Aston Villa prospect Cameron Archer headlines a list of players who deserve more minutes amid their slow start. Steven Gerrard’s side only drew 1-1 at Nottingham Forest on Monday.
Ashley Young salvaged a point for the Villans at the City Ground after Emmanuel Dennis hit home on 15 minutes. The 37-year-old scored his first goal of the season to draw Aston Villa level after trailing for seven minutes. It was also the Birmingham outfit’s seventh this term.
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Only Wolverhampton Wanderers (3) have scored fewer goals than Aston Villa (7) so far this season. While Gerrard’s side’s nine points from nine games are only good enough for 16th in the Premier League table. They have taken two wins and three draws amid four defeats.
Aston Villa are next in action at home to Chelsea this Sunday before matches with Fulham, Brentford and Newcastle United. Fixtures against Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion follow before the Premier League hits pause for the Qatar World Cup in November.
Gerrard is already fearing for his future amid Aston Villa’s slow start to the season
Gerrard will be desperate to enter the international break on the back of an improved run of results. The Liverpool legend admitted after losing to Arsenal in August that he fears for his future. Some Villa fans also allegedly chanted ‘we want Gerrard out’ on Monday night.
Parts of the travelling Aston Villa fanbase additionally booed at the full-time whistle away to Nottingham Forest. A crescendo of boos had already followed the final whistle at home to West Ham United in August. Villa lost 1-0 to the Irons for their third defeat in four matches.
Turning to some of his lesser-used stars could help Gerrard address Aston Villa’s slow start to the season. The Villans have also dealt with injuries to some key summer signings after Diego Carlos ruptured his Achilles and Boubacar Kamara sustained a knee ligament injury.
Carlos could miss the rest of the season with his issue, while Kamara will not return before the World Cup. Star left-back Lucas Digne will also not return before the Qatar tournament with a stress fracture. Leon Bailey also sat out Monday’s match with a minor muscle injury.
So, with some big names missing and a few tough games on the horizon, which players can Gerrard give more minutes to help tackle Aston Villa’s lack of form before the World Cup?
Archer headlines the players who deserve more minutes at Aston Villa
Archer headlines HITC Football’s list of Aston Villa players who deserve more minutes amid the club’s slow start to the Premier League season. The 20-year-old earned nine minutes at Nottingham Forest this Monday to take the forward to a mere 18 for the campaign to date.
His brief cameo at the City Ground was also Archer’s first league outing since his stoppage-time showing against West Ham. Gerrard left the England U21 talent on the bench in three of Villa’s last four top-flight fixtures and omitted him from the squad against Southampton.
Archer additionally only played eight minutes of Aston Villa’s EFL Cup second-round win at Bolton Wanderers in August. Altogether, the Walsall native has featured for 26 minutes in all competitions across four appearances, despite the Birmingham outfit struggling to score.
Gerrard should consider offering Archer more minutes to help address Aston Villa’s search for form. He scored 20 goals and laid on five assists from 33 outings in all competitions last season. Seven of his strikes came in the Championship while on loan to Preston North End.
Dendoncker will be questioning his Aston Villa transfer amid a lack of minutes
Leander Dendoncker will be questioning his decision to join Aston Villa this summer after a severe lack of minutes. The Belgian has featured for just 36 Premier League minutes under Gerrard – only Archer (18) has played fewer – since securing his £13m switch from Wolves.
Gerrard sought to lure Dendoncker to Birmingham after losing Carlos for possibly the rest of the season. The 27-year-old can play in central defence as well as his more natural role in central midfield. Yet he has only featured against Southampton and Nottingham Forest.
Dendoncker replaced Aston Villa’s captain, John McGinn, for the final quarter of an hour at the City Ground. He would likely have expected to start beside the Scot following Kamara’s injury. Yet he has watched Douglas Luiz act as the anchor, who gave away some soft fouls.
Gerrard should keep Buendia in the starting XI against Chelsea
Gerrard should keep Emiliano Buendia in his starting line-up when Aston Villa host Chelsea on Sunday. The Argentine earned just his third opening call of the campaign at Nottingham Forest on Monday. He had also not started a Premier League match since losing at Arsenal.
Buendia has featured in all nine of Aston Villa’s top-flight fixtures so far this season despite not always starting in games. He also scored one of the claret-and-blue outfit’s mere seven goals after finding the back of Jordan Pickford’s net to beat Everton 2-1 at home in August.
An end product has sometimes alluded Buendia, who is yet to register a top-flight assist so far this term. But the 25-year-old, who assisted one goal in 19 minutes at Bolton in the EFL Cup, has consistently offered lots of energy and threatened to create when he is in games.
Ings may be wondering when his next start will come at Aston Villa
Danny Ings may be wondering when his next Premier League start will come under Gerrard at Aston Villa. The 30-year-old has not opened a top-flight match since starting the Villans’ 1-0 loss at home to West Ham in August. He has played 45 minutes over four outings since.
Gerrard gave Ings his longest Premier League appearance since starting against West Ham at Nottingham Forest on Monday night. The striker enjoyed 25 of his last 45 minutes at the City Ground. But he could not add to his only goal so far this season struck against Everton.
Ollie Watkins once again led the Aston Villa attack from the off in Nottinghamshire despite spurning several chances at Leeds United the game prior. His application and selflessness were again on show, but the 26-year-old has still not scored since August at Crystal Palace.
Ings could offer Gerrard a fresh spark upfront if he drops Watkins from the starting line-up for the first time since the opening day. Watkins has played every minute of regular time in Aston Villa’s eight Premier League matches since a 24-minute cameo against Bournemouth.
Gerrard should consider giving Chambers more minutes in a new-look Aston Villa
Gerrard should consider giving Calum Chambers more minutes and changing up his line-up to turn Aston Villa’s fortunes around. The defender has not featured in the Premier League since earning his only start of the season so far during the Villans’ 1-0 defeat to West Ham.
Chambers had also only played briefly as a stoppage-time substitute against Everton after Carlos sustained his injury before playing the Irons. The 27-year-old has since watched the action on the bench in four of Villa’s following games. He did not make the squad at Leeds.
So, Chambers is now among the clutch of Aston Villa players who deserve more minutes as Gerrard seeks to secure improved results. A starting role for the three-cap England centre-half could let Gerrard drop a holding midfielder to add an additional attacker to his team.
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