Martin Keown has warned Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa they ‘have to be careful’ with how the Aston Villa pair try to defend against Manchester City star Erling Haaland this Saturday.
Mings, Konsa told ‘to be careful’ or Haaland will punish Aston Villa pair
Martin Keown has told talkSPORT that Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa will have to be mindful of where Erling Haaland is trying to take the defenders as Aston Villa host Manchester City. Otherwise, the Norway sensation will punish Steven Gerrard’s likely starting centre-halves.
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Aston Villa welcome Pep Guardiola’s defending Premier League champions to Birmingham on Saturday evening. The Villans have not beaten the Citizens in their last 13 games across all competitions, while taking just one point since winning 3-2 at home in September 2013.
Gerrard is in urgent need of positive results at Villa Park following an underwhelming start to the season. The claret-and-blue club entered the weekend inside the relegation zone on three points from five games to rank in just 19th, having lost four of their opening fixtures.
Villa would have expected a far better start on the back of signing Diego Carlos from Sevilla for £26m in June. But the centre-half faces up to nine months out of action after rupturing his Achilles tendon in just his second Premier League appearance in their win over Everton.
Mings and Konsa have since started in defeats at Crystal Palace and Arsenal, while Calum Chambers joined Konsa against West Ham United. Gerrard also secured a last-ditch move to sign Jan Bednarek on loan from Southampton on deadline day to gain a further option.
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Keown expects Gerrard will stick with Mings and Konsa to start against Manchester City on Saturday as Aston Villa look to pull off a shock result. The pair will have the fraught task of shackling Haaland, should they play, with the Norwegian on fire since his summer transfer.
Guardiola triggered a £51m release clause in Haaland’s contract at Borussia Dortmund this June after 86 goals in 89 games. The Leeds-born 22-year-old already has nine goals during his first five Premier League appearances, along with hat-tricks during his last two outings.
Keown believes Mings and Konsa will have to strike early to show Haaland that Aston Villa will not be pushed over by the Manchester City man, and be wary of where he tries to go.
“As a central defender at the weekend, if you’re Mings or Konsa, you’ve got to do things early,” Keown said. “Against Haaland, you’ve got to be early, you’ve got to win the ball.
“You have to be careful when somebody is rapid, you have to be careful where he’s taking you. He will take you into areas where he will attack the back of you.”
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