Tyrone Mings from Ipswich, will also look for overlaps with Gradle allowing for the Ivorian to cut inside more often. The record signing is a strong crosser of the ball as well as being a tireless worker who will cause problems for The Villans going forward and back.
Matt Ritchie will also be a difficult midfielder to contain if his Championship form is to go by, the Hampshire-born midfielder was impervious last season as a winger, but with the addition of Atsu – Ritchie could find himself playing a more central role assisting Dan Gosling.
Eddie Howe also has a dilemma in goal when Villa come to town after signing Adam Federici from Reading. Howe will have to decide whether to go with the Australian-born shot-stopper or stick with Artur Boruc who has also joined after helping the Cherries to promotion last season while on loan from local rivals Southampton.
Bournemouth Likely Starting XI
Keys to a Villa win
- An early goal could make all the difference; keeping the Cherries fans quiet after their recent promotion will stop us from being overwhelmed.
- Jordan Amavi has got to hit the ground running, whether it’s Atsu or Richie playing against him he’s got to keep either of them quiet and mark them out the game, do that and you’ll cut off a lot of Bournemouth’s supply.
- Don’t allow Mings to make overlapping runs. Sure Max Gradel can crack a few in, but his ability as a proper winger is questionable, keeping him as wide as possible will leave Tomlin and Wilson isolated in the penalty box.
- Play through the middle, exploit the fact that Distin has lost a few yards of pace and that Tommy Elphick isn’t the quickest. Especially when you have the pace and physicality of a forward such as Jordan Ayew.
