Philippe Coutinho underperformed as Aston Villa lost 1-0 to West Ham United on Saturday afternoon, resulting in him being hooked midway through the second half.
His only shot came from distance and he created two chances which weren’t clear-cut opportunities, so Steven Gerrard might be considering a change ahead of Wednesday’s trip to face Arsenal.
Coutinho was fortunate to start after being dropped in the 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace while underwhelming in the EFL Cup win over Bolton Wanderers, so he hasn’t done himself any favours with another mixed showing against West Ham.
John Townley of Birmingham Live gave the 30-year-old a player rating of 6/10 and said he ‘drifted in and out’ of the game. Townley added that Coutinho ‘struggled’ to make a real impact and believes Villa may need a tweak in formation for Coutinho to turn things around.
Against West Ham, the Brazilian international played for 65 minutes, had 52 touches, completed 80.6% of his 36 passes, created two chances, had one shot, whipped in two crosses, had one successful dribble and won two freekicks.
Coutinho has made five appearances in all competitions this season, failing to score or make an assist, so he might not start against Arsenal in midweek.
In other news, Lucas Digne was better offensively against West Ham
