Writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Paul Merson has been previewing Fulham vs Aston Villa on Thursday.
The Midlands club face the Whites in midweek and to say that this is a must-win game for Steve Gerrard’s side would be something of an understatement.
Indeed, Villa are in torrid form, and a loss here would surely give them some serious doubts around their Premier League status.
If Villa are to beat Fulham one thing they need to do is to keep Aleksandar Mitrovic quiet, and Merson says that he’s very worried about how Tyrone Mings will cope with the Serbian this week.
Mitrovic vs Mings
Merson discussed how Mings will cope against the Fulham striker.
“Fulham need to win this game. They were well beat by Newcastle and they failed to beat Bournemouth as well. They’re on a bit of a slide at the moment and they’ve got to break it this week. They’re playing against a team in the bottom half of the Premier League table and they’re going to have some hard games after this one,” Merson wrote.
“I worry for Tyrone Mings against Mitrovic. If Fulham get the ball into the box, I think Mitrovic gets the better of him. Aston Villa are not great at the moment but they did do well yesterday, despite their defeat.”
Lacking confidence
Tyrone Mings is good enough to deal with a player like Aleksandar Mitrovic, but right now, we wouldn’t back him to get the better of a League Two striker.
Mings looks absolutely shot of confidence, and if he doesn’t get his head straight, Mitrovic could have a field day on Thursday.
The attacker has already made mincemeat of Virgil van Dijk this season, and if Mings isn’t at his very best, he could be in for a very long evening at Craven Cottage.
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