Aston Villa are without a Premier League win in five games, and Steven Gerrard will want to see five of his stars from Arsenal target Douglas Luiz to Danny Ings now enjoy big finishes.
The Villans finally snapped their losing streak by recording a first goalless draw this season at Leicester City on Saturday. Leon Bailey enjoyed an early chance to break the deadlock at the King Power Stadium. But it was their defending that saw Villa leave with honours even.
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Now, Gerrard will be preparing his players to face their former head coach on Saturday at home to Norwich City. Aston Villa sacked Dean Smith and turned to Gerrard in November after a run of five-straight top-flight defeats left the Birmingham natives 16th in the table.
Gerrard had Aston Villa as high as ninth on April 1, but their recent run has plummeted the Villa Park outfit to 15th. No team has taken fewer points since the claret-and-blue side last won a game on March 10 than Smith’s former club (1), below Watford (3) and Norwich (4).
Now, entering their final six games of the season, Gerrard will want to see five of his Aston Villa stars from Arsenal target Luiz to Ings to find form and enjoy big finishes to the term.
Douglas Luiz
Luiz faces an uncertain long-term future with Aston Villa approaching the summer transfer window as the Brazilian enters the last year of his £33k-a-week contract in June. He signed the deal upon joining from Manchester City for £15m in 2019 amid a raft of fresh arrivals.
Reports by Il Romanista now claim Luiz will not sign a new deal to extend his stay in claret-and-blue. Roma are also eying a move with CEO Tiago Pinto a big fan, but face a €25-30m (£21-25m) valuation. Fabrizio Romano also claims Arsenal are keen on Luiz’s transfer.
Yet Mikel Arteta and Pinto may feel Luiz needs to rediscover form to merit moving to north London or Rome. He is often neat and tidy in possession but has struggled to dominate the engine room at times. Some of the midfielder’s passes have also lacked much of an impact.
Danny Ings
Smith signed Ings from Southampton last summer for £25m, rising to £30m, but his debut season has not been perfect. Of the striker’s five Premier League goals so far, three came before Gerrard’s arrival. He has also failed to fire since hosting his former side on March 5.
Since then, Gerrard has twice dropped the forward – against Arsenal and Leicester – as he vies to end their winless run. Ings also did not face Wolves following the birth of his child. His omission against Arsenal came after a selfless but wasteful showing against West Ham.
Ings enjoyed two great chances to score past the Hammers, and was again out of sorts in his last start against Tottenham. So much so that Gerrard left him as an unused substitute at the King Power, despite the Villans now only scoring two goals in their last five games.
Ezri Konsa
Ezri Konsa was often Smith then Gerrard’s first-choice to play beside Tyrone Mings before Calum Chambers’ mid-season arrival. But the centre-half has since missed matches with a suspension and through Gerrard’s choice – only returning to a consistent role this month.
Yet Aston Villa needed Emiliano Martinez to stop Konsa from scoring an own goal at home to Arsenal. He also slipped at the wrong moment against Wolves to give Daniel Podence a chance to break. Bruno Lage’s men were regularly able to get the better of the defender.
And his struggles have persisted against Tottenham and Leicester, bar some improvements at the King Power. He was at fault as Son Heung-Min put Spurs ahead, and Harry Kane ran rings around him. Foxes ace Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was then the next to torment Konsa.
Leon Bailey
Smith spent a further £25m to see Aston Villa sign Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen in August. However, the Jamaica international has not been a resounding success in England, offering one goal and two assists over 17 Premier League appearances and starting just six so far.
Gerrard has offered Bailey two of his starts during Aston Villa’s last three games in place of Ings against Wolves and Leicester. But the winger has failed to repay that faith, with Bailey too weak, too often. He is all too regularly bullied off the ball and marked out of matches.
His lack of form built up to see Bailey woefully miss from six-yards out against Leicester on Saturday, too. Additionally, his passes were regularly either under-hit or misplaced, and he made Gerrard turn away in anger after a needless foul to gift James Maddison a chance.
Philippe Coutinho
Signed on loan from Barcelona with a £33m option to turn permanent in January, Philippe Coutinho had a spirited start to his Aston Villa career. He offered four goals and assisted a further three over the Brazilian’s first eight games, but has not offered any since March 10.
Coutinho’s impact has faded in line with Aston Villa’s winless run and has sometimes to an extent been non-existent. Particularly in the second-half at West Ham, at home to Arsenal, at Wolves and again away to Leicester, the midfielder rarely offered a telling contribution.
The Hammers learnt by the break how to limit Coutinho’s impact, while the Gunners and Wolves put bodies around him to silence the 29-year-old throughout. And even after his improved display against Spurs with some bright passes, Leicester often had his number.
Coutinho, Bailey, Konsa, Ings and Luiz now need big finishes as the season winds down to show Gerrard they deserve long-term places in his plans, otherwise their time with Aston Villa could be up or, at least, face heightened competition for any game time next term.
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